Aldermanic panel: Bike riders on Sheridan sidewalks pay $200 fine
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter September 9, 2013 3:16PM
Updated: September 9, 2013 3:17PM
Bicycle riders who turn the crowded sidewalks of Sheridan Road into an illegal continuation of the lakefront bike path would pay through the nose — with a $200 fine — under a crackdown advanced Monday to prevent sidewalk collisions, often involving seniors.
Ald. Harry Osterman (48th) said he’s picking up where his predecessor left off to protect elderly residents of the high-rises and nursing homes that line Sheridan Road.
At Osterman’s behest, the City Council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety agreed Monday to quadruple the fines for sidewalk intrusions on Sheridan between Ardmore and Devon.
Cyclists 12 or older are prohibited from riding their bikes on Chicago sidewalks.
The north lakefront bicycle path ends at Ardmore, which is at 5800 north. The one-block stretch between Thorndale and Ardmore is a key chokepoint because it’s the place where the lakefront bike path ends and the Sheridan sidewalks begin.
“People get off the bike path and go north. A lot of them are…taking the appropriate bike routes on Kenmore and Winthrop. But there are still some that take that turn and ride on the sidewalks. That’s where you have seniors walking down the street. It’s a significant problem. Very dense buildings with an elderly population,” Osterman said.
“It’s a small sidewalk. We’ve had accidents where seniors have been very significantly injured. And not just seniors, but people just walking down the street. We’re going to increase the signage telling people where to ride their bikes. But having this measure in place will deter people as well.”
In 2001, then-Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th) and Ald. Joe Moore (49th) proposed turning Sheridan between Ardmore and Devon into a “bicycle forfeiture zone.”
They wanted to seize the wheels of offending bike riders and give the bikes back, only if the offending cyclist could prove to an administrative hearing officer that they weren’t riding on the Sheridan sidewalk.
Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, an early-morning user of the lakefront bike path, acknowledged that “something had to be done” to ease tension between cyclists, joggers and pedestrians.
“You have a lot of people up there. You have Loyola. You have a lot of seniors. You have a lot nursing homes in that area and they use the sidewalks quite heavily along Sheridan Road. If you hit somebody, people are going to get injured,” Daley said then.
But the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation denounced the crackdown as “draconian” and the bike forfeiture ordinance went nowhere.
Two years later, Smith proposed a watered down replacement imposing $50 fines against cyclists who ride illegally on Sheridan sidewalks.
Smith traded her legislative “sledgehammer” for a felt hammer after a year-long crackdown that featured hundreds of tickets and more than 100 booted bikes. It reduced the number of bikes riding illegally on Sheridan sidewalks from 40-an-hour to one or two.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to create a ground-breaking network of protected bike lanes — and launch the nation’s largest bike-sharing program — has increased tension among cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.
Earlier this year, the City Council approved the mayor’s plan to throw the book at reckless motorists and cowboy cyclists in hopes that the higher fines would ease roadway conflicts between the two.
The Emanuel-championed ordinance raised fines for cyclists who disobey the city’s traffic laws — from $25 for all offenses to $50-to-$200 depending on the severity of the violation.
The mayor’s plan also doubled — to $1,000 — the fine imposed against motorists who open their doors without looking into the path of cyclists. The fines for leaving a car door open in traffic also doubled — to $300.
http://www.suntimes.com/22462161-761/aldermanic-panel-bike-riders-o...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on
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There is no such sign there.
Serge Lubomudrov said:The sign by the underpass on Addison and LSD threatens those who ride bicycles through that underpass with arrest. Has it ever stopped anyone?
Sol said:It doesn't matter how high the fine is if there is never any enforcement. [...]
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Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on
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The article quotes Ald. Osterman as saying, "We’ve had accidents where seniors have been very significantly injured. And not just seniors, but people just walking down the street."
Are any of these incidents documented? Because I smell something here, and it's not a nice breeze coming off of the lake.
I would bet that the vast majority of these crashes, and almost all of the injuries, are apocryphal. They're the kind of fish stories that invariably start out with an "almost", as in, "That cyclist almost killed me!" And the fish gets bigger, or the injuries get worse, with every retelling.
In fact, I can't find many documented incidents of pedestrians being seriously injured by cyclists on sidewalks anywhere in Chicago (that does not include the lakefront multi-use path, which is a very dangerous place to ride). And there are exactly zero cases of pedestrians being killed by cyclists in Chicago, on sidewalks or anywhere else.
