Red Lights for Bikes: Sure Thing or Stupid Nuisance? Tawlk amongst yourselves!

ON WBEZ's 848 this morning, Tony Sarabia chatted with Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein about Chicago’s newest protected bike lane that will run along Dearborn Street in the Loop and will include red lights for bikes. More details here!

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on August 10, 2012 at 12:08pm

+1. The lack of clarity on Kinzie re: who has right-of-way, bicycles proceeding forward or cars turning right, would be greatly helped by separate signals for bikes and cars.

Cameron Puetz said:

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Dearborn protected lane. I've been critical of the Kinzie protected lane because of the intersection conflicts created for all modes of travel with turning traffic not looking for cyclists (or struggling with the poor sight lines), cyclists ignoring stop signs and not letting pedestrians cross, and pedestrians queuing in the bike lane waiting for a light to change. Hopefully the separate lights for the bike lane will be used to time the light cycles to eliminate some of these conflicts and give everyone a chance to move. This is very common in Germany and the Netherlands and works well there.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Willis on August 10, 2012 at 7:31pm

I took this in Warsaw

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Lee on August 10, 2012 at 11:41pm

what happens to bikes in an intersection?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIthEM6pDqw&feature=related

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Permalink Reply by magomawe on August 11, 2012 at 3:16am

Awesome. I'd like to see a cost projection to know how expensive these things are, but if there are pedestrian lights, lets get bicycling lights too. Though some people will blow them at times, it will make travel a lot clearer for all parties. It also might draw the attention of some drivers who may consider dusting off their bikes for an easier ride to work.