Fullerton Parkway bridge project disappointing for walking and biking

The south sidewalk/mixed use trail along Fullerton from Cannon Drive to the Lake Front Trail will be permanently eliminated in order to increase the number of car traffic lanes from four to five, and specifically to replace the south sidewalk/mixed use trail with a new, second, right turn lane for cars headed onto southbound Lake Shore Drive. My post on the topic on the blog Bike Walk Lincoln Park here. Your thoughts?

"Fewer points of conflict with pedestrians" will be achieved by simply eliminating the presence of pedestrians on this side of Fullerton Parkway over the lagoon and under Lake Shore Drive. (Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park)

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on March 15, 2012 at 12:23am

(My apologies for the double post)

It seems that pedestrians are the real losers here, particularly those pushing baby carriages, those using walkers or crutches, or those in unmotorized wheelchairs, as they will now be forced to go down and then back up a series of ramps, rather than proceedng in a straight line across the sidewalk to be removed. Of course, there is the option to cross to the sidewalk/path on the north side of the street, if a signalized crossing is provided somewhere nearby.


As a cyclist, I think the best route for me would be to take the farthest left lane, the one which northbound LSD drivers will use, and avoid the right turning mess of the two right lanes. If a lot of cyclists take that left lane, this road will experience a de facto road diet. The left lane, if 20 or 30 bicycles are in it at most times, will slow to a safe speed, while the right two lanes will hopefully jam up to keep speeds under 5 mph. Car congestion and traffic jams are generally good things for safety. There may be an increase in annoying little fender bender accidents there, but since cars will likely be moving at very slow speeds, little injury will result. If drivers get frustrated with that entrance to LSD, they may even avoid it altogether. The best addition to this plan would be to add a series of speed bumps approaching the turnoffs to LSD, to keep car speeds way down at times other than rush hour.

Permalink Reply by Matt Talbert on March 15, 2012 at 12:58am

You can always go up 4 blocks and get on the trail at Diversey Harbor. It's a short detour without the obstacle of cars. The only down fall of this is crossing the waterway through the harbor, as that side walk gets a little narrow.

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on March 15, 2012 at 2:49am

That "Turning vehicles yield to pedestrians" may be the single most abused piece of traffic control signage known to mankind, and god help you as a cyclist if you try to actually go straight on Fullerton there, you will become a speed bump. 

The crosswalk/off-ramp one on the north side of the street is even worse as the cars are usually still in a LSD high-speed cruising state of mind.  These are the kind of places I think of every time I hear someone yammering on about how cyclists don't obey the law, perhaps BWLP could make a 5 minute video to illustrate this point - I guarantee you that during rush hour you will see dozens of moving violations in that time period.

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on March 15, 2012 at 2:53am

That's not likely to ever happen, as you've got the LP Zoo parking entrance right there.  As with most of the City's traffic planning "solutions," what is needed is a flesh-and-blood police officer at the worst intersections, writing tickets with a vengeance and like their life depends on it. 

After a few weeks of that word will spread.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, substitutes for word of mouth PR.

Thunder Snow said:

If drivers get frustrated with that entrance to LSD, they may even avoid it altogether. The best addition to this plan would be to add a series of speed bumps approaching the turnoffs to LSD, to keep car speeds way down at times other than rush hour.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 15, 2012 at 8:54am

+1

Carter O'Brien said:

That "Turning vehicles yield to pedestrians" may be the single most abused piece of traffic control signage known to mankind, and god help you as a cyclist if you try to actually go straight on Fullerton there, you will become a speed bump. 

The crosswalk/off-ramp one on the north side of the street is even worse as the cars are usually still in a LSD high-speed cruising state of mind.  These are the kind of places I think of every time I hear someone yammering on about how cyclists don't obey the law, perhaps BWLP could make a 5 minute video to illustrate this point - I guarantee you that during rush hour you will see dozens of moving violations in that time period.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 15, 2012 at 8:55am

That space is tight even if you're a ped.  Not the greatest for riding unless you've got all the time in the world, at least in nice weather.

Matthew Talbert said:

You can always go up 4 blocks and get on the trail at Diversey Harbor. It's a short detour without the obstacle of cars. The only down fall of this is crossing the waterway through the harbor, as that side walk gets a little narrow.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 15, 2012 at 8:59am

This just plain SUCKS!  It's optimizing the area for car traffic at the expense of every other type of user.  I agree with Thunder Snow's point about peds pushing strollers, using walkers or crutches or in unmotorized wheelchairs losing out in a HUGE way.  The sidewalk on the north side of the street is terrible, conflict with right-turning cars from the SB LSD exit ramp, and lack of a ped signal at the NB on ramp are big problems with the current configuration.  Eliminating non-motorized uses from the south side of the street is unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 15, 2012 at 9:20am

So ends Rahm's "bike-friendly" honeymoon...

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on March 15, 2012 at 9:38am

I think I might be willing to reconsider if they would, say, give us a protected bike lane on Fullerton.  From the lake to Pulaski would be a good start.  : )

But yeah, this is just ridiculous.  Riding to the Fullerton rocks (back when they let you swim) was one of the first longer bike rides I took as a kid, and besides the inherent conflict with the right-turning cars from the SB LSD exit ramp, many of those drivers treat pedestrians and cyclists both with downright hostility if you stand your ground and have the audacity to actually proceed after they honk at you.  THAT is the sense of entitlement that needs to be corrected with some heavy fines.

And a great point was made earlier that this is all for naught, as no matter what they do to widen Fullerton headed east, there is only one lane to get on to either LSD on-ramp, and they call that a bottleneck for a reason.  Really, headed west it's the same problem, as once you get to Clark, Fullerton is definitely only one lane - and it's a skinny and not bike-friendly one, for that matter.

Anne Alt said:

This just plain SUCKS!  It's optimizing the area for car traffic at the expense of every other type of user.  I agree with Thunder Snow's point about peds pushing strollers, using walkers or crutches or in unmotorized wheelchairs losing out in a HUGE way.  The sidewalk on the north side of the street is terrible, conflict with right-turning cars from the SB LSD exit ramp, and lack of a ped signal at the NB on ramp are big problems with the current configuration.  Eliminating non-motorized uses from the south side of the street is unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on March 15, 2012 at 3:08pm

Thanks to all for comments here and on the post. Carter, I do want to get a helmet cam for so many reasons; might have to do that soon. And I'll work on getting the PBL all the way down Fullerton. :) 

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on March 15, 2012 at 3:19pm

This area seems busy enough to need sidewalks/paths on both sides of the street.  I think the design improves safety and does consider all modes (the purpose of Complete Streets), but I'm concerned about capacity for the large number of bikes and peds on the one very busy sidewalk.

Permalink Reply by Bike Bloke on March 16, 2012 at 1:35pm

This is totally unacceptable and contradicts all the smooth talk from those in power and authority about easing access to the Lakefront for pedestrians and cyclists. Shame on them!

And for what? All this will result in is a traffic jam on the on ramp instead of on Fullerton as drivers jockey to merge on to LSD. Net result? All that inconvenience to peds and cyclists just to move a traffic jam 100 yards down the road. Really? What a wasted opportunity and what a waste of money!

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