The Chainlink

I rode Dearborn today...anyone else?

I just missed the press conference and just hung out at lunch to see how it would all work. It seemed easy enough, so I took Dearborn as my starting route home to Roscoe Village. Normally I hit Franklin to Orleans then north to Lincoln.

I have to say, it was pretty easy and relatively safe. The ambassadors were helpful with the the auto traffic. The walkers were easy enough to avoid. I had to chuckle at two riders riding side by side in the lane.

What I didn't see was any oncoming traffic; southbound riders. I am guessing that will come in time or at other times during the day.

Way to go Mayor RE! This is really making a statement.

Who else rode the new path?

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Permalink Reply by Michelle S on February 20, 2013 at 9:38am

Wow, I saw that there at 7:00ish AM, so make that nearly two hours!

Permalink Reply by WillG on February 20, 2013 at 9:39am

So they were there for over 2 hours? Seriously, WTF? This is unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 20, 2013 at 9:40am

We can try calling 311 to report their number, but I doubt that will do anything.

Also, why couldn't the cop have parked in the large buffer zone to the left in the photo? That seems slightly less illegal...

Will G - 10mi said:

So they were there for over 2 hours? Seriously, WTF? This is unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on February 20, 2013 at 9:41am

The officer could have parked (illegally) in the white lines, instead of the lane. There was enough room for the SUV there (see Adam's pic). Sigh!

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 20, 2013 at 9:41am

It must have been a very big bear claw and a Big Gulp coffee. :-)

Will G - 10mi said:

So they were there for over 2 hours? Seriously, WTF? This is unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on February 20, 2013 at 9:44am

Unless something is done (and I'm not sure what exactly as putting a big "LOOK"  both ways in the lane doesn't seem to work)..there are going to be some serious Bicycle/Pedestrian conflicts on Dearborn this summer when the bulk of the commuters will be out and using it. Everyday I have a close-call on it with a pedestrian stepping into the lane without looking. A bell or whistle is a must when using Dearborn. My only hope is if there are more bicyclists using it, pedestrians will take more notice.

Anne Alt said:

I had the "almost" version of that encounter on Saturday afternoon.  Saw the guy coming and rang my bell. Got his attention just before he stepped into my path.

Joe Guzzardo said:

I rode the Dearborn bike lane southbound this morning. One woman walked into the path about 20 feet from the intersection completely oblivious to my presence. I gave her a good loud "beeeeep" as I passed her. Maybe she'll be a little more aware next time. I considered it a public service effort on behalf of her safety and my fellow riders.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 20, 2013 at 9:45am

I've noticed that most of those LOOK signs have faded to almost nothing.

I agree completely. On almost a daily basis I have encounters with pedestrians, and in once case, actually ran into someone when he stepped right in front of me without looking. I can just imagine the next John Kass spew: "These crazy little bikers are mowing down law-abiding pedestrians left and right!"

spencewine said:

Unless something is done (and I'm not sure what exactly as putting a big "LOOK"  both ways in the lane doesn't seem to work)..there are going to be some serious Bicycle/Pedestrian conflicts on Dearborn this summer when the bulk of the commuters will be out and using it. Everyday I have a close-call on it with a pedestrian stepping into the lane without looking. A bell or whistle is a must when using Dearborn.

Anne Alt said:

I had the "almost" version of that encounter on Saturday afternoon.  Saw the guy coming and rang my bell. Got his attention just before he stepped into my path.

Joe Guzzardo said:

I rode the Dearborn bike lane southbound this morning. One woman walked into the path about 20 feet from the intersection completely oblivious to my presence. I gave her a good loud "beeeeep" as I passed her. Maybe she'll be a little more aware next time. I considered it a public service effort on behalf of her safety and my fellow riders.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on February 20, 2013 at 10:16am

Wow, that's a pretty blatant parking job.

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Maybe he was driving down the lane early this morning to see if the pavement was smooth and broke down.  Or ran out of gas.

Permalink Reply by Julie M. on February 20, 2013 at 11:18am

Yes, the cop car was there at 6:45 am, along with a Pace paratransit van parked right behind it.  I've taken to writing polite emails to Pace regarding their vans (3 times so far at a couple of locations) as I understand that they may need curb access for their passengers, but suggesting they park on the side of the building without the protected bike lane.  No response yet.  

Michelle Stenzel said:

Wow, I saw that there at 7:00ish AM, so make that nearly two hours!

Permalink Reply by JimmyD on February 20, 2013 at 11:27am

Here are some pictures I took this morning with my phone, and then animated them.

(Don't ask me why I didn't simply switch to video mode in the first place... it was around 7:40 AM and my brain wasn't switched on just yet.)

I thought it would be fun to snap a few pics of the Dearborn PBL from the Lake Street pedway bridge. In the span of about 20 minutes, I was able to capture 2 "close call incidents" with pedestrians strolling through the PBL without looking first. (That said, a well painted "LOOK" sign at the crosswalk still won't solve the problem of the (many) jaywalkers crossing the PBL in the middle of a block.)

Anyways, maybe a Chainlinker or two was captured in my pics below? Again, I took these pics this morning between 7:40am and 8:00am. Enjoy!

- Commuters pedaling South on the Dearborn PBL between Wacker and Lake Streets

- A pedestrian darts out in front of a bike commuter to catch a taxi

- A pedestrian walks in front of a bike commuter

Permalink Reply by Jack Crowe on February 20, 2013 at 11:31am

I work at Monroe and Dearborn. I had been taking the Dearborn bike lane every day for work since it opened. The last two days I took Clark from Kinzie to Monroe instead of Dearborn from Kinzie to Monroe.

I have a hard time getting up in the morning, I did this because I was running late AND I actually had a watch on.

- The light timing on Dearborn is frustrating on this stretch going south. I could try to hit the lights but I'd have to book it and I don't want to be going that fast and risk hitting an inattentive pedestrian who is also booking it and wearing headphones.

- There's always SOMETHING. (I don't mind riding behind slow riders, I like to check out their bikes and their gear because winter cyclists have the coolest stuff in my opinion.) Puddles, ice, snow shoveled off from the sidewalk, vans parked, left turners running reds, left turners not looking before they go into the alley, people standing, people using it as a second sidewalk by that weird stretch by the garage entrance.

- I have to pull a u-turn at Monroe if I'm riding Dearborn to get to the alley entrance. This is logistics.

My main point is, when the danger of the taxis that do very aggressive actions toward me on Clark seems equally frustrating with "it's always something" Dearborn, I have come to the conclusion that it's going to take a lot of encouragement to get your friends and enemies riding in the lane, to get more people riding in the lane year round, raise awareness, improve conditions. Tell them "the need of the many exceeds the needs of the one" and show off your Spock ("lobster claw") gloves.

Just some complaining that turned into pep talk? Or maybe I just like the sound my keyboard makes.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on February 20, 2013 at 12:33pm

Cabbies are constantly jumping out in front of me by the Westin hotel just north of the river. They like to use that area as a cab stand and have no problem crossing the bike lane to enter the parking lot without looking for cyclists.

Jack Crowe said:

My main point is, when the danger of the taxis that do very aggressive actions toward me on Clark seems equally frustrating with "it's always something" Dearborn, I have come to the conclusion that it's going to take a lot of encouragement to get your friends and enemies riding in the lane, to get more people riding in the lane year round, raise awareness, improve conditions. Tell them "the need of the many exceeds the needs of the one" and show off your Spock ("lobster claw") gloves.

Just some complaining that turned into pep talk? Or maybe I just like the sound my keyboard makes.

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