Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 17, 2010 at 9:52am

Shoaling is an issue in many places where bike traffic gets more dense.

I think a lot of bike riders feel they are entitled to pass EVERYONE in front of them that is stopped. It starts with passing all those evil cages and the mentality just become ingrained -just like the attitude that "all car drivers are assholes.

People are pretty much jerks regardless of if they are driving one of those evil cars or riding a bike. And shoaling just proves it to me that just because someone is on a bike doesn't make them some sort of vehicular jesus.

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Permalink Reply by Digital Dario on September 17, 2010 at 9:56am

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it on my way to work today and it worked out much better. I live between Fullerton and Palmer so it makes sense for me to go down Palmer to Milwaukee and then Armitage and so on. Much appreciated.

James Baum said:

If I'm making my way over to Elston (for points further south) from Milwaukee-ish I've found that the Armitage route is the best/safest to cross the Expressway and the River.
When heading East just turn south at Damen and go south one block before turning East again and it is more direct with less traffic and it hits Armitage straight on again right before it crosses the expressway. Not only is the underpass for the expressway at Armitage much safer than that clusterfrak at Logan/Western but the bridge over the river is much better too -with even flat-plate so the babies who don't like going over steel grate have it easy. The only issue I have with the Armitage route s that the pavement of the bike lane going East just past the bridge is like a road in Kandahar after an air strike for a few dozen feet. Not too bad -but not great. Blue Valkyrie pavement needs patching badly! For some background I live right behind the Logan Blue-Line stop and end up crossing through that crappy intersection of Logan/Western almost daily on the way to all the businesses on Elston there, and even on the other side of the river on Clyborn (God, how I love Menards! too bad they have such crappy bike racks way off by the metra tracks in the smoker's "lounge" cloud of cancer). But there really isn't a good way to cross the river in that area because I am not a fan of sitting in that intersection of Logan/Diversey waiting to get run over and Diversey sucks IMHO even though it has a bike shared lane. Cars are very buzzy on Diversey and that 6-way at Diversey/Damon/Clyborn is horrible -especially if you are trying to turn left.

If it is busy, instead of crossing the river on Diversey I might just run down Elston to Damon and take that bridge even though it is a huge detour to head Southeast and then back North and then back Southeast again to get to Menards or Dominiks. It's still better than dealing with that crappy 6-way intersection at Diversey/Damon/Clyborn. I also like to cut through the Cosco parking lot to avoid that 6-way and jump back on Clyborn where it isn't so crazy.

But if I'm heading far enough south on Clyborn, using Armitage is much preferable IMHO.

Ruben Dario said:

I'm in Logan Square and work downtown so the usual "best route" is Milwaukee but on most days I prefer Elston to Milwaukee because it has dedicated bike lanes. Depending on where I am coming from,taking Elston can add few minutes to my commute but never more than 10 minutes at the very most. My only complaint on how dangerous Elston can be has more to do with my way over to Elston. I have to go through the intersection at Western and Logan which at times can be truly nerve-wracking.

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on September 17, 2010 at 10:11am

My personal favorite is when you pass a rider courteously ("Passing on your left") just to have them run a red that you've stopped at causing you to have to pass them again.

James Baum said:

Shoaling is an issue in many places where bike traffic gets more dense.

I think a lot of bike riders feel they are entitled to pass EVERYONE in front of them that is stopped. It starts with passing all those evil cages and the mentality just become ingrained -just like the attitude that "all car drivers are assholes.

People are pretty much jerks regardless of if they are driving one of those evil cars or riding a bike. And shoaling just proves it to me that just because someone is on a bike doesn't make them some sort of vehicular jesus.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 17, 2010 at 10:22am

No problem. It's a good route, but it is too bad that I'm often not going south and need to cross through on Logan instead without making a HUGE detour. In a perfect world they would make a nice bike-lane cut through the side of the skate park somehow on Logan. I don't see an easy way to fix that crossing. Riding next to that Arcco barrier heading West is sucidal IMHO, and heading East with people wanting to turn right and get onto the crazy route to get onto the expressway isn't much better. Up until that point going East on Logan is great until that new massive speed bump on the frontage road in front of that last church and it sucks from that point on until one can find their way to Wrightwood and on East again towards Diversey Beach and the LSP.

But if I'm going to the LSP and points South Armitage is the only way to go.

Another route tip my wife found when one is heading all the way down Milwaukee is to peel off on Green to keep going South a few blocks before Milwaukee ends. Then it is just a matter of finding a decent E/W road to head into the Loop. It's much better than that mess that Milwaukee dumps into when it ends. Green has a couple of bad roads to cross without help of a light or 4-way stop, and there are a few spots you have to run the wrong way on a 1-way -but it has very little automotive traffic except for Monday mornings where there are tons of big trucks idling & making deliveries.


