The Chainlink

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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They get plenty of snow in Copenhagen and this blog post on Copenhagenize.com covers a lot of detail about how they do it there.

 

Photo: Bike Lane Snowplough by Mikael Colville-Andersen

That's the brush I was talking about earlier.  What a cute little micro-truck!

What we need are bike lanes for different types of bike riders.

Fixies get the far left lane to share with roadies.

Cruisers and Mountain bikes the middle lane.

Newbies get the far right lane, possibly with a "how to ride a bike in traffic" tour guide.

 

After that maybe we have room for cars idling.

For some I'm probably preaching to the choir and for others this will fall on deaf ears, but please please please stop at stop signs for pedestrians crossing Kinzie when cycling in the protected lane on Kinzie.  Today the Chicago Bike Ambassadors were out at certain stop signs near the Merchandise Mart.  I stopped at the first stop sign right after the bridge heading east and tried to let a pedestrian go who had been patiently waiting cross Kinzie.  As soon as the pedestrian neared the curb, a cyclist rushed by me on my right and almost took the guy out.  A cycling ambassador had to literally walk out into the middle of the lane and halt three other cyclists approaching the stop sign just to make sure the guy could cross okay.  That just seems unacceptable to me. 

 

I'm all in favor of Idaho stops when appropriate and other realistic road rules for cyclists, but some of the riding I've seen cyclists pull on Kinzie lately just reinforces the point to me that there are selfish inattentive road users on both sides of the equation.  If cyclists act with little to no responsibility for others safety, those that oppose this type of infrastructure just get more ammo to fight with.  End rant.   

Interesting to hear the bike ambassadors were out again today. That says to me that the city is getting complaints about something with the lane. I think the bike ambassadors are so great. We've run into them a bunch this year with our kids and they are always so unfailingly nice regardless of who is letting loose on them. They kind of get it from both sides. Cyclists treat them like the man and car people treat them poorly because they essentially represent bikes. Try to be nice if you come across the ambassadors out at Kinzie. They are just trying to support cycling in the city too.
+1. I complimented two cyclists yesterday for yielding the right of way to a pedestrian and a car, each of which had the right of way. I see a lot of bicyclists on that protected bike lane riding like it's a bobsled track.

ad said:

For some I'm probably preaching to the choir and for others this will fall on deaf ears, but please please please stop at stop signs for pedestrians crossing Kinzie when cycling in the protected lane on Kinzie.  Today the Chicago Bike Ambassadors were out at certain stop signs near the Merchandise Mart.  I stopped at the first stop sign right after the bridge heading east and tried to let a pedestrian go who had been patiently waiting cross Kinzie.  As soon as the pedestrian neared the curb, a cyclist rushed by me on my right and almost took the guy out.  A cycling ambassador had to literally walk out into the middle of the lane and halt three other cyclists approaching the stop sign just to make sure the guy could cross okay.  That just seems unacceptable to me. 

 

I'm all in favor of Idaho stops when appropriate and other realistic road rules for cyclists, but some of the riding I've seen cyclists pull on Kinzie lately just reinforces the point to me that there are selfish inattentive road users on both sides of the equation.  If cyclists act with little to no responsibility for others safety, those that oppose this type of infrastructure just get more ammo to fight with.  End rant.   

Idaho stop treats a stop sign as a YIELD -not a green light with ultimate god-level right of way over all other vehicles or peds.

 

Idaho stop or no, bikes still must yield to a ped in a crosswalk or attempting to enter the crosswalk from the curb cut.  Period.  END of story.

 

The Idaho-type Stop actually has nothing at all to do with this as the requirement to yield the right of way to a ped crossing would trump all other considerations.  

ad said:

I'm all in favor of Idaho stops when appropriate and other realistic road rules for cyclists, but some of the riding I've seen cyclists pull on Kinzie lately just reinforces the point to me that there are selfish inattentive road users on both sides of the equation.  If cyclists act with little to no responsibility for others safety, those that oppose this type of infrastructure just get more ammo to fight with.  End rant.   

I've ridden it a few times and I like it, with reservations.

It seems a lot of people, especially around East Bank Club, are using it as a jogging / walking lane, even though a huge, empty sidewalk exists 10' to their immediate right.

Motorists, on the other hand, seem to really get it, even cabbies.

So, if I need to squirt water on a couple of rich ladies who decide to use the bike lane for their personal running track (in my defense, I called out to them at least 5 times) in exchange for a tiny bit more goodwill with motorists, I'll take it.

Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to say that an Idaho stop-situation actually applied--or should apply--to this particular set of facts.  I was just pointing out I am in favor of the concept in general--when appropriate--before someone tried to call me out for being overly tied to car-centric derived rules, which seems to be how several of these conversations eventually go on here when someone calls out another cyclist's conduct. 

 

I do agree 100% with your description of what an Idaho stop should be, though.  Here, however, the cyclist behind me was clearly in the wrong and should have come to a complete stop to let the guy cross.        

James BlackHeron said:

Idaho stop treats a stop sign as a YIELD -not a green light with ultimate god-level right of way over all other vehicles or peds.

 

Idaho stop or no, bikes still must yield to a ped in a crosswalk or attempting to enter the crosswalk from the curb cut.  Period.  END of story.

 

The Idaho-type Stop actually has nothing at all to do with this as the requirement to yield the right of way to a ped crossing would trump all other considerations.  

ad said:

I'm all in favor of Idaho stops when appropriate and other realistic road rules for cyclists, but some of the riding I've seen cyclists pull on Kinzie lately just reinforces the point to me that there are selfish inattentive road users on both sides of the equation.  If cyclists act with little to no responsibility for others safety, those that oppose this type of infrastructure just get more ammo to fight with.  End rant.   

You are right that motorists dont' have the monopoly or sole-franchise on being aggressive road users that selfishly and regularly violate other road user's right-of-way.

 

There are plenty of bicyclists that do it too.  The problem with humans is that they are often all too human...

Within the Loop, Dearborn & Clark are wide and would be good North/South candidates. 

Maybe going under the tracks on Lake/VanBuren would be good East/West candidates; move parking off those streets altogether and use the sides outside the track posts for the bike lanes?

 

Not going to happen.

 

LAZ

in it to win it said:

move parking off those streets altogether and use the sides outside the track posts for the bike lanes?

 

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