Messy side street or busy clear street with no bike lane?

My commute is from Rogers Park to Skokie. I consider myself largely lucky because I take Howard west and Dodge (California) north, to Oakton west. It's all a bus route (CTA 97) so it's usually clear. Howard and Dodge both have bike lanes. 

 

But on my way home, I have a decision to make. It's after 6, after dark and Oakton is a high traffic situation with no bike lanes. In the daytime I'm not so nervous about it. I can be seen and I can take the lane and I don't feel threatened. But on my way home, it's dark and colder and any slush might've frozen to ice. 

 

There's a side street, Keeney, parallel to Oakton, most of the way to my work. It's slow and not as clear as Oakton. In fact, I think it's rarely completely clear. And even if I take Keeney, there's still a long ways from where it ends, West of McCormick, to Dodge, where I leave Oakton. 

 

I'm beginning to lose hope for my commute home. Last winter, the dark and the slush was enough to make me quit for the dark hours until DST in March. I have been determined to ride through this winter, but a fall in front of a car on Keeney (the car stopped) has made me begin to wonder if I'm just being hard-headed and compromising my safety. I wear bright colors, have lights and the whole shebang, but I still get nervous about taking the lane. 

 

So, I guess I have a couple of questions:

 

1) When in the dark and faced with the dilemma of a messy, slow street, and a clear, bike-lane-less busy street, what do you do?

 

2) How well do studded tires work? Is is worth the investment? 

 

Any advice would be appreciated. I could just jump on that bus, but I hate buses. I could ride to the Yellow Line with relative ease, but I'd rather not. Save my Bike Winter! 

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 27, 2010 at 3:02pm

You have to ride where you feel safe and comfortable and with the understanding that occasionally, your preferred route will be unavailable. That having been said, I usually opt for the clearer, busier streets. For me, bike lanes are overrated. Don't be afraid to throw your bike on the front of a bus and leave the driving to others, or if it just looks like a disaster outside, take the bus both ways.

 

Some swear by studded tires, but many on this site have stated that they're only useful a couple of days out of the whole winter. On the other days, they're slow, noisy and slippery. 

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on December 28, 2010 at 3:35am

My personal option is clear street.

Lights and bright colors will let drivers know you are there.

Permalink Reply by Mark on December 28, 2010 at 4:17am
I actually feel more visible at night with lights and my high-vis jacket than I do during the daytime.  I have been riding on the edge of the traffic lane on arterial streets these past two weeks, as the bike lanes can be icy.  My experience is drivers will slow down and pass with care.  As for tires, I have regular road bike tires, but have lowered the psi and have not had any problem on mornings like today when there is a slight glaze on the street.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on December 28, 2010 at 4:54am

Is Main too far out of your way? WB Main can get prety bad at 6PM, but EB should be okay. Otherwise, i'd stay on Oakton. Just keep your wits about you, and you ought to be okay.

 

i don't think Evanston even ever bothers to clear Keeney or any other side street.

 

+1 on wide tyres with lower pressure.

 

As a side note, i HATE HATE HATE the "traffic calming bulbs" that Evanston put in just west of Dawes school. The evening drivers in particular don't seem to know how to get by them, and they prevent the city from clearing the snow prperly by that intersection...

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on December 28, 2010 at 11:16am

My honey slips and falls riding, and I find out about it in her blogging?  How modern.

Useful thread, I'm liking the idea of increasing one's visibility and take the big roads.  Let's get one of those orange reflective and blinking vests.

Permalink Reply by Liz on December 28, 2010 at 11:40am
I tend to go for the busier clear streets. I've noticed myself adding more and more lights and reflectors now that its dark for so much of my riding time.  I actually now feel safer at night, between my XLC tailight, Blackburn flea front and rear blinkies, the ridelit on my ankle, and the headlamp on my helmet and reflectors on my panniers than I do during the day.  My biggest threat at night isn't the people driving behind me, its the people turning into/in front of me.  Usually shining my headlamp into their cars gets enough attention that they see me, but many will still turn in front of me since they assume I'm traveling much slow than I am.
Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on December 28, 2010 at 12:16pm

Safety comes first, it's bad enough to ride IN the bike lane and worry about doors, cabbies, and drivers but my ride on Sunday had me in the road and you know the holiday  (I'm fucking going shopping so out of my way!) spirit was out in full force.

