The Chainlink

Explaining the Bi-directional Cycle Track Folly

Explaining the Bi-directional Cycle Track Folly:

In Denmark, the on-street, bi-directional facility was removed from Best Practice for bicycle infrastructure over two decades ago. That in itself might be an alarm bell to anyone paying attention. These two way cycle tracks were found to be more dangerous than one-way cycle tracks on each side of the roadway. There is a certain paradigm in cities... I'm not saying it's GOOD, but it's there. Traffic users all know which way to look when moving about the city. Having bicycles coming from two directions at once was an inferior design.

This was in an established bicycle culture, too. The thought of putting such cycle tracks into cities that are only now putting the bicycles back - cities populated by citizens who aren't use to bicycle traffic makes my toes curl.

It's really a shame that we keep building things like the Dearborn deathtrap. Its inevitable failure will be used for decades as a cudgel with which to shut down discussion of any new bike infrastructure, just as the poorly-done State Street pedestrianization in the 80s is still invoked to this day whenever there is discussion about closing any streets to cars.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Milham on June 3, 2014 at 2:18pm

Nope, haven't done a lot of wilmette riding. 

I did ride the Green Bay Trail to Glencoe once, and then it just... ended... after a playground. I know the path goes farther, but there was not a sign in sight about where to go next. So I got annoyed and went home. 

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on June 3, 2014 at 4:18pm

Go through the playground.  The signs were changed this year to sound more threatening but as long as class isn't in you can go through.  The trail peters out in Highland Park and north of that is the McClory bike path that will run up to the Wisconsin border.  The last eleven and a half miles past Great Lakes Naval Station are gravel with no shade and are kind of miserable, though.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on June 3, 2014 at 4:43pm


That's a more fair description, I think.


David Barish said:

I understand the problem with eastbound turns when riding southbound on the lane. I think its best to just make a perpendicular turn meaning you have to stop at two lights to accomplish a left turn I think "deathtrap" is a bit of a rhetorical flourish. If I had to give it a one word label mine would be "clunky".

Permalink Reply by Eli on June 3, 2014 at 4:47pm

Lots of confusing sections along the Green Bay Trail, where you're not sure if you're still on the trail anymore or what. And I remember it being a bit tricky to figure out how to connect to the McClory Trail from the northern end of the Green Bay Trail. I think some of my IL state cycling maps had one or both of these trails on the opposite side of the Metra tracks from their actual location at some points, too, which didn't help any.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on June 3, 2014 at 5:19pm

Google Maps can highlight bike trails and bike friendly streets so it's pretty helpful.  You get used to the mess of paths, streets and driveways the more you ride it.

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