Montrose v. Lawrence
Last Thursday I rode my Xtracycle to pick up a bike from a fellow near Portage Park.
On the way there, I rode west on Lawrence to Central, pretty much all the way from the channel trail. It was fine, but busy (this was around 6pm). On the way back, I wound up taking Montrose instead, more by mistake than on purpose. While Montrose wasn't officially a bike route, it was more pleasant than Lawrence - more residental, less traffic, etc. In fact, I found it better than Lawrence in almost every respect except for the fact that it lacked a bike lane.
Asking Google Maps to give me the best route by bike from Irving Park and Central to Montrose and California didn't even mention Montrose as a choice:
Is this typical?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Davo on
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I find it strange that that google maps thinks Irving ParK is a good bike route. I equate IP to Ashland or Western, I only use those roads if I absolutely have to.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on
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Yeah, Irving Park seems like a very odd choice. Does it have a bike lane? If so, I suspect that tips the routing algorithm heavily in its favor.
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Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on
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I commute out this way. During low-traffic times, Montrose is fine, but its hell during the afternoon rush hour. I then take Lawrence instead, which is also nuts but has a nice wide bike lane.
No computer mapmaker is going to give perfect advice, because what is a "good route" varies with a cyclists' personal preferences and the time of day. However, Google's is SPS if its telling you to take Irving Park.
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Pretty much all of those routes are no good. I haven't directly explored the options for Irving, but for Lawrence, East and Westbound Wilson is good (well at least as far as Elston) and Eastbound, Ainslie is also good. Ainslie's just a little North of Lawrence, Wilson's a little South. Bryn Mawr is also a pretty good cross street.
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And this is what I mean by "cyclists' personal preferences". Wilson is a terrible route.
Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:Pretty much all of those routes are no good. I haven't directly explored the options for Irving, but for Lawrence, East and Westbound Wilson is good (well at least as far as Elston) and Eastbound, Ainslie is also good. Ainslie's just a little North of Lawrence, Wilson's a little South. Bryn Mawr is also a pretty good cross street.
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It certainly is a matter of preference, but what's wrong with Wilson in your view? (Well other than the fact that the pavement is currently in bad shape on the west bound side...) I have had MANY problems on Lawrence and thus avoid it. Cars turning into the lanes, bad drivers using the bike lane as the high speed passing lane, pedestrians simply walking into the street at random, cars pulling into parking and so forth.
In contrast, Wilson has lights at the major streets, relatively light traffic. Width which causes cars to be a bit slower, and cross streets with stop signs that seem not so busy. Certainly as you get near the Kennedy/Edens it gets a little messy....
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on
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There is no bike lane on Irving Park Road from the lake all the way to the suburbs. I cannot imagine why Google would think it was a good route.
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Other than the indeed terrible pavement, its super-narrow in places with many stop signs, so you will get stuck behind cars stopping at stop signs where its simply not worth it to try to squeeze through (to have a car squeeze past you further down the block). At busier times you'll have multiple cars in front of you. This might be "safe" but its not enjoyable.
None of the things you've described has ever been a huge issue for me on Lawrence.
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Each to his own. I have to take a few blocks on Lawrence in order to make the various connections.
Almost every incident that I have had on the commute occurred during the 4% of my commute which occurs on Lawrence. And the Buses on Lawrence really add to the problem as they are tough to get around, and thus, whenever I take Lawrence for a longer period (it is certainly the most direct) I find that I am eating Bus Smoke. And pretty much at every "major" intersection, the cars cut over and choke off the lane. I don't see any of this on Wilson or Ainslie. (And I like Ainslie a lot better than Wilson... its just one way East Bound so it doesn't work in the AM).....
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I do not see why it is any harder to pass buses on Lawrence than any other street with buses. If I see a bus pulled over and it doesn't seem as if it will be starting up by the time I get to it, I look back to my left and merge into the traffic lane when its safe (cars are usually accomodating about this). I do the same with cars in the RTL.
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Each to his own. I detest Lawrence and I rate it right up with Western and Irving Park as simply unrideable. I will (and do) take long detours to stay off.
As for the buses.. I am a bit slow in traffic keeping something under 15 MPH and somewhere around the 12 to 13 MPH average. With the frequency and speed of the buses, I find them particularly annoying both for passing and staying in front. And a number of the Buses are very aggressive. For example, in the stretch past the Edens, the Buses pretty much drive up the Bike Lanes all the way to Jeff Park. I don't want to tangle with the buses.
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Permalink Reply by David Barish on
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0= expressway 10= bike only lane with fairy dust and craft beer
Irving = 2
Lawrence=4
Montrose=6
If you go farther north...
Foster=8
....
Skip's Xtracycle =11
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