Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David P. on October 24, 2016 at 4:39am

Emma,

It would help to leave a contact email - on the forum, the choices are either responding publicly to the thread or sending you a friend request, which you must approve before someone can send you a message.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Emma on October 24, 2016 at 8:02am

Thanks for that! Just changed it. Email is emma@vocalo.org

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Maurice on October 24, 2016 at 7:06am

I commute daily from the South Side to my office in the Loop.  Depending on the route I choose, my commute takes me through some combination of Bridgeport, Armour Square, Bronzeville, Chinatown, Pilsen, University Village, the South Loop, and the Loop.  A lot of those streets recently have been repaved and/or striped for bike lanes, which I reluctantly use for the majority of my commute.

 

A large majority of my conflicts with drivers involve busses, trucks, cabs, and other commercial vehicles driven by people who do not respect the safety of cyclists.  Conflicts with privately owned vehicles are relatively rare except in very specific, recurring locations in the South Loop and University Village where the city allows the bike lane to be used as privileged priority parking.  This has gotten worse over the years, as drivers learned that the city will not enforce laws against parking in bike lanes.

 

In the more residential areas, privately owned vehicles typically give me a wide berth, but I still have to deal with the occasional homicidal maniac in a delivery truck.  Riding in residential areas has gotten better over the years IME.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on October 24, 2016 at 7:17am

I have an interesting (true!) story about being confronted by a pair of grifters looking for an easy grab at an intersection on the south side of Rogers Park.  I rarely commute to the loop from Evanston these days...I used to commute a lot more on the north side.

I have my bicycling horror stories, stories of kindness, and mostly positive experiences of living in Chicago since my relocation from Washington DC.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on October 24, 2016 at 10:09am

My commute takes me from Downtown 2 miles out to the west loop.

I've tried many routes out of the city center including lower Wacker. Pedestrians during the rush hours can be aggressive. So I try to leave the condo before 7am and arrive home after 6pm.

Commercial and government vehicles are the worst offenders to safety, like delivery trucks pulling right into my lane of travel and police vehicles parked in the bike lane.

• ▶ Reply