I rode Dearborn today...anyone else?

I just missed the press conference and just hung out at lunch to see how it would all work. It seemed easy enough, so I took Dearborn as my starting route home to Roscoe Village. Normally I hit Franklin to Orleans then north to Lincoln.

I have to say, it was pretty easy and relatively safe. The ambassadors were helpful with the the auto traffic. The walkers were easy enough to avoid. I had to chuckle at two riders riding side by side in the lane.

What I didn't see was any oncoming traffic; southbound riders. I am guessing that will come in time or at other times during the day.

Way to go Mayor RE! This is really making a statement.

Who else rode the new path?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 18, 2012 at 10:18am

A colleague at work handed me the Dec 17 issues of Crain's which has a piece by Greg Hinz which discusses, in part, the new Dearborn bike lane.  I thought some here might find it interesting.  Here's the online version: Watch it, buddy, I'm pedaling (driving) here

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 18, 2012 at 10:25am

From: Watch it, buddy, I'm pedaling (driving) here

Another reality is that bike riders often are responsible for their own carnage, bobbing and weaving and racing through red lights and pretty much playing the bull to the motorists' toreador.

Is this guy John Kass' more eloquent cousin? He is putting the blame solely on cyclists and completely fails to address the bull in the china shop – the fact that cars are the most dangerous devices on the road and motorists need to behave in a safe manner. He states that "39 Chicago bikers were killed in crashes from 2005 to 2011", but far more people were killed by cars in that same time period. Driving without regard for the safety of others around you is the unsafe act, not biking. 

Skip Montanaro said:

A colleague at work handed me the Dec 17 issues of Crain's which has a piece by Greg Hinz which discusses, in part, the new Dearborn bike lane.  I thought some here might find it interesting.  Here's the online version: Watch it, buddy, I'm pedaling (driving) here

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 18, 2012 at 10:49am

I don't know.  Just passing it along.  He does seem to be a bike rider.  Look at the few comments to his piece and you'll maybe get an idea that his audience is closer to Kass's than we are.  Also, it's not like cyclists are never to blame.  I have encountered some Darwin award wannabees over time.

To put the shoe on the other foot, which drivers to you remember most, long after the fact?  The thousands of courteous, law-abiding, ones?  Or the jerks who buzz you, park in your bike lane, cut you off at intersections?  I imagine it's the same for drivers.

S

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 18, 2012 at 10:56am

I make an effort to thank motorists who stop for me or let me in, but I see your point. I just don't understand what this guy is trying to say. He seems to me to be one of those guys that claims to be a cyclist in Chicago, but only rides the Lake Front Trail in June in sunny 70° weather, etc. and drives his car 99% of the time.

Also, I tried to read the article again and got paywall'd.

Skip Montanaro said:

I don't know.  Just passing it along.  He does seem to be a bike rider.  Look at the few comments to his piece and you'll maybe get an idea that his audience is closer to Kass's than we are.  Also, it's not like cyclists are never to blame.  I have encountered some Darwin award wannabees over time.

To put the shoe on the other foot, which drivers to you remember most, long after the fact?  The thousands of courteous, law-abiding, ones?  Or the jerks who buzz you, park in your bike lane, cut you off at intersections?  I imagine it's the same for drivers.

S

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 18, 2012 at 10:59am

Keep in mind that I was comparing his writing to that of a grown adult who writes at a 2nd grade level.

Cameron Puetz said:

I wouldn't call him anyone's more eloquent anything.

Permalink Reply by Jason W on December 18, 2012 at 11:44am

Awesome, keep up the good work!

Charlie Short said:

Good feedback Lisa. We've actually had the Dept. of Finance out giving tickets between Wacker and Dearborn, but we recognize that we're going to have to be vigilant there. I've chased out about 10 cabs myself since Friday and it doesn't stop them coming back. I had a guy tell me they'd have to tow him out of the lane, and that I didn't scare him.

