Chicago's most dangerous streets for cycling? - The Chainlink2024-03-28T18:29:16Zhttps://thechainlink.org/forum/topics/chicago-s-most-dangerous-streets-for-cycling?commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A790353&feed=yes&xn_auth=noIf your going from uptown to…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-04:2211490:Comment:7929512014-02-04T22:29:56.248ZRobert Underwoodhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/RobertUnderwood
<p>If your going from uptown to Evanston, don't take Sheridan. Its skinny, fast, bumpy crap. Now I take Clark and/or Lake Front Trail. </p>
<p>If your going from uptown to Evanston, don't take Sheridan. Its skinny, fast, bumpy crap. Now I take Clark and/or Lake Front Trail. </p> I am a cartographile and I s…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-04:2211490:Comment:7929422014-02-04T19:32:14.480Znowuzhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/noahharmon
<p> I am a cartographile and I still love old school paper maps, so I find the official city bike map to be invaluable, even after 3 years of biking here. Every spring, when the new ones come out, I get 3 copies: 1 for home and 2 to carry with me(1 to give away to "lost souls" I find in my travels). Older copies are still ok, and you can get them at almost every bike shop or order one for free from the city bike website( …</p>
<p> I am a cartographile and I still love old school paper maps, so I find the official city bike map to be invaluable, even after 3 years of biking here. Every spring, when the new ones come out, I get 3 copies: 1 for home and 2 to carry with me(1 to give away to "lost souls" I find in my travels). Older copies are still ok, and you can get them at almost every bike shop or order one for free from the city bike website( <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/bike/svcs/bike_maps.html">City of Chicago :: Bike Maps</a>).The active transportation alliance (<a href="http://www.activetrans.org/">www.activetrans.org</a>) puts out a really good guide/map for the greater chicagoland area. It costs $10, but is worth it (imo) for the map itself and to support a good organization.</p>
<p>As for new school tech options, I have found google maps to be ok but not great, and I have had issues with their android app. There are many smartphone apps for cycling with lots of bells and whistles, but if they are not specific to chicago, their maps and info can be unreliable.The best I've seen (but not used) was an Iphone app that colour coded routs for bike freindliness.</p> I don't think you are accurat…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-04:2211490:Comment:7931922014-02-04T18:57:15.565ZCarter O'Brienhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/CarterOBrien
<p>I don't think you are accurately representing the collective opinion of any bike advocacy group in the region.</p>
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<p>Proposed BRT street Ashland isn't a major one? Milwaukee? Roosevelt? Elston? Should I go on?</p>
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<p>As long as people are going to use cycling as a commuting option, the time it takes to get from point A to point B will be an important factor. Expanding the vision of urban cycling to include some dedicated smaller streets is supplementing the larger…</p>
<p>I don't think you are accurately representing the collective opinion of any bike advocacy group in the region.</p>
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<p>Proposed BRT street Ashland isn't a major one? Milwaukee? Roosevelt? Elston? Should I go on?</p>
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<p>As long as people are going to use cycling as a commuting option, the time it takes to get from point A to point B will be an important factor. Expanding the vision of urban cycling to include some dedicated smaller streets is supplementing the larger street network, not replacing it.</p>
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<p>As several people have noted, when it comes to river and expressway crossings you have no choice but to utilize major arteries. Ignoring these streets in the bigger picture is an exercise in futility.</p>
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<p><br/> <cite>h' 1.0 said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/chicago-s-most-dangerous-streets-for-cycling?x=1&id=2211490%3ATopic%3A790347&page=4#2211490Comment790901"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>I tried to be succinct but maybe you inadvertently skipped reading a page or two of responses.</p>
<p>The focus has been for some time here on making secondary streets bike friendlier and leaving the quasi-hopeless streets basically alone. This requires just a hair of experience and planning on the part of the cyclist to know how to stay off the 'hopeless' streets. What that means for the future? That it will continue to mean that cyclists will need to learn alternate routes to the big busy streets.</p>
<p>What part of town do you ride in? Chicago is spread out over a very large area.... I can't see how soliciting responses about streets in a part of town you don't ride in could possibly be useful to you.</p>
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</blockquote> If you haven't already report…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-04:2211490:Comment:7930362014-02-04T12:09:59.851ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>If you haven't already reported the "lights out" situation via 311, there's no time like the present to do it. <a href="https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/311/supp_info/request_service.html" target="_blank">Here's the link</a>. You can report potholes there, too. At this time of year, making note of problems & locations and taking a minute to report them online can save you headaches later. <br></br> <br></br> <cite>tim de la motte said:…</cite></p>
<p>If you haven't already reported the "lights out" situation via 311, there's no time like the present to do it. <a href="https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/311/supp_info/request_service.html" target="_blank">Here's the link</a>. You can report potholes there, too. At this time of year, making note of problems & locations and taking a minute to report them online can save you headaches later. <br/> <br/> <cite>tim de la motte said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/chicago-s-most-dangerous-streets-for-cycling?page=5&commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A792772&x=1#2211490Comment792841"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Anyone notice that Halsted has NO lights for a good 1/2 mile north of North Avenue? I hit a gnarly pothole in the pitch black tonight and seriously thought I was going to spill.</p>
