Milwaukee v. Elston

This may have already been discussed but nothing came up in my search anyway:

 

I typically take Elston on my commute from Skokie to the Medical District but decided to try Milwaukee Ave. this morning since so many bikers use it. I really don't get it, because to me Elston seems much wider, there is a dedicated bike lane (for whatever that's worth at times) not a sharrowed lane which Milwaukee seems to primarily be, the road surface on Elston is much better, no bus traffic, there is no construction now (several spots on Milwaukee), Elston doesn't have to deal with people getting to the CTA train stations or onto the highway (almost right hooked there this morning), less traffic early in the morning and fewer stop lights/sings to deal with.

 

Please enlighten me as to why everyone prefers Milwaukee. I usually don't see other bike commuters on Elston in the morning (granted I'm riding between 5 and 6 am) whereas I saw at least 6 headed toward downtown this morning.

 

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 4, 2011 at 8:38am

I do the same but they often get really "climby up my butty" while revving and acting all aggressive.  

 

These are the guys who will ride the bike lane aggressively until they can merge back in if they lose their drag race with the car in the proper lane.  I even dislike it when I'm up ahead and these guys come flying up behind you and are upset that they can't continue to ride the bike lane while they try and win the pole position. 

Davo said:

If I'm infront of a person in a right turn only lane and they don't have on a turn signal, I make sure that I take up the whole lane. When the light turns green, I take my sweet time getting up to speed just so that guy has to wait.

 

A lot of Chicago drivers think it is perfectly OK to ram right down the "turning lane" just before an intersection and get by 3-5 cars as they approach a red light, and then as soon as the light changes  slam the accelerator down and race forward to get in front of the cars to their left and go straight rather than turning.  This is very dangerous to bikes in the bike lane waiting to legally cross the intersection that get caught up in this drag-racing type activity. This is one more reason I endorse the Idaho stop so we can get out there before the Indy 500 starts when the light does turn green.  

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on March 5, 2011 at 7:24pm

Zoo. I like that. I should upload my pics (assuming I have them) of a sunny Saturday at the Elston Avenue Zoo. Then it becomes like an unregulated game reserve - a free-for-all.

Constant driveway traffic


notoriousDUG said:

That is a great photo tour of why Elston is not that hot.

 

I usually don't use it because of the area around the Target being a zoo and the intersection at Ashland being a giant shit show of pissed off drivers.

Permalink Reply by Naomi Ruth Jackson on March 6, 2011 at 9:30am
I agree that Milwaukee in general feels safer, however I find that it simply connects to more places that I frequently commute to, like Logan Square, and Wicker Park
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on March 8, 2011 at 8:38pm
Elston has a lot of missed connections because of its run through industrial areas and the way it interacts with the river and highways. 

Naomi Ruth Jackson said:
I agree that Milwaukee in general feels safer, however I find that it simply connects to more places that I frequently commute to, like Logan Square, and Wicker Park

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