South Halsted Ave

Is Halsted safe from Monroe to 35th?  Is there a better route?  

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on March 13, 2014 at 9:11am

I've never had any problems with Halsted down there. It's a tight squeeze going under the tracks by 16th but otherwise fine. I can't comment on potholes since I haven't been south of Roosevelt on Halsted all winter. 

Canal is a good alternate route which will get you down into the 20s. From there just take some side streets back over to Halsted. Racine is another if you'd rather be west of Halsted but it dead ends at the river. Canal will at least get you over the river. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on March 13, 2014 at 9:19am

Again, can't comment on the condition of the street, but yes, I consider Halsted to be "safe" from Monroe to 35th.

Permalink Reply by Legacy Frameworks on March 13, 2014 at 9:30am

I alway recommend Loomis south of Jackson to get down as far as 31st. Much Quieter. Or the lakefront - southbound is usually pretty good.

Especially now that there is some VERY heavy construction between vanburen and harrison. Concrete barriers narrowing halsted to barely 2 cars wide. 

Permalink Reply by Rich S on March 13, 2014 at 9:42am

Ah yes forgot about that construction. I've been taking Green or Peoria in/out of UIC so that slipped my mind. Loomis is another good alternate and I believe it will get you over the river too. 

If you take the LFP then just be aware that you'll be about 1.5 miles east of Halsted by the time you get down to 31st or 35th. 

Legacy Frameworks said:

I alway recommend Loomis south of Jackson to get down as far as 31st. Much Quieter. Or the lakefront - southbound is usually pretty good.

Especially now that there is some VERY heavy construction between vanburen and harrison. Concrete barriers narrowing halsted to barely 2 cars wide. 

Permalink Reply by Andrew on March 13, 2014 at 9:54am

Seconded.  I enjoy that route.

Legacy Frameworks said:

I alway recommend Loomis south of Jackson to get down as far as 31st. Much Quieter.

Permalink Reply by WalkThroughWater on March 13, 2014 at 10:48am

I use to ride S. Halsted everyday when I went to IIT. It is pretty easy and safe. Most annoying part is if you have to play leap frog with the 8 bus.

Permalink Reply by WalkThroughWater on March 13, 2014 at 11:01am

Oh, and fyi the stretch between 26th and 30th on Halsted can be brutal on windy days because Palmisano Park gives no resistance to the gusts. So, between 26th and 35th you can move one block east to Emerald to go southbound and use Union to go back north. They are one way two lane residential streets that offer nice protection from the wind and traffic.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on March 14, 2014 at 2:48am

I rode S. Halsted regularly in 2011-12; never had any problems though I recommend biking slowly through the University Village(?) area south of UIC; the street is narrow enough that I found it hard not to be in the "door zone."

As with others, I can't comment on current street conditions/construction.

Agree that Loomis is good, although I found the grates on the bridge to be frightening; maybe take the sidewalk at that point if you have a road bike.

Permalink Reply by grayn8 on March 14, 2014 at 3:26am
I ride it regularly currently and most of what said holds true. There have been major problems earlier this winter going north from 31st to the Roose with construction and really ugly potholes. With the snow and angry drivers the shennanigans at 26th and halsted got ugly. Still, I love that stretch and find halsted with its connections to 18, 26, 31, archer...etc to be a great n-s for near south trips.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 14, 2014 at 3:51am

+1  Wallace is another nice alternative to this section of Halsted - good all the way to Pershing (not that you'd want to ride on Pershing).

WalkThroughWater said:

Oh, and fyi the stretch between 26th and 30th on Halsted can be brutal on windy days because Palmisano Park gives no resistance to the gusts. So, between 26th and 35th you can move one block east to Emerald to go southbound and use Union to go back north. They are one way two lane residential streets that offer nice protection from the wind and traffic.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 14, 2014 at 3:52am

Yep, some folks hate the grated bridge on Loomis. If you opt for the sidewalk, watch for glass. Sometimes that's an issue.

FYI - The section around Cermak and just north (railroad crossings) has been rough for a while. It's on the resurfacing list for this year, according to news I've heard this week.

Alex Z said:

I rode S. Halsted regularly in 2011-12; never had any problems though I recommend biking slowly through the University Village(?) area south of UIC; the street is narrow enough that I found it hard not to be in the "door zone."

As with others, I can't comment on current street conditions/construction.

Agree that Loomis is good, although I found the grates on the bridge to be frightening; maybe take the sidewalk at that point if you have a road bike.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on March 14, 2014 at 5:50am

Was really one of the scarier experiences I've had on my bike. I didn't stick around long enough to analyze the difference between it and other bridges with which I'm somewhat familiar.


Anne Alt said:

Yep, some folks hate the grated bridge on Loomis.

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