Who cares for the LFT???

As a daily bike commuter on the lakefront path on and off for years, I've often felt insulted by how long serious life-threatening surface condition problems are allowed to persist.  It feels like despite tens of thousands of daily users, we're just those little cyclist people.  Meanwhile just a fence-width away on lakeshore drive such dangers would never be left to fester so.

This year in particular though the problems are so egregious and dangerous, some now months old, I felt something had to be said.

I've tried the 311 app for several problems such as a specific huge pothole, and a boulder on the path (too large for one person to move, a construction crew left it there), and gotten "the problem has been resolved" messages back a few days later, with nothing actually done.  The boulder one I even resubmitted, and got the same reply again, though it's still there.

I figured next step is contact the appropriate agency directly, but not sure who that is.

Can perhaps an Active Trans rep followup and pester the city on behalf of this lifetime members?

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on March 23, 2016 at 4:25am

Agreed, seriously big job, flatbed, crane.  My disgruntled side wants to bring ten friends and throw it in the lake.  I doubt it would've stayed an hour had it fallen the other way.  I wouldn't be surprised even if it did, then they moved it onto our path.

Permalink Reply by S on March 23, 2016 at 5:12am

Well having something blocking all northbound lanes of LSD is a bit more of an issue than having something block the LFT given that the LFT doesn't get much traffic in winter and that most of the users can just step over the pole.  

Also I think the park district is pretty cautious about having any vehicles on that stretch of the path ever since a truck slid off the curve and into the lake last winter.

Permalink Reply by Joe Schmoe on March 23, 2016 at 8:00am

Hey y'all. I understand your frustration. But please bear in mind that there isn't an existing paving technology that can withstand the pounding winter surf, 30 mph winds, icing, plus the rapid freezing and thawing that the path experiences.Think about any road you've ever been on; have you ever seen one built in such a way that it's constantly getting beaten by the weather, without some kind of barricade? Unless some kind of barrier is built to keep the waves off of it entirely, it's a non-starter. It's going to get damaged. I agree that they should be more proactive about removing debris, but it's just not cost-effective for them to repave more than once a year.

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on March 23, 2016 at 8:17am

A quick google search for "waterproof pavement" finds that it's a rich topic that's been heavily explored around the world especially on island nations.  Numerous solutions exist, and in particular I learned that highways (like LSD just a few meters inland) use vastly more robust techniques. I'm no pavement expert (yet), but it appears at minimum they could have used a ballast layer or rebar.

And that aside, half the issues I mention here (all in just a few miles of path) are debris related, not pavement.

Part of what this thread is about to me is that we can and should expect better.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on March 23, 2016 at 8:46am

Rebar is used for concrete, not asphalt, but in there lies the solution. The Park District should rip out the asphalt down to its foundation and then replace it with concrete which will withstand the weather and water, rather than asphalt bandaids.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on March 23, 2016 at 8:58am

It's likely such a solution, while the bees knees, would probably require a lot more engineering work, given LFT's proximity to LSD in that problematic stretch.

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on March 23, 2016 at 9:03am

I used "rebar" for simplicity, but in general my brief research found there are multiple embedded fiber or cable or mesh approaches to asphalt pavement reinforcement for such cases.  If you're gonna dream, dream big.  I want oak to grand paved with photocells and smartLEDs.

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on March 23, 2016 at 4:02pm

Or at least embedded heating elements.

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood”

I'd like to see that stretch weatherproofed so that it can be ridden year round. Problem is that it can't be plowed because the slope is so slippery that the equipment needed will slide into the lake, as happened recently. 

But even if that were done, we'd still have the problem with the Oak Street curve which can be unpassable during severe weather.

There are some plans to completely rebuild the outer drive but like anything else, it all comes down to money.

Permalink Reply by ad on March 24, 2016 at 7:59am

I agree with the idea that we can and should expect better, including on the LFT and every other bicycle route, but infrastructure repair is something this City has been horrible about period. 

I don't necessarily look at it as an us vs. them thing, because many, many streets in this City (including LSD up to just a few years ago, as anyone who's done bike the drive can attest to) are often kept in just as horrible of shape.  My route from the loop to the west side means I ride at times on streets with no cycling infrastructure, like Fulton (which is a heavily used cycling route by many), and some of the pavement conditions put anything else I've seen in the City to shame.

Short of a top down solution and better funding that isn't so reliant on federal grants only, infrastructure period is just never going to get better---whether it be rail, streets, bike paths, etc.   

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on March 24, 2016 at 9:17am

Its certainly the proximity to a currently well maintained LSD that amplifies my irk.  And that we get the nasty crumbling edges of streets.  Cars do get even worse pavement but have better wheels for it.

Some reallocated military spending could go a long way...

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on March 25, 2016 at 7:32am

(Shhhhhh!  You're undermining the beleaguered bicyclists narrative!)

Permalink Reply by John Wilson 6.0 on March 24, 2016 at 7:18am

Light pole was gone this morning.

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