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 Juan 2-3 or more mi. on January 3, 2013 at 2:52pm

The second photo shows the street sign Harrison. I have no interest in pursuing icemountain man. Have at it. As for Lexus lady, it was a good opportunity to make these kinds of drivers aware that cyclists are watching and recording their unlawful activity.

h' 1.0 said:

Jeez, you make it sound like we can't solve the slightest little problem without launching into a laborious campaign that only a staffed and funded advocacy organization would be able to take on.

All you need to do about this one little driver is pick up the phone, work your way through to whoever the supervisor/district manager/whatever is for that Ice Mountain territory, and have a hopefully cordial discussion culminating with a well-received ask for communication to this and other drivers that the expectation is to park on the far side of the bike lane for deliveries.

But if you can't get anyone to provide you with the most basic details about the occurrence because they're too busy posting snarky photos to the internet, you're dead in the water...


 

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on January 3, 2013 at 4:11pm

It is legal to make a left turn on red from a one way street onto another one way street if it is safe to do so. However, the DPBL created a situation that clearly calls for making this illegal at that location. If a bicyclist has a green light, there is very little time for either the bicyclist or the vehicle driver to react in time to avoid a collision if they both think they have the right of way. 

One way to enforce this is to install traffic light cameras. I'm seeing them in more locations these days and they work. A good source of revenue for the city as well.

Some cities have strict regulations on what vehicles can enter the central business district for both security and congestion reasons. Singapore and London come to mind. 


Michelle Stenzel said:

However, this morning, southbound on the DPBL, as I approached Lake St, a driver was making a left turn on red from (eastbound) Lake St onto (northbound) Dearborn, and I had to swerve and stop to avoid colliding into his SUV, as I was trying to go straight ahead on Dearborn, with the little green bike signal clearly telling me the coast was supposed to be clear for me. So my question is: Is it legal in Chicago for a driver to make a left turn on red, from a one-way street onto a one-way street? That is, was he making a legal move? And if he was, there needs to be "No left turn on red" signs posted there so that drivers don't do it at this intersection. (Maybe there is the sign already and he was ignoring it, I don't know.)

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 3, 2013 at 4:15pm
As as others have stated, left turn signals were installed on Dearborn. When the bike signal is green, the left turn light is red. Turning left on red from Dearborn is now illegal.

Joe Guzzardo said:

It is legal to make a left turn from a one way street onto another one way street if it is safe to do so. However, the DPBL created a situation that clearly calls for making this illegal at that location. If a bicyclist has a green light, there is very little time for either the bicyclist or the vehicle driver to react in time to avoid a collision if they both think they have the right of way. 

One way to enforce this is to install traffic light cameras. I'm seeing them in more locations these days and they work. A good source of revenue for the city as well. Some cities have strict regulations on what vehicles can enter the central business district for both security and congestion reasons. Singapore and London come to mind. 


Michelle Stenzel said:

However, this morning, southbound on the DPBL, as I approached Lake St, a driver was making a left turn on red from (eastbound) Lake St onto (northbound) Dearborn, and I had to swerve and stop to avoid colliding into his SUV, as I was trying to go straight ahead on Dearborn, with the little green bike signal clearly telling me the coast was supposed to be clear for me. So my question is: Is it legal in Chicago for a driver to make a left turn on red, from a one-way street onto a one-way street? That is, was he making a legal move? And if he was, there needs to be "No left turn on red" signs posted there so that drivers don't do it at this intersection. (Maybe there is the sign already and he was ignoring it, I don't know.)

Permalink Reply by Shaun Jacobsen on January 3, 2013 at 4:16pm
They're talking about cross streets...
Permalink Reply by Michelle S on January 4, 2013 at 2:22am

Thanks, Joe and Cameron and others for the replies. Now that I think about it, it's no different at any of the other eastbound cross streets like Washington, Monroe, etc. I'll bet there are signs saying no turn on red and this guy was just ignoring them. I think it would help a little for bright green paint to delineate the  bike lanes even more at the intersections and give drivers further visual clues that they need to be paying attention.
 
Joe Guzzardo said:

It is legal to make a left turn on red from a one way street onto another one way street if it is safe to do so. However, the DPBL created a situation that clearly calls for making this illegal at that location. If a bicyclist has a green light, there is very little time for either the bicyclist or the vehicle driver to react in time to avoid a collision if they both think they have the right of way. 

...

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on January 4, 2013 at 3:10am

After trying Dearborn a few times; then going back to Clark inbound and Franklin outbound; I'll take the Clark/Franklin route.  These streets seem less restricting to me.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 4, 2013 at 3:16am

I tried Dearborn just once.  I'll stick with Clark and Franklin as well.  There certainly seems to be more room to maneuver, and the bike lanes are wider.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 4, 2013 at 3:33am

The construction trucks parked in the bike lane at the Westin every morning around 7:50 to 8:00 are getting annoying!

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 4, 2013 at 4:52am

If trying things once was sufficient, no-one would drink beer or coffee. The lanes have been great for me - but I reserve the right to re-assess if they get crowded during the soft people's biking season.

Skip Montanaro said:

I tried Dearborn just once.  I'll stick with Clark and Franklin as well.  There certainly seems to be more room to maneuver, and the bike lanes are wider.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 4, 2013 at 5:17am

Unless they widen the bike lane on Dearborn I can't see my decision changing.  I prefer the wider one-way bike lanes on Clark and Franklin.  I work at Franklin and Monroe, so only go halfway through the Loop.  I suppose if I was headed further south it might make more sense.  Besides, during soft people's biking season (nice term, BTW) I generally travel up and down Clark and Wells or Franklin between Evanston and the Loop, preferring that to the unpredictability of a crowded LFT, so any perceived safety benefit of Dearborn over Clark+Franklin would be minimal at best, given the small amount of my commute which is actually in the Loop.


Tony Adams 6.6 mi said:

If trying things once was sufficient, no-one would drink beer or coffee. The lanes have been great for me - but I reserve the right to re-assess if they get crowded during the soft people's biking season.

Skip Montanaro said:

I tried Dearborn just once.  I'll stick with Clark and Franklin as well.  There certainly seems to be more room to maneuver, and the bike lanes are wider.

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on January 4, 2013 at 5:55am

So what does a cyclist do when heading South and something is blocking the bike lane?  Salmon into oncoming traffic???



Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

The construction trucks parked in the bike lane at the Westin every morning around 7:50 to 8:00 are getting annoying!

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 4, 2013 at 5:57am

If it's a pedestrian, run them over. If it's a car, make sure to kick their bumper multiple times before going around them. </sarcasm>

in it to win it 8.0 mi said:

So what does a cyclist do when heading South and something is blocking the bike lane?  Salmon into oncoming traffic???



Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

The construction trucks parked in the bike lane at the Westin every morning around 7:50 to 8:00 are getting annoying!

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