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 Sarah D. on
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+1.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:Well, riding on the sidewalk is illegal, so you can't blame the city on this one. That being said, many people riding on the sidewalk is indicative that they don't feel safe mixing with car traffic on that stretch of road. The city should look at this and consider some sort of on-street bike facilities.
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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on
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That's what Winthrop and Kenmore are for. Signs even say so at Ardmore. Both streets have been through construction but they've never been impassable and are fine, now.
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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on
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+ another 1.
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:Well, riding on the sidewalk is illegal, so you can't blame the city on this one. That being said, many people riding on the sidewalk is indicative that they don't feel safe mixing with car traffic on that stretch of road. The city should look at this and consider some sort of on-street bike facilities.
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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on
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It's not in my "traffic pattern" but what if people on bikes just started riding on Sheridan? The street, not the sidewalk.
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Permalink Reply by Rich S on
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That stretch of Sheridan isn't a very pleasant ride. Drivers are still at LSD speed and there is no shoulder or parked cars. Just 2 somewhat narrow lanes each way.
Anytime I'm riding north up that way I take Kenmore. It's just a block west and is much nicer to ride on than Sheridan. I'm not in support of making Sheridan a more "ride-able" street simply because Kenmore and Winthrop and great alternates and are within a block or two. I am in support of CPD actually enforcing the speed limit on Sheridan. They cry about budget and revenue but a speed trap on that section of Sheridan would rake in lots of $$$$.
Michael J Blane 6.5 said:It's not in my "traffic pattern" but what if people on bikes just started riding on Sheridan? The street, not the sidewalk.
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Permalink Reply by Shaun Jacobsen on
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My thing is that Winthrop and Kenmore aren't signed well and last I remember, the roads weren't in that great of condition either. That was in the spring though.
I understand that many among us - those that ride bikes often - would understand to use those two streets. But tourists or others that don't ride that often probably wouldn't even know they're there. I don't remember it being signed too well after getting off the LFT.
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Permalink Reply by Night Owl on
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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.
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No need to spend the money for an extension to Thorndale when you'll have to go over to Kenmore, anyway.
Unlike the project the city is working on for Fullerton.
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Permalink Reply by David Barish on
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I generally agree but common sense is needed. In general, riders should not be on those sidewalks or Sheridan for that matter. However, a rider may need to access an address on Sheridan or may need to cross it at times and be on the road or walk for a few feet or yards. If that rider, especially during a low impact time, is clearly trying to limit his/her footprint a ticket should not be written. Those who barrel through the sidewalk oblivious to Grandma and her basket of groceries deserve the ticket and a cartoon mallet to the head. I have ridden with a group that every once in a while gets on the LFP on some early, early Saturday rides just below Hollywood. Coming off a side street they cross Sheridan and ride the sidewalk for about 75 feet to get to an eastbound entry to the park. They go slowly and almost never encounter a soul.
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The solution seems simple to me. Knock down all of the highrises East of Sheridan and reopen the Lakefront. This isn't that hard to do. Simply do not allow new tenants to rent as the existing tenant die out. At some point...... you have buildings that are no longer viable....
Or go for the Land Fill Scheme that has been proposed for years and build a new shore line several hundred yards from the current shoreline and make the new land all park with a dedicated Bike Highway.
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Best idea yet.
Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:The solution seems simple to me. Knock down all of the highrises East of Sheridan and reopen the Lakefront. This isn't that hard to do. Simply do not allow new tenants to rent as the existing tenant die out. At some point...... you have buildings that are no longer viable....
Or go for the Land Fill Scheme that has been proposed for years and build a new shore line several hundred yards from the current shoreline and make the new land all park with a dedicated Bike Highway.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle S on
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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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