The Chainlink

After parking complaints from locals, a West Side protected lane is being changed to a buffered lane

The Chicago Department of Transportation recently installed protected bike lanes on Independence Boulevard in Lawndale, an underserved community on the city's West Side. 24th Ward Alderman Michael Chandler signed off on the design a year ago. But after locals complained that they felt unsafe exiting their cars in the new "floating" parking lanes, and that the new configuration makes church and residential parking more difficult, Chandler blasted the lanes at community meetings and demanded that they be changed to allow curbside parking.

CDOT will be repainting the lanes this winter to convert them to buffered lanes, which do not provide a physical barrier between cyclists and moving cars, at an estimated additional cost in the low $10,000s. I talked to CDOT deputy commissioner Scott Kubly to get his perspective on the issue, and learn about the department's strategies to avoid this situation in the future:

http://gridchicago.com/2013/state-of-independence-the-protected-bik...

Keep moving forward,

John Greenfield

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Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on January 8, 2013 at 1:45pm

I think it's a lot harder to get people to come out for meetings about bike facilities in neighborhoods where there isn't currently a lot of cycling. I attended several sparsely-to-moderately attended Streets for Cycling meetings on the South, West and Far Northwest sides. The only meeting held in a neighborhood that already has a lot of cycling, Lincoln Square, was packed.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 8, 2013 at 1:56pm

Another example of the chicken/egg problem!

John Greenfield said:

I think it's a lot harder to get people to come out for meetings about bike facilities in neighborhoods where there isn't currently a lot of cycling. I attended several sparsely-to-moderately attended Streets for Cycling meetings on the South, West and Far Northwest sides. The only meeting held in a neighborhood that already has a lot of cycling, Lincoln Square, was packed.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on January 8, 2013 at 2:07pm

Absolutely.  And my example about lack of meeting venues available in the evening is one of city budget cuts having many unintended consequences.

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

Another example of the chicken/egg problem!

John Greenfield said:

I think it's a lot harder to get people to come out for meetings about bike facilities in neighborhoods where there isn't currently a lot of cycling. I attended several sparsely-to-moderately attended Streets for Cycling meetings on the South, West and Far Northwest sides. The only meeting held in a neighborhood that already has a lot of cycling, Lincoln Square, was packed.

Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on January 9, 2013 at 1:06am

Thank you for your reply, John.

I really appreciated it.

 

Respectfully,

 

Manny

John Greenfield said:

Manny,

From the Grid Chicago post, here's what CDOT Deputy Commissioner Scott Kubly had to say about the issues you bring up:

I called Kubly for his take on what happened with Independence. “We had talked to the alderman about the lanes a year ago and discussed them at several public meetings for the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020, including meetings at Garfield Park and Douglas Park,” he says. “But there were folks who hadn’t been tracking the project who had a number of concerns. I think we will definitely try to engage the local alderman more in the future. All parties could have done a better job of communicating.” He adds that the premature ticketing, likely done by a combination of police and Department of Revenue staff, was also due to crossed wires.

“This has been a good learning experience for us,” Kubly says. “In the future we’ll make sure there’s no ticketing until the lanes are completed. And we’re learning how to better communicate what the changes to the roadway are. We might have temporary signage and put flyers on windshields explaining how to use the floating parking lanes. When we installed the new [two-way protected] bikes lanes on Dearborn it was a reaction to what happened on Independence. We spraypainted ‘parking’ on those parking lanes to make it obvious where to park.”

Noting that the Lawndale residents seemed to view the new configuration as a hassle with no upside for them because they see little demand for bike lanes in the neighborhood, I asked Kubly how CDOT plans to avoid this scenario in the future. “We need to communicate that this is actually a benefit for all users,” he says. “People perceive protected lanes as bike projects but, pure and simple, they’re safety projects. We’re trying to find alternative uses for excess right-of way so we can slow cars and make it safer for everyone.”

Kubly says CDOT plans to make more of an effort to get the word out to community stakeholders about its bike lane proposals, pay more attention to special uses like church parking in the design process, and work harder to educate the public about the function and benefits of the new street layout. “You can turn this into a bad experience or a good experience. We’re choosing to do the latter.”

Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on January 9, 2013 at 1:08am

Thank you for the reply, Anne.

It is nice to know that someone is actually reading our comments....and replying to them...when they are about community concerns.

 

Respectfully,

 

Manny


 
Anne Alt 2-10 said:

Manny - I was a community outreach volunteer for the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020.  In most areas of the city, getting residents to come out, get information and offer their thoughts on the plan was a challenge.  There was publicity about the meetings, but most residents did not attend.  The plan was developed through input from those who did attend.

I've said from the beginning that education and outreach to coincide with the introduction of new lanes would be critical to their success.  I think it's unfortunate that CDOT, aldermen and neighborhood chambers of commerce haven't done more to get the word out and ensure the success of these changes.

In areas like the west side, we tend to have a "chicken or the egg" dilemma with most new bike lanes. The streets where many of us would like to have them currently don't get a lot of bike traffic, so non-cyclists in the neighborhoods may not perceive a need for the lanes.  Once they're established (as long as they're not constantly violated by cars), more cyclists are likely to come.  

We've had similar issues with some south side bike lanes (such as King Drive).  I'm currently pushing for one of the biggies yet to come - Vincennes. Many of us on the far south side could really benefit from having lanes re-established on Vincennes (as well as viaduct repair at 83rd St.).  We definitely have a "chicken or the egg" situation there.  Bike traffic is low, and there isn't going to be a significant amount without improvements to make it easier to ride between neighborhoods.  For those of us who were involved on the south side, getting those improvements so we could get around easier, as well as encouraging others to ride, was a big motivator.

I applaud those aldermen who have supported the plan.  I hope that we can get more buy-in from south and west side aldermen as the route network continues to expand.  If you live in a ward where you're not sure of your alderman's position on bike routes, speak up.  Contact the ward office and let them know that you want bike lanes.

Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on January 9, 2013 at 1:22am

I want to know what heppened to the bike lane(s) on Archer (NE & SW bound)under the overpass just before Halsted, and anywhere else on Archer (SW from that point).

There is plenty of room for one on the north side of the street until the bridge over the River/Canal before Ashland.

One is also needed SW bound from Ashland to the I-55 on-ramp pathway (some fricken "genius" figured that moronic route out by using the "Helen Keller view of the Interstate" app) that was added during the "rebuild" of that area (something that happened during the 19+ yrs that I was away from Chicago serving in the military). I think it was much better when there was a "Thru-traffic" over pass, and the lower for local traffic. (No use crying over spilled and curdled miilk...LOL !)

I would also like to see bike lanes all the way to Cicero or Harlem. I would like to safely go out to the SW suburbs to the Forest Preserves, Little Red Schoolhouse, Maple/Bullfrog Lakes, Swallow Cliff, etc. for a picnic/hike, without needing to depend on my car/truck.

And I am pretty sure that I am not alone on this one.

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Manny
 
Anne Alt 2-10 said:

Archer and Vincennes are complex ones for the planners.  I know that Archer is more complex due to the mix of zoning/property usage.

Does anyone on the planning team have an update about Archer?  I know several people who would *love* to see bike lanes there.

Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

This whole thing is particularly frustrating for those of us on the southwest side who still don't have any kind of bike lanes on most of Archer despite the fact that it does get used by a lot of riders and that there are no viable alternatives due to a tangle of the canal, the interstate, the airport, intermodal facilities and other rail lines.

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on January 9, 2013 at 8:21am

Sure thing Manny.

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