Oh Dearborn! A virtual tour of Chicago's first 2-way protected bike lane

Did you blink yesterday? If so you missed CDOT painting the "game-changing" new 2-way protected bike lane on Dearborn Street from Polk Street to the Chicago River. The striping is already complete, although the lane won't be ready to ride until the flexible posts, signs and bike-specific traffic signals are done. Here's a virtual tour of the new facility so far:

http://gridchicago.com/2012/oh-my-dearborn-the-2-way-protected-bike...


Keep moving forward,

John Greenfield

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 4, 2012 at 2:16am

Between narrow individual lanes and one less car traffic lane, slower speeds are likely - and safer.

Lisa Curcio said:

They are narrow.  I think the entire width for both lanes is the same as the lane on Kinzie or maybe just a little bigger.  It will not be possible to pass in the lane of travel.  The division between lanes is marked with a "dotted" yellow line except at intersections where it is solid, so I think it is anticipated that passing will occur in the oncoming lane when safe to do so.  

Juan, I think it is not going to be a place to ride fast.



in it to win it said:

Lanes for bikes look very narrow...
Permalink Reply by David Barish on December 4, 2012 at 3:27am

Still not open as of this morning. 

Permalink Reply by Deet 4.5mi on December 4, 2012 at 3:34am

went by at Kedzie, it was nice to see the lanes striped, they do look a bit narrow, cannot wait for it to open, i am done with wabash.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 4, 2012 at 4:37am

They won't be open until signage is installed and new stoplights are activated.  That should happen within the next 2 weeks.

David Barish said:

Still not open as of this morning. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 4, 2012 at 4:40am

On this morning's walk on Dearborn from Van Buren to Monroe, I noticed a change in driver behavior compared to yesterday.  A few drivers were breaking out of the line and driving fast in the parking lane.  This continued along the Federal Plaza, where they were zooming along in the striped buffer space, well in advance of the left turn lane for Adams.  Looks like some police assistance may be needed at this location when the lanes open.

On a more positive note, there were no delivery trucks parked in the bike lanes by the Marquette Building.  The Ice Mountain and Nestle bottled water delivery guys got with the program and parked in the parking lane.

Permalink Reply by Sarah Lewert on December 4, 2012 at 4:45am

Agreed. The drivers were much more aggressive this morning as compared to yesterday. Lots of driving in the striped parking lane. I also saw two bikers heading south next to the saw horses and cones. They seemed to be pretty cautious, but still a risky idea.

Anne Alt said:

On this morning's walk on Dearborn from Van Buren to Monroe, I noticed a change in driver behavior compared to yesterday.  A few drivers were breaking out of the line and driving fast in the parking lane.  This continued along the Federal Plaza, where they were zooming along in the striped buffer space, well in advance of the left turn lane for Adams.  Looks like some police assistance may be needed at this location when the lanes open.

On a more positive note, there were no delivery trucks parked in the bike lanes by the Marquette Building.  The Ice Mountain and Nestle bottled water delivery guys got with the program and parked in the parking lane.

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on December 4, 2012 at 5:24am

Yeah, they probably won't open until mid-December. They still need to put in the bollards and signs, and activate the traffic signals.

David Barish said:

Still not open as of this morning. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 4, 2012 at 5:42am

I saw 3 cyclists heading northbound in the lanes.

Sarah Lewert said:

Agreed. The drivers were much more aggressive this morning as compared to yesterday. Lots of driving in the striped parking lane. I also saw two bikers heading south next to the saw horses and cones. They seemed to be pretty cautious, but still a risky idea.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on December 4, 2012 at 5:45am

For the last three years I've gone down State Street from North to Jackson when I bike.  It's pretty wide open around 8:30 and I've never felt hemmed in by traffic.  I can't imagine trying to bike on Wabash.  It's too dark *and* too noisy, and the pedestrians crossing it all have death wishes.

I'm going to walk up to the German/Christmas thing at Daley Plaza for lunch and I'll take a look at this lane on Dearborn


Deet said:

went by at Kedzie, it was nice to see the lanes striped, they do look a bit narrow, cannot wait for it to open, i am done with wabash.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 4, 2012 at 7:39am

The bollard installation crew is out working today.  So far they've gotten from Polk up to Jackson.  Yeah!  And cars and trucks are parked in the parking lane where they should be, not in the bike lanes.  :)

Bollards are closely spaced where a left turn lane is right next to the bike lane, and widely spaced where parking is next to the lane.

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on December 4, 2012 at 7:49am
Let's say something similar would be possible on Clark too. Would it be better to have both streets open to two-way bike traffic with narrow lanes or have wide one-way bike lanes on both streets? I can see some advantages either way.
Permalink Reply by Will on December 4, 2012 at 10:10am

Well, I love these new bike lanes, as getting around the loop is one of the least pleasant things about cycling in Chicago. I think they need to clearly mark the bike lanes as no parking, standing, stopping, etc. Or maybe it should just say "BIKES ONLY" very clearly every 100 feet or so.

I also think the line dividing the parking/loading lane from the bike lanes should be painted red or yellow, to let motor vehicle operators know they cannot cross it. Or how about putting a low curb on that line, similar to a speed bump?

One last thought, Dearborn gets a LOT of foot traffic during rush hours, and I wonder if/how much this will flow out into the bike lanes. I could see this being more of an issue on Dearborn than it ever was on Kinzie.

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