 

It's only $2 and I'm not risking my life on North ave. just to save a few dollars.

Permalink Reply by Gin on December 28, 2010 at 3:20pm

So glad you are OK!

 

I too follow the plows. . . ie, stick with busier, clear roads and take the lane when I need to. Not sure what to say about the possibility of frozen slush though. I think busier streets are slower to ice over.

Good luck and remember: you do not have to judge your Bike Winter success by whether you biked all places all the time. I think what's most important is that one or a few days off from your preferred biking routine does not become weeks off and then "oh no! it's April and I have hardly been riding. . . "

Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on December 29, 2010 at 2:42am

I don't know which is better but I usually slog it out wearing bright yellow on little streets, which are great if they're little enough for nobody in a car to want to use. I see the dilemma though.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

Your problem—which, I hope, will be solved soon (March 2011 the latest :),—reminds me of another thing: bike lanes, separated from the MV traffic by parked cars or a barrier of some sort. Though the idea seems nice, imagine something like that in Chicago when it snows? Who'd clean such lanes?

In Germany they have cute little orange plows with a sand bin on the back that they use for sidewalks, park paths and bike paths. I suppose the city could think about doing the same, at least for major routes, but who'd pay for one? Do they use something like that to clean the sidewalks downtown here, like on the bridges? If so, maybe there's hope. This may be the only advantage I can think of for a non-separated bike lane.

By the way, the studded tires might be noisy and slow (depending on which kind you get) but they aren't slippery. Their disadvantage is more that you think they'll stick in the ice, and then it turns out to be thick slush and it doesn't matter whether you have studs or not. I slide around more on regular tires but when you're on the clear road it feels more normal.


Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 29, 2010 at 2:51am

I prefer the clear street myself.  Evanston does a poor job in clearing many of its side streets.  I grew up near Crown Park, and they don't seem to do any better now than they did back then.  Your chances of staying upright are better on Oakton. 

 

Just make yourself as visible as possible with plenty of lights and reflective materials.  Having reflective bands on your arms can make your turn signals more visible and make it easier to get drivers' attention when necessary.  Wishing you a safe commute.

Permalink Reply by Jera Sue on December 29, 2010 at 4:43pm

Ok, so:

Clearer busy street

Lower PSI

Light myself up

Don't be too hard on myself

 

Gotcha! Thanks everyone.

 

And YEAH. Those "traffic calming bulbs (?!)" almost got me run down today by a little old white haired lady who just HAD to get to PetSmart as quick as she possibly could. Vehicular manslaughter or no. She scooted to a halt and laid on the horn (I was IN traffic, it's not like I swerved) when she couldn't beat me to them. 

 

...I may or may not have accidentally flipped her off before I noticed she was elderly. Then felt bad. 

Permalink Reply by S on December 29, 2010 at 6:48pm
A light on your helmet would probably also help a bit.  It lets you see what you're looking at and you can get the attention of cars by looking at them.

Jera Sue said:

Ok, so:

Clearer busy street

Lower PSI

Light myself up

Don't be too hard on myself

 

Gotcha! Thanks everyone.

 

And YEAH. Those "traffic calming bulbs (?!)" almost got me run down today by a little old white haired lady who just HAD to get to PetSmart as quick as she possibly could. Vehicular manslaughter or no. She scooted to a halt and laid on the horn (I was IN traffic, it's not like I swerved) when she couldn't beat me to them. 

 

...I may or may not have accidentally flipped her off before I noticed she was elderly. Then felt bad. 

 

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