Center Square Journal-- cyclist hit in bike lane- Lawrence/Washtenaw (not fatal)
Picked up by my Google alert...
Good reporting.
http://www.centersquarejournal.com/news/bicyclist-hit-on-lawrence-ave
Views: 685
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on
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The Black Heron (any relationship to the Black Adder???) wrote:
I don't get the Google Maps bike-routing web-app jogging up from Wilson one block North to that alley-type road from Manor all the way to nearly Kedzie. WTF? What is wrong with Wilson here? Is it because there is more parking allowed on that stretch?
My comment:
Its the same amount of parking. I take it all the time. The pavement's in decent shape and the nature of the street keeps the car speeds below 40 MPH. Wilson's great.
The Black Heron wrote:
Who wants to jog back and forth all the time wasting a block here and a block there backtracking North/South or East/West when trying to get anywhere in this city when riding the back ways? Riding a bike is not just for recreation -some of us are actually GOING SOMEPLACE. Stop treating us like kids on toys.
My comment:
Each to his own. I am willing to go a block or two out of the way to avoid really bad problems. I do the same thing when driving. I'll detour off of Lawrence, for example, even if it means a couple of extra blocks because I do want to go someplace. The straight line is not always the fastest route between two points.
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Cameron Puetz said:Lawrence is terrible. I can't imagine anyone except the whoever draws the Chicago bike map and people who depend on it for route planning would consider Lawrence a bike route. Wilson is a much better choice.
Lawrence, west of Western, in the morning, has light traffic and you can fly down it.
Wilson is narrow, has bad pavement, lots of annoying jogs, gets clogged with cars during evening rush hour anyways, and eventually dumps you onto Lawrence. Might as well stick to Lawrence.
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My comment:
Wilson's been repaved. Smooth as glass for most of it. No jogs between Lincoln and Pulaski. (I don't count the slight veer at the Kimball light a jog).
As for Lawrence, each to his own. In my experience as both a car driver and a bicyclist, its about as dangerous and foolhardy to ride in the Bike Lanes on Lawrence as to ride on the Kennedy on a bicycle at 10 at night. Many cars (and virtually all CTA buses) treat the (now very badly marked) Bike Lanes as their own special express lanes. I ride three to five times a week from about Southport and Grace to Cumberland and the Kennedy. I have been riding for many years, have ridden in Big City traffic in Chicago and Washington DC and used to go downtown. The only bicycle route that has ever caused me significant fear is Lawrence in the Bike Lanes. Elston (pre-bike lane) Ashland, Lincoln, LaSalle, Stockton, Inner LSD, Clark, Higgins no worries. Lawrence.... yikes... I ride on Lawrence less than 3% of the time, but 75% of my accidents have been on Lawrence. And my Wilson/Higgins Route to nearly O'Hare puts me on Lawrence for less than three blocks. If you stick to Lawrence, they will eventually sweep you up off of Lawrence.
envane x said:Lawrence, west of Western, in the morning, has light traffic and you can fly down it.
Wilson is narrow, has bad pavement, lots of annoying jogs, gets clogged with cars during evening rush hour anyways, and eventually dumps you onto Lawrence. Might as well stick to Lawrence.
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Permalink Reply by David P. on
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I am scratching my head a bit about the Lawrence of Doom descriptions, but most of the times I have ridden it (from Damen to Milwaukee) have been around 9PM on a weeknight. Perhaps that accounts for my not finding it awful That said, I think Wilson is vastly better. It is my standard E-W between my house in Avondale and my gf's house in Andersonville. The new pavement is much appreciated, too.
To James and anyone else who finds google routing baffling, just write them and suggest something better. It works!
David
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Permalink Reply by Madopal (16.5 mi) on
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I have almost been hit on that section of Lawrence, and I stopped riding because of it. When traffic volumes are a bit lighter, but it's still rush hour, cars will use the bike lane at California to go around cars stopped at the light to avoid stopping. I was proceeding east in the bike lane at California, and I heard an engine revving (which was odd, because the traffic to my left was just coming out of the changed light). All of the sudden, a car, doing about 50, passed me on the RIGHT, between me and the curb. I caught the idiot at the next light, too. Almost killed me just so he didn't have to wait in a line of 4 cars at California.
Since it's already road dieted there with 2 lanes & bike lanes, not sure what can be done about drivers deciding that the bike lanes don't exist. It will be nicer to ride between Western/Damen if they continue the lane, though.
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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on
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The solution for car-encroachment isn't scaring people away so there are even fewer riders using the Lawrence bike lanes.
The solution is a solid mass of riders taking OUR bike lanes on a daily/hourly basis so idiot car-drives can't even fit onto them.
Until riders begin to actually use these facilities on a regular basis, rather than scaring each other like a bunch of spooked sheep, the cars are going to keep on assuming that if there is nobody using them they might as well take them back for themselves when they feel the need.
MORE riders are needed on these bike lanes -not fewer. There is only so much that the confident and bold riders can do here to take back these "scarier" roads. We are few -you are multitudinous. Get out here with us and stand together against the encroaching cars!
Madopal said:I have almost been hit on that section of Lawrence, and I stopped riding because of it. When traffic volumes are a bit lighter, but it's still rush hour, cars will use the bike lane at California to go around cars stopped at the light to avoid stopping. I was proceeding east in the bike lane at California, and I heard an engine revving (which was odd, because the traffic to my left was just coming out of the changed light). All of the sudden, a car, doing about 50, passed me on the RIGHT, between me and the curb. I caught the idiot at the next light, too. Almost killed me just so he didn't have to wait in a line of 4 cars at California.
Since it's already road dieted there with 2 lanes & bike lanes, not sure what can be done about drivers deciding that the bike lanes don't exist. It will be nicer to ride between Western/Damen if they continue the lane, though.
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The Black Herron wrote (and I can hear the stirring drums in the background)
MORE riders are needed on these bike lanes -not fewer. There is only so much that the confident and bold riders can do here to take back these "scarier" roads. We are few -you are multitudinous. Get out here with us and stand together against the encroaching cars!
My comment:
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers... A very inspiring St. Crispin's day speech. I wish I were one of the happy few. I am not. However, one of my accidents in Lawrence was because OF a group of riders. It was a nice day this summer. We had more riders than usual. Some blocks before Drake about 10 of us ended up stopping at the same light. I was a little faster than the rest so I took off in the lead with the rest strung out behind me. A car wanted to "park" and he got annoyed that there was a string of bicycles so he passed all of us and cut right in front of me to pull over to the curb. I applied brakes and went into avoidance mode. I didn't hit him, but the Bicycle went over and went down hard. He, of course, took off. I suspect that all that would happen to a group of us on Lawrence is that the front and back would get picked off. Better battles to fight. We that are not in the "confident and bold" category ("nervous and timid") admire you brave riders. But we are not brave riders and, at least for now, give Lawrence back to the cars. They may have won that battle, but hopefully not the war.
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