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 Lisa Curcio on December 15, 2012 at 1:55am

When that happens Chicago will likely be at the top of the heap in the forward thinking, sustainable transportation category.  How exciting that will be!

Also, I have not had a chance to really look at the 2020 plan, yet.  I hope it includes some good routes for our friends coming from the south.


Lee Crandell said:

If another route doesn't happen sooner, we should at least see protected bike lanes on Washington and Randolph in 2014 as part of the Central Loop BRT project: http://brtchicago.com/brtloop.html . Can you picture the intersection of Dearborn and Washington in less than two years with intersecting protected bike lanes and new bus lanes and transit stations on Washington? Or a protected bike lane on Randolph with a seamless connection to the Lakefront Trail? Makes me giddy thinking about it.



Permalink Reply by LT on December 15, 2012 at 2:51am
Rode it both directions last night, northbound at 8 pm and southbound at 11. It was amazing! Northbound there were 5 separate cabs or cars using it as a loading zone, but there were none at 11. That was a bit annoying but I figured hat it was only the first day and they will learn. This will make my trips north so much safer and pleasant!
Permalink Reply by Anthony S on December 15, 2012 at 4:30am

My friend and I rode into downtown just to check out the new bike lanes. (We live around O'hare.) It was really nice riding downtown in the lanes. We rode the whole route from the river to Polk and back again. A big shout out to the bike volunteers who we stopped to talk to. A fun ride!!

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on December 15, 2012 at 10:43am

Here's our write-up of the ribbon cutting and ride on Grid Chicago:

http://gridchicago.com/2012/a-great-day-in-chicago-protected-lanes-...

Made me proud to ride a bike in Chicago!

John Greenfield

Permalink Reply by Shaun Jacobsen on December 15, 2012 at 1:08pm

Does anyone know if the bike signals are timed for a green wave? That would be a good idea for getting bike traffic moving about 10-12 MPH to move quickly along Dearborn.

I haven't had the chance to try it out yet. Hopefully soon before it snows!

Permalink Reply by Shaun Jacobsen on December 15, 2012 at 1:24pm

10mph, in my opinion, isn't "speedy." Signals for cars are different that signals for bikes: drivers don't exert a lot of energy to start moving after being stopped, people on bikes do. It would have been nice to have at least a few blocks worth of greens at a certain speed to at least move quickly through the Loop.

h' said:

There was previous info, maybe even earlier in this thread, to the effect that this facility is not meant for speedy through-travel and that purposely there will be no timing of the lights to facilitate such (which sounds fine to me.)

Shaun Jacobsen said:

Does anyone know if the bike signals are timed for a green wave? That would be a good idea for getting bike traffic moving about 10-12 MPH to move quickly along Dearborn.

I haven't had the chance to try it out yet. Hopefully soon before it snows!

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 15, 2012 at 2:59pm

The entire run from Polk to Kinzie is 1.2 miles.  If you rode the entire length at an average of 10 mph it would take about 10.5 minutes.  If you rode the entire length at an average of 15 mph it would take about 7 minutes.  In the broad scheme of things, if a two and a half minutes makes a difference in one's life, one should leave earlier!

The lights for cars are not coordinated.  If you were riding and stopping for lights, as required by law, it would not be any different.  The lanes are not intended to make it faster for bikes; they are intended to make it safer for bikes.

Shaun Jacobsen said:

10mph, in my opinion, isn't "speedy." Signals for cars are different that signals for bikes: drivers don't exert a lot of energy to start moving after being stopped, people on bikes do. It would have been nice to have at least a few blocks worth of greens at a certain speed to at least move quickly through the Loop.


Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on December 15, 2012 at 5:28pm

My photos. I'm working on a ride-through video right now. 

No green wave. It was said by CDOT that it's not possible right now. Scroll to Dearborn Street section in this article.

Shaun Jacobsen said:

Does anyone know if the bike signals are timed for a green wave? That would be a good idea for getting bike traffic moving about 10-12 MPH to move quickly along Dearborn.

Permalink Reply by globalguy on December 15, 2012 at 6:14pm

Rode it also just after the press conference.  One smallish question - if going north, what's the proper procedure for turning right off of Dearborn onto any the east-bound streets.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on December 15, 2012 at 11:09pm

To turn right from northbound to eastbound: proceed to the turn box on a green bicycle and orient yourself east. Wait for the eastbound light to turn green and proceed. 

Here's the video I made, riding northbound from Madison to Kinzie.


globalguy said:

Rode it also just after the press conference.  One smallish question - if going north, what's the proper procedure for turning right off of Dearborn onto any the east-bound streets.

Permalink Reply by maryrachel on December 16, 2012 at 5:56am
Great video. I loved riding the lane Friday night. Oddly enjoyable amd almost relaxing for the Loop. That's been on my mind globalguy. Could someone post a quick video of a right turn off Dearborn? I can't visualize it.
Permalink Reply by Tricolor on December 16, 2012 at 6:57am

I just got back this weekend and rode down this morning to take a look.  Gripes are the narrow width, the drain covers that 25 and smaller tires can fall into and general poor drainage that plagues a lot of Chicago streets that put the south lane under a few inches of water in some places.

Pluses are the signals, bollards to keep parked cars from straying into the bike lanes and a genuine attempt to create a real bike lane in town that's on par with major cities.  I hope it's the first of many routes.  I'll give it a try tomorrow morning rather than go down State, even if it is a block out of the way.

I just spent the last week in Montreal where it's as dry as Chicago and a lot of people are still biking and Quebec, where there's plenty of snow and still a lot of people biking.  If Dearborn is a sample of what Chicago wants to do I hope they take a look at how Montreal is set up.  I've got a few pictures I need to post up.

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