Active Trans pushing Milwaukee PBL petition

I got an email from the Active Transportation Alliance, which reads, in part:

Chicago will soon decide whether to install protected bike lanes on Milwaukee Avenue this spring between Elston and Kinzie, as the first stretch of safety improvements that will eventually extend all the way to Devon. By creating more order on an often chaotic and hazardous street, protected bike lanes would make Milwaukee Avenue safer for everyone, whether you are walking, biking or driving.

Based on my limited experience with the Dearborn PBL and the Church St PBL in Evanston, I'm thinking the kinks should get worked out of the system before adding more such lanes.  Am I the only person who thinks this way?


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Permalink Reply by Davo on March 4, 2013 at 8:36am

Elston to Kinzie seems like a good place for one. I find it hard to believe that it would extend through wicker park since the road is really narrow there.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on March 4, 2013 at 8:43am

It's not so much whether the area could use a functioning PBL.  For me it's more that the ones that already exist have a set of problems which haven't fully been resolved.  I think, in particular, that the Dearborn PBL should be functioning smoothly before more such lanes are added.

As a bikie who occasionally drives a car, I caught myself, not once, but twice, over the weekend turning right off Church onto Maple in Evanston, only to realize after I completed the turn that I had failed to look for bikes (hiding) in the PBL. The protection in this case is a row of parked cars, which in my opinion largely obscure bikes, not just low bollards.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on March 4, 2013 at 8:56am

The e-mail and the Active Trans forum discussion are not specific, but my memory is that the plan was for protected lanes like Kinzie and Elston and it is for the stretch between Kinzie and Elston. 

Permalink Reply by Anika on March 4, 2013 at 9:38am


Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

The e-mail and the Active Trans forum discussion are not specific, but my memory is that the plan was for protected lanes like Kinzie and Elston and it is for the stretch between Kinzie and Elston. 


It starts with the stretch between Kinzie and Elston but may stretch up to Devon eventually. At least that was what the email indicated.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on March 4, 2013 at 10:02am

With the exception of the Milwaukee, Chicago and Ogden intersection, which is in desperate need of a redesign/rebuild, a protected bike lane from Elston to Kinzie would be an absolute waste of resources. There are long stretches of that route (on Milwaukee) with no parking, very few conflict points between bikes and cars and very little risk of doorings. The existing painted bike lanes are more than adequate. 

Permalink Reply by spencewine on March 4, 2013 at 10:19am

There is no such thing as a perfect bike lane, never was, probably never will be. So waiting until all kinks are worked out = no more PBLs. If that's your stance, then fine, just don't try to hide what you're advocating.

Me, I can deal with the occasional annoyances that occur. Regarding the future and whether we should have more PBLs, All I have to do is answer these questions:

- Do I use the PBLs? Yes, whenever they are avaible to use.

- Are the PBLs better than regular bike lanes? IMO, yes, much better. 

 

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on March 4, 2013 at 10:31am

SPBL? (Symbolically...)

h' 1.0 said:

I still have not made peace with the use of "protected bike lane" to describe something that's not truly protected in the least.  Maybe we can at least settle on QPBL?  (quasi-)

Permalink Reply by spencewine on March 4, 2013 at 10:38am

Nothing short of not riding your bicycle will truly protect you. Perhaps that's something you should consider if it's really keeping you up at night.
 
h' 1.0 said:

I still have not made peace with the use of "protected bike lane" to describe something that's not truly protected in the least. 

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on March 4, 2013 at 10:41am

I'm not hiding anything.  I think there are significant issues with the Dearborn lane, important enough issues that I think the city ought to be careful before it spends a bunch of money installing such lanes elsewhere.  I disagree with you about them being significantly better than regular bike lanes.  In fact, the couple I've seen so far seem to be worse.

spencewine said:

There is no such thing as a perfect bike lane, never was, probably never will be. So waiting until all kinks are worked out = no more PBLs. If that's your stance, then fine, just don't try to hide what you're advocating.

Me, I can deal with the occasional annoyances that occur. Regarding the future and whether we should have more PBLs, All I have to do is answer these questions:

- Do I use the PBLs? Yes, whenever they are avaible to use.

- Are the PBLs better than regular bike lanes? IMO, yes, much better. 

 

Permalink Reply by David Barish on March 4, 2013 at 10:55am

I understand Skip's point.  I do not like the Evanston lane.  I like the idea of it.  However, I don't like right hand doors coming into play as passengers are even more likely to be clueless than drivers in terms of looking out for a bike. The only good thing is that if you get doored in that lane you are not going to veer into traffic as those parked cars are between you and the traffic. I give the Darborn lane a pass as it tries to accomplish a lot of things and does accomplish a good handful of them.  I ride it on weekdays mainly to show support for the concept but never think of using it when traffic is light. I would much rather be on a regular street and will use Clark or LaSalle. I will get through the loop much quicker on those streets. All that aside, I will support a lane on Milwaukee.  Something has to be done there.  Whether it needs to be a fully "protected" lane is up for debate.

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