Desplaines boss, Desplaines! A new protected lane in the west Loop
CDOT is building so many protected and buffered lanes right now in their race to reach 30 miles by snowfall, it's hard for me to wrap my head around all of them. Here's a virtual tour of the latest one, Desplaines Street from Kinzie to Harrison Streets. http://gridchicago.com/2012/desplaines-boss-desplaines-a-new-protec...
Keep moving forward,
John Greenfield
Views: 617
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eric R on
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Hmm, I have mixed emotions about this. In the long-term this is awesome. In the short-term I will have to adapt. After a week it will be like the protected lane was always there. It should make the morning commute a little less stressful.
More importantly, the protected lane should help calm Desplaines traffic turning right on to Randolph like an F1, which is the only downside (IMO) to the Desplaines to Washington route I usually take.
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Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on
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How will you need to adapt?
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Not a serious adaptation that is required but I usually get on the left side of Desplaines at Lake to avoid cars turning right onto Randolph and so I can turn left on Washington. Now I will need to join traffic on Washington if Desplaines has a green or if Desplaines has a red use the crosswalk to get in position to turn left onto Washington. Cyclists may be able to cut across Desplaines to turn left on Wash but i guess it depends on the design, usually no cars are parked on the right side of Desplaines so it shouldn't be a problem. I figured cars will be parked to the left of the lane but if this isn't the case then it's no prob at all to get left (but if I'm not riding in the bike lane that gives a motorist the perfect op to gripe).
Overall, the protected bike lane is better for us all, just a few minor adjustments in one's riding style is required. FYI I'm sold on 8 to 80.
John Greenfield said:How will you need to adapt?
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Interesting perspective - thanks for sharing it. On Kinzie the are exits from the protected lane for cyclists who need to turn left, but I didn't notice these on Desplaines.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on
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Will DesPlaines be protected or buffered?
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Kinzie to Fulton: "enhanced" shared lane markings
Fulton to Randolph: buffered
Randolph to Harrison: protected
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What are "enhanced" shared lane markings? Like on Wells? Thanks for keeping us all up to date on all this.
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Yes, like Wells. Sure thing, thanks for reading.
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Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on
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Desplaines from Kinzie to Fulton is wide enough for an actual bike lane (could fit any type), at 54 feet. It has no parking for most of the section (I think there might be some parking northbound at Fulton, but only for some times of the day).
CDOT has done road diets in other places to install protected/buffered bike lanes. What happened to this crucial block (probably the most biked block of Desplaines)?
The excuse for Clark Street was that it was 1-foot too narrow, at 51 feet.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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I wonder if traffic in and out of the Jewel parking lot affected the decision on the Kinzie to Fulton section. Since they've put bike lanes on other blocks with similarly busy supermarket parking lots (such as Wabash south of Roosevelt), it shouldn't be an issue. It's disappointing that we didn't get an actual lane on a block with such a heavy volume of bike traffic on this wide-enough street.
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Permalink Reply by Duppie on
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What about Des Plaines in front of St. Pat? Will it be a protected lane? If so, that would be proof to me that the city is indeed serious about building bike lanes, because it requires ignoring the will of powerful clergy and entitlement folks alike.
But seeing is believing...
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