On the other hand, dozens of pedestrians are killed by cars every year in Chicago. This, of course, includes pedestrian fatalities along Sheridan Road. Here's the most recent:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/08/23/cab-fatally-strikes-woman-86...
But instead of basing policy on real data, and focusing on motorists who are actually killing people, including his constituents, Osterman and his peers on the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety panel want to base policy on hypothetical scenarios and exaggerated anecdotes of cyclists injuring people.I don't buy it. If they really want to make that area safer, they should crack down on motorists, not cyclists.
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Permalink Reply by Eli on
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I recall a couple years ago that a cab driver actually hit and killed a pedestrian on the sidewalk along Sheridan (the cab driver was exiting a driveway or parking area through a curb cut), though I can't find the link now.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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Yep, those signs aren't imaginary. That being said, they're not exactly in cyclists' line of sight. If the city really wanted people to get the message, they'd place those signs where the intended audience would see them. How many people do you know who make a habit of looking at signs 10 feet up on a pole? Just my $0.02...
Serge Lubomudrov said:Perhaps in vain, but I'm still waiting for, if not an apology, at least something like, "Oh, shucks, how did I miss those signs?"
Right, Gene?
Serge Lubomudrov said:
Gene Tenner said:There is no such sign there.
Serge Lubomudrov said:The sign by the underpass on Addison and LSD threatens those who ride bicycles through that underpass with arrest. Has it ever stopped anyone?
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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on
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About as much as "sorry, I didn't see the guy on the bike" does for car drivers.
Serge Lubomudrov said:I would forward this question to our resident lawyers: Does "Sorry, Officer, I didn't see that sign" defense work? (Not to mention, riding on sidewalks in Chicago is prohibited for persons over 12 years old, sign or no sign.)
Anne Alt said:Yep, those signs aren't imaginary. That being said, they're not exactly in cyclists' line of sight. If the city really wanted people to get the message, they'd place those signs where the intended audience would see them.
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Remember the discussion about this at yesterday's MBAC meeting? They said it was originally $250 - when these signs were made and installed, then dropped down to $50, and the new ordinance bumps it back up to $200. All that time, the signs haven't changed.
Michelle Stenzel said:I thought it was already a $250 fine, plus disabling of bike and arrest? I took these pictures on Sheridan Rd some time in 2011.
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Permalink Reply by Tim S on
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Night Owl said:Osterman has had a bug about bikes and all things Sheridan for a long while now. Hopefully with this he'll move on to other issues. It won't be the trail extension to Thorndale though - word is he's killing that project.
He is working for those that voted him in, if you don't vote you don't have a say in things.
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Cute, you thing he is going to respond.
Serge Lubomudrov said:Gene? Hello?
Gene Tenner said:There is no such sign there.
Serge Lubomudrov said:The sign by the underpass on Addison and LSD threatens those who ride bicycles through that underpass with arrest. Has it ever stopped anyone?
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Permalink Reply by Dean Bekken on
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Hmm... dodging used needles and condoms on Kenthrop corridor or bitchy doddering rich fucks on the Silver Coast. Nice options for such a heavily travelled area. Cooperation with Loyola and their genuflectation of the neighborhood is the only hope we have.... until the old biddies die off.
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PS: You can confiscate my bike from my cold, dead fingers. And Good luck catching me, officer Lardass
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Permalink Reply by Duppie on
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Shows just how much of a priority this really is.
Anne Alt said:Remember the discussion about this at yesterday's MBAC meeting? They said it was originally $250 - when these signs were made and installed, then dropped down to $50, and the new ordinance bumps it back up to $200. All that time, the signs haven't changed.
Michelle Stenzel said:I thought it was already a $250 fine, plus disabling of bike and arrest? I took these pictures on Sheridan Rd some time in 2011.
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About 10 years ago I got a $250 TICKET for crossing through the driveway of my sister's condo building at Ardmore and Sheridan. At any rate, a big female police officer grabbed my bike and I went to court and luckily got it down to a $35 ticket. $200 is nothing:) And they will collect. The city is broke. I never ride on the sidewalks and I also go by there all the time and never see any police officers anymore. Of course, I got my ticket on a Labor Day weekend:) Ironically, at the time, the police officer had no idea where the south bound bike route was anyway and at the time I did not know. I follow all cycling/car rules and I am almost killed daily by cyclists who don't. I wish they would get ticketed.
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