protected bike lane downtown

Gotta say, I don't like it for two reasons. It seems people who are getting into their cars use it as a sidewalk, and garbage tends to gather in the lane, especially around the Bloomer chocolate factory. I've ridden this a few times, and it's kinda sketchy. I think it was modeled after ones in Europe, but i don't think it's the best for Chicago. just saying.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 12, 2011 at 8:50am

That video is SO OVER!

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Permalink Reply by Kelly on July 12, 2011 at 3:15pm

I don't much think of myself as a 'ninny,' just as a person who would like to attempt to keep herself and her child safe. I know plenty of other families and individuals who feel the same. Perhaps a better location for the first segregated bike lane would have been in a neighborhood where people would actually appreciate it and not complain so much about the learning curve.

For what it's worth, I bike year round and have done so for three years now. I know how to bike safely in traffic. What I don't know how to do is prevent assclowns from trying to run me off the road, other than putting in segregated bike lanes. My three year old shouldn't have to see her mother having a panic attack on the side of the road because a motorist on a power trip decided that it would be 'fun' to swerve and effectively run the family bike into a parked car or into a curb.

Sometimes I question why we still continue to cycle with our daughter, when the attitude of motorists and many cyclists alike is that people with children are not welcome on bicycles in this city. Segregated lanes would benefit the elderly, children and families, so I will continue to support the efforts of our new mayor, ignore the whining and hope for a better future for this city.

envane x said:

I rode the entire seperated stretch of Kinzie on my commute home last week and encountered two joggers, a wrong way cyclist and a car parked in the lane completely blocking it. It was pretty much exactly what all the nay-sayers claimed would happen -- most people will not take it as a serious piece of transportation infrastructure and so they will use it as they please. And since you're blocked in your little "protected" bike tunnel, you've lost room to maneuver. Gee, thanks for making my ride less safe for the psychological comfort of a bunch of ninnies who hardly ride to begin with.

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Permalink Reply by evanK on July 12, 2011 at 3:35pm

I like the idea of protected bike lanes, but I think the location for implementation is a large part of the problem. And I think the result is a place where cyclists feel safer but are actually less safe than if they just rode in a "regular" non-protected bike lane. Maybe better than a "shared" lane though.

I've biked the protected lane a dozen times or so and while I've been annoyed at people walking in it - particularly by the Merch Mart where there is no sidewalk, usually two abreast - I feel the most unsafe crossing those myriad side streets and parking lot entrances that aren't proper intersections. The worst is going down the hill: east on Kinzie just east of Desplaines. With cars turning right onto Jefferson, the cyclist has to assume that drivers won't see them and so should ride the brakes down the hill to be ready to stop or slow if they see someone turning.

The signage for the cars is obscure and confusing: totally ineffective. Maybe an actual yield sign in the driver's field of vision as they're about to cross the path? I like the idea of the green paint, but I don't believe it's making me any safer.

The safest I feel is biking in a "regular" bike lane along a road that has no street parking. Which is how all of Milwaukee should be - especially during rush hour. And while we're wishfully thinking, Clark too.

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Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on July 12, 2011 at 3:43pm

I would love to see even a single bike lane in my community before I a separated lane. :)

But that's the suburbs for you.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

We agree, this is the first half-mile in a proposed 25-mile network this year! People will adjust.

If you are interested in spreading bikeways around Chicago, please consider signing on to our Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign.

Together we will mobilize people around the city to win more protected bikeways and double bike parking.

Thanks,

Ethan Spotts, Active Trans

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:

These things are what it takes to move cycling from something in the domain of "daring 20 something men" to a common occurrence. You'll just have to deal with it. The cars and joggers are something that will take time to amend.

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Permalink Reply by Anne on July 12, 2011 at 4:13pm

Who will and how will these lanes get plowed in the winter?

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 12, 2011 at 4:34pm

I'm sure the city has, or will acquire, some bobcat/skid-steer loaders for this. I'm not worried about the lanes themselves but how they will deal with the bollards. Looks like some hand-work with shovels if you ask me which means the bollards and the area near them won't get done until way after a storm is done and they get caught up on plowing. Assume the worst at first until they figure it out. THe first big snow should be interesting.

Teething pains.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on July 13, 2011 at 10:41am

We were wondering about this too. The City has F450-based plow/salt trucks with 76" blades that are, I think, just narrow enough to fit between the curb and the soft bollards, but this would leave only the sidewalk and the parking spots to plow the snow into, and I think it's too tight. The city has the ability to buy 4x4 diesel utes with plow blades (these are better for this than a skid steer loader) that would work for this, but S&S and CDOT don't currently have any. The City doesn't have any sweepers that are narrow enough to get down the protected lane, so I don't see it getting swept. I'm not sure what will happen next winter, but I predict unnecessary surprise on the part of CDOT and a last-minute order for the necessary equipment, which will not be available until the following winter.

James BlackHeron said:

I'm sure the city has, or will acquire, some bobcat/skid-steer loaders for this. I'm not worried about the lanes themselves but how they will deal with the bollards. Looks like some hand-work with shovels if you ask me which means the bollards and the area near them won't get done until way after a storm is done and they get caught up on plowing. Assume the worst at first until they figure it out. THe first big snow should be interesting.

Teething pains.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 13, 2011 at 11:28am

The skid-steer has the ability to lift & haul snow rather than just push.

I remember back in the day up at the UW-Madison they had giant brush attachments for the bobcats that would spin and shoost the snee all over da ya hey. Worked pretty well for sidewalks even.

David A. Pertuz said:

We were wondering about this too. The City has F450-based plow/salt trucks with 76" blades that are, I think, just narrow enough to fit between the curb and the soft bollards, but this would leave only the sidewalk and the parking spots to plow the snow into, and I think it's too tight. The city has the ability to buy 4x4 diesel utes with plow blades (these are better for this than a skid steer loader) that would work for this, but S&S and CDOT don't currently have any. The City doesn't have any sweepers that are narrow enough to get down the protected lane, so I don't see it getting swept. I'm not sure what will happen next winter, but I predict unnecessary surprise on the part of CDOT and a last-minute order for the necessary equipment, which will not be available until the following winter.

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Permalink Reply by Art Gilfand on July 13, 2011 at 1:45pm

More than people using the protected bike lanes to get to their cars. Simply walking in it, for no good reason. I just discovered this problem today. I was not amused.

Then again, I can understand the frustration when cyclists use the sidewalks (again, more than just to get to the bike rack mid-block). We don't belong on the sidewalk and I rarely ride on the sidewalk and they (peds) don't belong on the bike lane.