The ultimate urban-to-suburban bike paths in Chicago

Chicago should have some of the best bike paths, trails, tunnels, elevated routes, you name it, in the world... after all, we have the nation's 'third coast', a wealth of easily bikable suburban destinations (um, Oak Park's architecture anyone?!)... yet our bike paths in and out of the city-proper are horrible, perceived as dangerous at night or if not in groups (statistically high crime areas), and car-laden (and Chicago is one of the nation's worst traffic cities). Why is this not a bigger priority?

 

Dallas has a wonderful trail system in-and-out of the city, Portland is notoriously bike friendly, but unless you live in Chicago "downtown" or near the lake, it's a complete island.

 

Chicago is congested. It's not like we have Texas-sized land and space to expand onto. So...

 

Has anyone ever heard of a city creating tunnels or other enclosed areas for bikes/human powered vehicles? Tunnels or semi-enclosed paths would work in inclement weather too. I suppose a path could also be elevated, so long as it was a dedicated surface for bikes and other human powered vehicles. These ideas are probably not as realistic though.

 

We also have existing transportation routes like the Prairie Path. However, these aren't heavily trafficked by your average commuter until you are West of, say, Maywood. And even then, there is a lot of gravel and rough patches. Does anyone know of initiatives to boost the rideability, aesthetics, and safety of paths like this?

 

What do folks know about Chicago urban-to-suburban best-biking options, and any plans in the works? Who is interested in helping to research this?

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Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on July 18, 2011 at 11:15am
This is an idea I have been thinking about for a while also.
Permalink Reply by Ken Gray on July 18, 2011 at 1:02pm
I think I'd freak out riding in a very long tunnel. Give me the streets even the "stastistically high crime" areas. A long tunnel just seems to claustrophobic to me.
Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on July 18, 2011 at 1:22pm

I have been seriously rethinking my Idea.

Instead of having a tunnel for most of the way through. I have been thinking of just having some suspended solar panel array that protects the cyclist year-round for major commuting lanes. The trees on the side would help to contain the windtunnel aspect of it.

Permalink Reply by MK on July 18, 2011 at 2:45pm
Ditto. I'd be happier with more dedicated bike only streets. Greenways and trails are good with me.

Ken Gray said:
I think I'd freak out riding in a very long tunnel. Give me the streets even the "stastistically high crime" areas. A long tunnel just seems to claustrophobic to me.
Permalink Reply by S on July 18, 2011 at 3:13pm

I think the tunnel idea is pretty much infeasible.  Socially, it seems like a really bad idea to create infrastructure that those in the bad areas can't access.  If they can access it easily then a tunnel where you don't have much mobility and which is shielded from public view seems like an excellent spot for a mugging. 

 

The ROI is probably horrible on something like this.  Underground tunnels are expensive to build especially if you are trying not to dig up the road. Something like this would probably cost a few million per mile so unless you're charging pretty high tolls, I don't see this being cost effective. 

Permalink Reply by S on July 18, 2011 at 3:24pm


Juan said:

I have been seriously rethinking my Idea.

Instead of having a tunnel for most of the way through. I have been thinking of just having some suspended solar panel array that protects the cyclist year-round for major commuting lanes. The trees on the side would help to contain the windtunnel aspect of it.

Hi Juan,

 

Your idea is interesting but I don't see how effective it would be.  An overhead array of solar panels won't produce much power and unless it's really wide won't protect cyclists from the weather. I think having dedicated cycling lanes/streets and greenways are probably a much better use of government funds.

Permalink Reply by Jonny Sprockets on July 18, 2011 at 3:36pm

Juan, that is cool--what is the picture from?

 

OK, so let's say we can accomplish dedicated lanes or roads... we all know (ahem, Prairie Path from Maywood-in) they won't be used unless they feel safe. Do they become toll-based with some measure of security or entrance-check-in from said tolls?

Permalink Reply by Steve Tanner on July 18, 2011 at 4:58pm

Reminds me of the old tunnel idea for cars featured in the vintage 1958 Disney cartoon short, Magic Highways... which of course didn't involve bikes, but still had cool tunnels!

 

Permalink Reply by Jonny Sprockets on July 18, 2011 at 5:11pm

Let's drop tunnels, point taken. 

 

However, usable human-powered vehicle only roads that are somewhat safe/isolated from cars (and easy theft/vandalism) would still be nice. The key here is isolated from being easily hit by a car or easily having a bottle thrown at you. Ideally completely barrier-blocked lanes and better security measures like cameras, lights, etc.

 

Anyone know of cities that do this truly well?

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on July 19, 2011 at 3:06am

I drew that picture a few years ago for the Bike Art show.

The system would help to pay for itself by its production of electricity from the solar panel array. Northern states are better at harnessing electrical power from panels due to the cooler climate.

The tunnels would be just for long stretches between cities. I disliked getting chased by dogs, having been shot at and trudging through snow banks. So I imagined this drawing.

Jonny Sprockets said:

Juan, that is cool--what is the picture from?

 

OK, so let's say we can accomplish dedicated lanes or roads... we all know (ahem, Prairie Path from Maywood-in) they won't be used unless they feel safe. Do they become toll-based with some measure of security or entrance-check-in from said tolls?

Permalink Reply by S on July 19, 2011 at 3:18am


Jonny Sprockets said:

Let's drop tunnels, point taken. 

 

However, usable human-powered vehicle only roads that are somewhat safe/isolated from cars (and easy theft/vandalism) would still be nice. The key here is isolated from being easily hit by a car or easily having a bottle thrown at you. Ideally completely barrier-blocked lanes and better security measures like cameras, lights, etc.

 

Anyone know of cities that do this truly well?

Separated lanes?  I think Amsterdam and Copenhagen and some European countries do this fairly well.  No city that I know of has barriers that will protect from thrown bottles.  If you're worried about people  throwing bottles at cyclists, putting up walls is the last thing you want. 

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on July 19, 2011 at 3:23am
Claustrophobic yes. And it could be a haven for crime or having to navigate around bums, and too many places already smell like pee.

Ken Gray said:
I think I'd freak out riding in a very long tunnel. Give me the streets even the "stastistically high crime" areas. A long tunnel just seems to claustrophobic to me.

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