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<p>Feels seriously dangerous right now in combination with the crater-like potholes that have cropped up due to either archaeological digs, or too many cars.</p>
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<p>It's been this dark for a week, but all the houses have lights on that stretch. Weird, dangerous, and scary - par for the course for winter commuting I guess.</p>
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<p>tim</p>
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</blockquote> they sell these things called…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-04:2211490:Comment:7927722014-02-04T07:26:33.812ZMichael Ahttps://thechainlink.org/profile/MichaelAbene
<p>they sell these things called LIGHTS, if you put on on your bike you can see the potholes. a Blinkie is to be seen by, a light is to see with</p>
<p>they sell these things called LIGHTS, if you put on on your bike you can see the potholes. a Blinkie is to be seen by, a light is to see with</p> Anyone notice that Halsted ha…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-04:2211490:Comment:7928412014-02-04T05:04:23.884Ztim de la mottehttps://thechainlink.org/profile/timdelamotte
<p>Anyone notice that Halsted has NO lights for a good 1/2 mile north of North Avenue? I hit a gnarly pothole in the pitch black tonight and seriously thought I was going to spill.</p>
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<p>Feels seriously dangerous right now in combination with the crater-like potholes that have cropped up due to either archaeological digs, or too many cars.</p>
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<p>It's been this dark for a week, but all the houses have lights on that stretch. Weird, dangerous, and scary - par for the course for…</p>
<p>Anyone notice that Halsted has NO lights for a good 1/2 mile north of North Avenue? I hit a gnarly pothole in the pitch black tonight and seriously thought I was going to spill.</p>
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<p>Feels seriously dangerous right now in combination with the crater-like potholes that have cropped up due to either archaeological digs, or too many cars.</p>
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<p>It's been this dark for a week, but all the houses have lights on that stretch. Weird, dangerous, and scary - par for the course for winter commuting I guess.</p>
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<p>tim</p> Beware of lawyers from Michig…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-02-03:2211490:Comment:7928172014-02-03T14:16:44.102ZBikeBoy5https://thechainlink.org/profile/MarkBeardWitherup
<p>Beware of lawyers from Michigan in big black SUVs. Also blond young ladies in white SUVs in warm weather. Beware of Michigan and Indiana plates, though Wisconsin has been ok to me. If you can hear music and not see a vehicle, put your head on a pivot and scan 360°. Keep an eye out for Divy riders in the summer; they are often tourists and will ride against traffic or 3 or 4 abreast.</p>
<p>I personally try to stay West of Ashland and if I can't, Elston or Milwaukee have kept me safe so…</p>
<p>Beware of lawyers from Michigan in big black SUVs. Also blond young ladies in white SUVs in warm weather. Beware of Michigan and Indiana plates, though Wisconsin has been ok to me. If you can hear music and not see a vehicle, put your head on a pivot and scan 360°. Keep an eye out for Divy riders in the summer; they are often tourists and will ride against traffic or 3 or 4 abreast.</p>
<p>I personally try to stay West of Ashland and if I can't, Elston or Milwaukee have kept me safe so far.</p>
<p>Remember the two kinds of bike riders...those who have and those who will.</p>
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<p>BikeBoy5</p> Check out the Chicago Bike Ma…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-01-28:2211490:Comment:7914012014-01-28T17:29:29.881ZMatheishttps://thechainlink.org/profile/mgt
<p>Check out the <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/bike/svcs/bike_maps.html" target="_blank">Chicago Bike Map</a><a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/bike/svcs/bike_maps.html" target="_blank"><br></br></a></p>
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<p>Remember, if you ever take a wrong turn or end up on a street you're not comfortable with, you can always pull off, walk for a bit, look at a map and figure out a better route!</p>
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<p>Also good to know - if you ever…</p>
<p>Check out the <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/bike/svcs/bike_maps.html" target="_blank">Chicago Bike Map</a><a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/bike/svcs/bike_maps.html" target="_blank"><br/></a></p>
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<p>Remember, if you ever take a wrong turn or end up on a street you're not comfortable with, you can always pull off, walk for a bit, look at a map and figure out a better route!</p>
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<p>Also good to know - if you ever get stranded or have some major mechanical breakdown, all CTA buses have bike racks you can throw your bike on and get home.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.transitchicago.com/bikeandride/" target="_blank">See CTA policy regarding bikes on buses & "L" trains</a></p>
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<p>Bikes are also allowed on the suburban Metra trains, <a href="http://metrarail.com/content/metra/en/home/utility_landing/riding_metra/bikes_on_trains.html" target="_blank">with some rush hour restrictions.</a></p> Howard - any part west of Rid…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-01-28:2211490:Comment:7913072014-01-28T04:38:13.723ZMickeal Teaguehttps://thechainlink.org/profile/LadyTeague
<p>Howard - any part west of Ridge. </p>
<p>One of my, attempting to stay safe, methods is using Google maps to find routes with as many one way streets as possible; unfortunately, there's no guarantees but I feel that I have a little more of a fighting chance on one-way streets. </p>
<p>Welcome to Chi-Town & best of luck. </p>
<p>Howard - any part west of Ridge. </p>
<p>One of my, attempting to stay safe, methods is using Google maps to find routes with as many one way streets as possible; unfortunately, there's no guarantees but I feel that I have a little more of a fighting chance on one-way streets. </p>
<p>Welcome to Chi-Town & best of luck. </p> My guess is that someone is g…tag:thechainlink.org,2014-01-27:2211490:Comment:7909592014-01-27T17:30:47.966ZDavohttps://thechainlink.org/profile/DaveMicek
<p>My guess is that someone is going to write an article soon on this. Blog, print, or whatever.</p>
<p>My guess is that someone is going to write an article soon on this. Blog, print, or whatever.</p>