Lawrence Avenue Streetscape Almost Done!
I've been pretty unhappy that for almost the last year the ride from Clark to Western on Lawrence has been a mess. The city dug up the sides of the street for sewer work and just left very rough patching on top. My understanding is they did this because they knew the streetscaping project would come through and and bring with it a complete resurfacing.
Which brings me to the Lawrence Avenue streetscape project.
Like many of you, I've been frustrated about how much of the urban transportation network in Chicago is given over to cars. There are no streets I know of where cars don't have access. I'd like to see bike/bus/pedestrian only streets like those that exist n other cities. I'm not convinced businesses would suffer - think city squares in Europe - and it sure would encourage more walking and riding.
I thought the streetscape project would continue this car centric approach to urban design. I was wrong.
Based on these great plans - I understand that the project will reduce auto lanes from 4 -3 and encourage more pedestrian crossing with the asphalt crosswalks. In other words, for drivers it will get a whole lot harder to use Lawrence as a major access route to Western and the Kennedy.
The plan projects that auto transportation times will increase from 3-9 minutes from Clark to Western. That is not insignificant and I'm hoping it will discourage people from taking Lawrence and hopefully consider driving less and making more use of biking/walking/buses.
So now I'm more or less happy with the $13 million they are spending on this effort. They only have the Ravenswood Clark portion left to do and it seems they will have the South side of Lawrence done within the next three weeks. Yes, I can estimate it because I have watched the snail like pace they've moved on the completed sections!
As an aside, for those who don't know there is a still new Marianos and LA Fitness at Ravenswood/Lawrence. This area (I live in Uptown) is not well served with supermarkets so the Mariano's is a godsend. And the LA Fitness - despite all the horrible reviews I read - isn't half bad (even compared to LSAC, which is $60/month more). The Lawrence streetscape should make my 5 minute ride from Uptown to Marianos/LA Fitness safer and faster.
Views: 415
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on
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I've been critical about how long this project has taken to finish.
But I'm a believer. The motor vehicle traffic has calmed considerably and this looks like a great improvement for peds and cyclists.
Bring on Devon!
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Permalink Reply by Josh L. on
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It really is amazing how long it has taken.If they hadn't dug up the sewers last year at least we could have safely biked the stretch. I see riders riking right next to car doors because they don't want to ride on the temporary "track."
Fran Kondorf said:I've been critical about how long this project has taken to finish.
But I'm a believer. The motor vehicle traffic has calmed considerably and this looks like a great improvement for peds and cyclists.
Bring on Devon!
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Permalink Reply by Duppie on
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I like it a lot. Too bad that they installed conventional bikelanes and buffer protected or better.
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What would have been better?
Duppie said:I like it a lot. Too bad that they installed conventional bikelanes and buffer protected or better.
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Sloppy writing from my side. I meant to say "conventional bikelanes and NOT buffer protected or better."
jolondon30 said:What would have been better?
Duppie said:I like it a lot. Too bad that they installed conventional bikelanes and buffer protected or better.
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Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on
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Now the same thing needs to be done on Milwaukee, from Lawrence north to Elston.
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That would be expensive...much longer distance.
Bob Kastigar said:Now the same thing needs to be done on Milwaukee, from Lawrence north to Elston.
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Permalink Reply by Grace Van Moer 8.25 mi on
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Really wish they had put buffers on the bike lanes. The bike lane is tight to the parking, and the parking is just wide enough for a vehicle, so basically the whole bike lane is in the door zone. Bummer. That said, at least there's marked lane now.
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even the outside edge of the doorzone? usually they measure to that (at least that's my operative theory).
Grace Van Moer 8.25 mi said:Really wish they had put buffers on the bike lanes. The bike lane is tight to the parking, and the parking is just wide enough for a vehicle, so basically the whole bike lane is in the door zone. Bummer. That said, at least there's marked lane now.
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The paving from Ravenswood to Ashland is now complete. Their deadline dot id get it done was 10/31 which explains why there were working six days a week since 10/1. Now just the bike lanes need to be marked and the Ashland/Clark piece completed.
I rode the Ravenswood/Western portion tonight (because of the Mariano's/LA Fitness I rarely ride west on Lawrence past Ravenswood anymore). Really struck by the changing dynamics of the street for bikers. My sense is that the car traffic has effectively been forced to drive much slower given the reduction in lanes and the heavily marked crosswalks.
Kudos to the City for making this happen. These lanes - while not the fully protected buffered types - make it much easier to feel safer while riding/crossing the street. Particularly in the evenings I always felt Lawrence was a bit of a free for all...now not so much.
I'm also interested in seeing how the area develops in terms of small business. My understanding is that the Streetscape is also intended to make Lawrence a more attractive place to shop.
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