We'll have Ambassador staff out everyday this week, and then after the holidays. We're using every available resource to do outreach.

Permalink Reply by Jason W on December 18, 2012 at 11:46am

The answer to that is yes. Have you ever checked out this piece of work? http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/ Yes, cops thumb their nose at the mayor, at their superintendent, and at the city. Oh, and that's not nearly the worst chicago cop blog out there. They took down one whose name I can't even say as I think it breaks forum policy.

Lisa Curcio said:

The police officers in the bike lanes anywhere are the most disheartening thing I see.  Everyone else irritates me, but it seems that CPD is just thumbing its nose at cyclists, at the Mayor, and at the city when police officers so blatantly disregard the law.  Is it something they learn in the academy--they are better than the rest of the world?

Permalink Reply by Jason W on December 18, 2012 at 12:18pm

So my two cents... I rode it for the ceremony, and commutes Friday, Mon, and today. I like it a lot. I can take varying routes, and this is an improvement over any of them. It is so nice not to have to worry about the cars as much.

A lot of people are complaining about peds waiting to cross in the bike lanes. They do this a lot where there aren't bike lanes too. They will walk out one lane into traffic because most of the cars are in the center lanes, and block me in the right most lane. So basically, that is annoying, but nothing new.

Oh, BTW, I saw a cop fly up the bike lanes with his lights on, probably hitting 40mph, right in front of me as I was waiting to cross. It was really reckless. We are definitely going to need a hard object (like a metal pole others mentioned between the lanes) at intersections.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 18, 2012 at 1:38pm

Some guy was angrily yelling out his car window at bikers passing by him while he was stuck in traffic. Something along the lines of "I hope you enjoy riding without stopping".

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 18, 2012 at 2:17pm

I have seen that blog.  It does not warrant a visit, IMHO.  That fellow clearly has issues that should be addressed by the department.

Jason said:

The answer to that is yes. Have you ever checked out this piece of work? http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/ Yes, cops thumb their nose at the mayor, at their superintendent, and at the city. Oh, and that's not nearly the worst chicago cop blog out there. They took down one whose name I can't even say as I think it breaks forum policy.

Lisa Curcio said:

The police officers in the bike lanes anywhere are the most disheartening thing I see.  Everyone else irritates me, but it seems that CPD is just thumbing its nose at cyclists, at the Mayor, and at the city when police officers so blatantly disregard the law.  Is it something they learn in the academy--they are better than the rest of the world?

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 18, 2012 at 2:24pm

If we ever get around to "enforcement" instead of "outreach" it must be directed at cyclists, too.  Tonight when I left the Daley Center I saw a cyclist ride through the red when the left turn lane from Dearborn to Randolph had a green arrow.  She (yes she) had plenty of time to stop and just didn't.  I guess she was lucky that the left turning cars were not moving very quickly.  At Lake, I was stopped for the red and five--count them, five--cyclists went around me to either go through the light or to anticipate the change from red to green.  Although it's been said many times, many ways, we want the motorists to obey the signals and we need to obey them, too.  

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on December 18, 2012 at 2:32pm
I didn't see any cyclists running red lights this afternoon, but I did see a lot of pedestrians who just blatently walked right into the bike lane without looking and almost got hit. One person even stepped right in front of a guy riding a bike and didn't even notice that the biker had to swerve around them.

Lisa Curcio said:

If we ever get around to "enforcement" instead of "outreach" it must be directed at cyclists, too.  Tonight when I left the Daley Center I saw a cyclist ride through the red when the left turn lane from Dearborn to Randolph had a green arrow.  She (yes she) had plenty of time to stop and just didn't.  I guess she was lucky that the left turning cars were not moving very quickly.  At Lake, I was stopped for the red and five--count them, five--cyclists went around me to either go through the light or to anticipate the change from red to green.  Although it's been said many times, many ways, we want the motorists to obey the signals and we need to obey them, too.  

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