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Permalink Reply by Davo on January 19, 2014 at 3:47pm

Unfortunately most of the "burb's" weren't designed with bicycles in mind. I know there are a few brave souls here that do navigate them for work and for chores and I applaud them. Hopefully this will change in time and proper infrastructure will be built. 

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Permalink Reply by Josh L. on January 19, 2014 at 4:10pm

what is needed? protected lanes?
Davo said:

Unfortunately most of the "burb's" weren't designed with bicycles in mind. I know there are a few brave souls here that do navigate them for work and for chores and I applaud them. Hopefully this will change in time and proper infrastructure will be built. 

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on January 20, 2014 at 5:12am

+1  In inner ring suburbs like Evanston, Oak Park, Berwyn, Skokie, and the like, short bike trips are very feasible in most locations.  In further out 'burbs like Arlington Heights or Glen Ellyn, it's lot more hit or miss depending on where you're going to/from.

Jeff Schneider said:

I think short bike trips are practical in lots of suburbs, but this is highly dependent on the location of your home.  Typically, going from the older residential neighborhoods to the town center is pleasant enough.  If your home is in one of those developments with only one access point - often onto a terrifying major arterial - life is not so good.

Davo said:

Unfortunately most of the "burb's" weren't designed with bicycles in mind. I know there are a few brave souls here that do navigate them for work and for chores and I applaud them. Hopefully this will change in time and proper infrastructure will be built. 

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Permalink Reply by Davo on January 20, 2014 at 8:21am

From my experience in the burbs, most places that people would be running errands to (shopping center, grocery stores, restaurants, ect) are surrounded by 4 - 6+ lanes of traffic and gigantic parking lots where most motorists barely notice each other let alone a cyclist. Also most is not on a grid so there is little to no "byways" that cyclists could take to avoid these highways. Protected lanes would definitely be needed here and normal bike lanes would probably suffice for the parking lots. Inner ring suburbs and villages are far easier to navigate.

jolondon30 said:

what is needed? protected lanes?
Davo said:

Unfortunately most of the "burb's" weren't designed with bicycles in mind. I know there are a few brave souls here that do navigate them for work and for chores and I applaud them. Hopefully this will change in time and proper infrastructure will be built. 

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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 20, 2014 at 8:38am

Many suburbs allow people to ride a bike on the sidewalk (assuming that suburb even has sidewalks along major roads). Still, many sidewalks that do exist are sub-par – especially at expressway crossings. Instead of installing protected bike lanes, perhaps sidewalks should be given more consideration.

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Permalink Reply by Davo on January 20, 2014 at 9:00am

That would be a great start

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