The Chainlink

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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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shaun Jacobsen on January 3, 2013 at 9:16pm
They're talking about cross streets...
Permalink Reply by Michelle S on January 4, 2013 at 7:22am

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. 

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Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on January 4, 2013 at 8:10am

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 8:16am

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 8:33am

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 9:52am

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 10:17am

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 10:55am

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 10:57am

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!

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on January 4, 2013 at 11:24am

I thought sarcasm was supposed to be a form of humor?

Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

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!

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 4, 2013 at 11:43am

Where those trucks have been parked is just north of the river where there is actually a wide area striped off between the traffic lane and the bike lane, so the only difficulty is not being able to see northbound bikes.  In other areas, the southbound traffic would probably have to try to go around in the parking lanes.  I suppose it is conceivable that one ight have to salmon in the traffic lanes if there is something blocking the bike lane and there are cars parked where cars are supposed to park. 
 
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!

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 4, 2013 at 11:47am

I thought one of the responses to this thread early on indicated that eventually there would be concrete separators of some sort between the bike lane and the parking.  Did I misread/misremember?

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

In other areas, the southbound traffic would probably have to try to go around in the parking lanes.

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