Riding west on Madison

Safety question: What do people think about biking Madison Avenue west in the day time?
 
I have to get from the Loop to Oak Park tomorrow after work.  I can wait til after rush hour and bring my bike on the train, or I could just bike it.  I've been wanting to try this route for a while, but I don't know many people who've done it.
 
What do you think?
 
Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on April 9, 2012 at 8:12am

Here's an old thread with lots of suggestions for routes from the Loop to Oak Park.

Permalink Reply by Mollie on April 9, 2012 at 8:37am

Thank you, Kevin.  I wasn't using the right search terms.  If anyone has anything to add about current conditions of Lake, Washington, and/or Grand that'd be good to know, too. 

Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on April 9, 2012 at 9:01am

Grand or Armitage are my favorites depending on where I am. I mostly avoid Lake and Washington because of road condition/glass. What time are you heading out?

Permalink Reply by Mollie on April 9, 2012 at 9:44am

I'm going to try to link up with the Westside commuters at Fulton and Green, so I'll head out to catch one of their leave times.

I've used streets to the north, but for this particular route, they're more out of the way than I'd like to go.  I'll have to try Armitage some time.

Tiberculosis said:

Grand or Armitage are my favorites depending on where I am. I mostly avoid Lake and Washington because of road condition/glass. What time are you heading out?

Permalink Reply by Will on April 9, 2012 at 10:12am

Madison really is bad, due to traffic, but I've biked it many times, alone and in small groups. Washington is much quieter, and would be my preferred street for a "southern" route. I've never tried Armitage, but I'll probably give it a shot next time.

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on April 9, 2012 at 4:15pm

I think you mean Madison Street.  :P

 

I also think you'd be better off on a street like Warren/Washington, Jackson, or Lake.

Permalink Reply by Eduardo on April 13, 2012 at 2:50am

A bike route from Oak Park to Chicago

A plan reportedly under consideration by Chicago's Department of Transportation would create 10 miles of bike lanes, stretching west along Madison Street from the Loop to Oak Park.

Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on April 13, 2012 at 10:21am

What part of the loop? Odgen is safer, and faster (diagonal street). From now N. Riverside I used to bike 26th to Cermak, Odgen, and then you can turn on whatever street you need.

Permalink Reply by Wolf-Pup on April 13, 2012 at 10:24am

Washington and Grand are both really nice to bike on. The only thing is that Washington is a bit tight/unsafe towards the SW suburbs but the streets widen (bike lanes!) the further you get into Chicago. Avoid Lake!

Permalink Reply by JCB on April 14, 2012 at 3:20am
I have *driven* Madison west from the Loop and not felt safe in spots. I would never bike there alone during the day. I've done Jackson and Roosevelt (on a Sunday morning with little traffic) with others. I know people who swear by Lake street for commuting. I haven't tried that myself.
Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on April 15, 2012 at 2:59am

I've been biking in from the western suburbs through Riverside and agree that 26th is great - I've been cutting north to OP though. If I were to continue on 26th east the section crossing Cicero / BNSF  and connecting to Ogden looks a little dicey - what's it like riding that section?

Bike lanes on Ogden sure would be nice.

Yvonne Valencia said:

What part of the loop? Odgen is safer, and faster (diagonal street). From now N. Riverside I used to bike 26th to Cermak, Odgen, and then you can turn on whatever street you need.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 15, 2012 at 5:40am

I' ve ridden the 26th St. route on weekends.  I've found that traffic in the area around the intersection by Cicero/Ogden is often fairly light then, at least on 26th.  From the RR crossing just east of the intersection to 50th Ave. (in other words, around viaduct/turn combinations), taking the lane and even bearing a bit towards the left side of the right lane can be helpful to make you visible for a longer distance to overtaking traffic.  Traffic speed through the intersection can be an issue - good reason to aim for greater visibility.  Traffic volume and speed are a bigger issue on Ogden than 26th here.  I haven't been through there at rush hour, so I don't know how it would look then.

I have not ridden through this intersection on Ogden, so have no experience to share on passing through in that direction.

Eric Peterson said:

I've been biking in from the western suburbs through Riverside and agree that 26th is great - I've been cutting north to OP though. If I were to continue on 26th east the section crossing Cicero / BNSF  and connecting to Ogden looks a little dicey - what's it like riding that section?

Bike lanes on Ogden sure would be nice.

Yvonne Valencia said:

What part of the loop? Odgen is safer, and faster (diagonal street). From now N. Riverside I used to bike 26th to Cermak, Odgen, and then you can turn on whatever street you need.

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