Ruben Dario said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it on my way to work today and it worked out much better. I live between Fullerton and Palmer so it makes sense for me to go down Palmer to Milwaukee and then Armitage and so on. Much appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Minh on September 17, 2010 at 11:07am

What this guy said.

I don't know why anyone would like to ride in heavy bike/car traffic during rush hour. It just increases your chances of getting hit or hitting something.



Kelvin Mulcky said:

I guess I don't agree here. I'd rather ride alone and at my own pace instead of being surrounded by riders.
And there are so many hazards between Western and Ogdon: the jaywalkers, opening car doors, rampant shoaling, cabs, Valet parking signs in the bike lanes. Outside of that region, MKE is awesome. But, i prefer Elston.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on September 17, 2010 at 11:10am

I hate playing leapfrog. If I'm comming up on someone that I know is faster then me but just started pedeling, I'll slow down so they don't have to pass me.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

My personal favorite is when you pass a rider courteously ("Passing on your left") just to have them run a red that you've stopped at causing you to have to pass them again.

James Baum said:

Shoaling is an issue in many places where bike traffic gets more dense.

I think a lot of bike riders feel they are entitled to pass EVERYONE in front of them that is stopped. It starts with passing all those evil cages and the mentality just become ingrained -just like the attitude that "all car drivers are assholes.

People are pretty much jerks regardless of if they are driving one of those evil cars or riding a bike. And shoaling just proves it to me that just because someone is on a bike doesn't make them some sort of vehicular jesus.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 18, 2010 at 3:09am

Well I used to live on the north side, Edgewater 2 blocks south of Devon so my options were the bike trail with "on your left" being shouted 2 seconds before a neon green/orange spanx suit goes by or the lovely traffic on Broadway,my least favorite road after Western, so hipsters on fixies are at least hip to riding in the city and crazier than me.

And rush hour usually mean I'm not zippng past cars but they're not likely to do anything stupid at a fast moving speed plus I like to count how many cars I pass and remember the days of staring at taillights ahead of me getting angry about not moving.

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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on September 18, 2010 at 6:29am

Getting rid of some street parking would really help. Too bad LAZ parking would be totally against it since it would cut into their revenue stream. We'll just have to keep beating down that path, something has got to give.

envane x said:

Milwaukee is 40' wide, a standard car lane is 12' and a standard parking lane is 8'. Do the math. You're not getting a real bike lane unless you get rid of some street parking. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 18, 2010 at 8:24am

the caps lock key on your keyboard is off limits

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Permalink Reply by Joe Byrd on September 18, 2010 at 9:39am

Milwaukee from Irving Park to downtown is one of the streets that I avoid like Damen between Fullerton and Chicago not because of the cyclists, but because of the motorists and pedestrians who are oblivious randomly turn in front of you/walk in front of you. I have a speedometer on one of our bikes and it falls into the 15mph and below range because I feel the need for excessive reaction time. Good to hear that your experience (with the cyclists/not motorists) has be so great.

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Permalink Reply by thepuppies on September 18, 2010 at 2:57pm

Could not agree more. Apparently because i'm the jerk who stops before the intersection that means the 8 bikers who roll up behind me can crowd into the two feet in front of me. I'll take Elston or Clybourn any day. Rookies keep rollin' on Milwaukee.

James Baum said:

Shoaling is an issue in many places where bike traffic gets more dense.

I think a lot of bike riders feel they are entitled to pass EVERYONE in front of them that is stopped. It starts with passing all those evil cages and the mentality just become ingrained -just like the attitude that "all car drivers are assholes.

People are pretty much jerks regardless of if they are driving one of those evil cars or riding a bike. And shoaling just proves it to me that just because someone is on a bike doesn't make them some sort of vehicular jesus.

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Permalink Reply by Rico on September 18, 2010 at 3:05pm

I would love to take elston to the loop, but my morning laziness begs to differ :/

thepuppies said:

Could not agree more. Apparently because i'm the jerk who stops before the intersection that means the 8 bikers who roll up behind me can crowd into the two feet in front of me. I'll take Elston or Clybourn any day. Rookies keep rollin' on Milwaukee.

James Baum said:

Shoaling is an issue in many places where bike traffic gets more dense.

I think a lot of bike riders feel they are entitled to pass EVERYONE in front of them that is stopped. It starts with passing all those evil cages and the mentality just become ingrained -just like the attitude that "all car drivers are assholes.

People are pretty much jerks regardless of if they are driving one of those evil cars or riding a bike. And shoaling just proves it to me that just because someone is on a bike doesn't make them some sort of vehicular jesus.

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