The Chainlink

Suburban Bike Lanes

I see from Grid Chicago (a great new site) that the City of Chicago is pledging to install 100 miles of protected bike lanes. I assume some of the funding is coming from the $30+ million in CMAQ funds the City received for their Streets for Cycling initiative. 

 

But here is my question? Where should protected bike lanes get installed in the suburbs? Post your ideas here.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 2, 2011 at 11:05am
Great suggestion.  It would be awesome to be able to ride from Metra to the Arboretum.  I wouldn't ride there now under current conditions.  I'd bet that a lot more people would ride there instead of driving (either from Metra or other places nearby) if there was a safer bike route.

Liz said:

I grew up in Lisle, and while I rode my bike on paths it had never occurred to me that I could ride around town with it.  Looking back now as a cyclist 90% of the trips I made where 1-5 miles and been just as fast to get to by bike.  Had there been better education and safety for riders in this area I believe I would have started cycling more around town.  There are the places I traveled go would be a safe ride if there where just a few miles of connected safe bike lanes to get through pinch points at highways and rivers.  

 

One example is the Morton Arboretum,  this is a fantastic biking destination, but the road leading to the arboretum (Rt. 53) is very dangerous to cyclists.  If there was a safe rout there than people who are looking for a weekend ride with the family may consider riding there, instead of driving 1-2 miles with bikes.  There are many other example of excellent bike trails with 5 lane 45+ mph roads or highways keeping access limited even though residential areas are within a few miles. 

 

I think that adding protected lanes leading from side streets to and at viaducts and bridges at arterial pinch points is the most effective area to start.  


wigner said:

really?

i just asked all the people in my office, they all live within 10 miles of work, and none of them said they'd ever consider riding to work.

Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on August 2, 2011 at 3:07pm

We also wanted to add that our research shows only two communities in the U.S. that could be considered suburban and have protected bike lanes: Cambridge, MA and Long Beach, CA.

 

Thanks,

Dan Persky, Active Trans

Permalink Reply by Jane Healy on November 5, 2011 at 9:34am

Western Ave. south from 119th Street... as it becomes Dixie Hwy, into Homewood and beyond

95th Street through Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn

Ridgeland Ave. from Chicago Ridge (95th) south to Midlothian Turnpike in Tinley Park(?Oak Forest?)

Clare Blvd/135th St. from Robbins west to Harlem

 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 5, 2011 at 11:05am
Exactly.  Many potential riders in the suburbs wouldn't think of riding to work because there's no safe way to do it.  If they live within a reasonable distance (5-10 miles) and safe lanes or paths were created, I think you'd see a LOT more bike commuting and shopping by bike in the suburbs.  Of course, those lanes or paths need to go to useful destinations.

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:

If there were lanes around, signage, and they seen that everyday, I think the idea would pop into their head.

 

Look at http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/the-bicycle-dividend/ they explain some of it.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 5, 2011 at 11:14am
I recently visited someone who had just moved into a subdivision near this monster intersection in Glen Ellyn (Roosevelt Rd. and Rt. 53).  There are dozens of places to shop or dine within 1 mile of their house (south of Roosevelt), but there is no way to walk or ride there.  There are very few intersections where there is even a crosswalk to get across Roosevelt Rd., and none of them have pedestrian refuge islands or any other kind of assistance.  It absolutely sickened me to be able to see all those places from their front door and have to get into a car to get there - the worst of suburbia.
Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on November 5, 2011 at 11:16am

In my area.

 

Wolf Road. At least over I-80. LaGrange, all of it. Harlem or Oak Park Ave. If Harlem, all of it. If Oak Park Ave. Over I-80.

 

Rt. 30, but they are building one..

 

All of them need to be maintained in the winter, but since many existing paths along the road way are forest preserve responsibility, they aren't.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 5, 2011 at 11:18am
Great suggestions.  I'd add Halsted south from 111th to at least Sibley Blvd. (147th).

Jane said:

Western Ave. south from 119th Street... as it becomes Dixie Hwy, into Homewood and beyond

95th Street through Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn

Ridgeland Ave. from Chicago Ridge (95th) south to Midlothian Turnpike in Tinley Park(?Oak Forest?)

Clare Blvd/135th St. from Robbins west to Harlem

 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on November 5, 2011 at 2:41pm

Barb Cornew wrote on the Active Transportation Alliance blog that Evanston may be the first suburb to construct a protected bike lane. 

 

If there was going to be a region-wide plan/program to construct protected bike lanes in the suburbs, I would look at corridors that separate the densest housing areas with dense job and shopping areas by a short distance (less than 5 miles). It will be these corridors that would encourage more people to bike. 

Adam Jenkins said, "What you need to look for is the connector streets where your only option if you need to ride is 65 mph traffic and no shoulder." -I agree: let's look here, too. 

I grew up in Batavia and the Fox Valley, so here's my list:

  • Randall Road between St. Charles Road in St. Charles, and Wilson Street in Batavia. Tons of retail with neighborhoods just one block behind them. 
  • Fabyan Parkway, the border of Geneva and Batavia. A trail exists on Fabyan from Randall to Route 31, but not from Route 31 to Kirk Road. 
  • Raddant Road from Wilson Street to Butterfield Road. Connects neighborhoods to Rotolo Middle School, Marmion Academy, and the Walmart at Kirk/Butterfield. 
  • Route 31/Batavia Avenue between St. Charles Road in St. Charles, and Wilson Street in Batavia. Connects all the neighborhoods and the downtowns of St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia. 

 

Other major issues in the suburbs I've noted is the lack of crosswalks and crosswalk signals at signalized intersections. Also the lack of sidewalks and sidewalk connectivity. 

As part of my work doing bike parking consulting for Active Trans, I've visited many suburbs. I'll be writing about these visits on Grid Chicago. My first entry was about the Village of Riverdale. 

Permalink Reply by Bernard Joseph Hannigan on November 6, 2011 at 8:27pm

As far as inner western Burbia goes, there is a group of us working with ATA to make bicycling more wunderful in BERWYN...Our recent new street scape of Roosevelt Road FAILED to make any bicycle accommodations. Unfortunate in that the city of Chicago HAS bike lanes in place on Roos' from the Museum Campus heading west into Berwyn to our wunerful venues such as Fitzgerald's, Autre Monde, Horribles, et al.... I won't get into the clueless MORON who was in charge of that train wreck.....

IDOT is working on the RT 66 run into Berwyn (Ogden Ave.) and beyond....IL will have the 1st STATEWIDE dedicated bicycle route upon completion...

Berwyn also has 26th street which heads to the Salt Creek Trail...Just west of Berwyn, the Village of North Riverside has beautiful bicycle lanes on both sides of 26th west of Desplaines Ave. Our section of 26th has room for the same type of lanes...

We have many options here in Berwyn for pleasant bicycle riding that would draw the Chicago cyclist westward, I will work hard to make that happen..Once you come to Berwyn, you will want to relocate here.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Jared on November 6, 2011 at 8:52pm
I always found Berwyn a good place to bike.
Permalink Reply by Eduardo on November 6, 2011 at 10:19pm

There are a couple of gateway roads in the west suburbs that would ease congestion and improve the safety of riders if bike lanes were implemented. Many cyclist use Mack Road from Shaffner Road to Route 59 in Wheaton/Warrenville as a gateway to reach Fermilab and the Fox River. Mack Road is a beautiful road to ride on taken advantage by cycling clubs and commuters alike and is very popular with car drivers trying to take shortcuts. No shoulder and in some parts, a sloping gravel shoulder.

Another is High Lake Road in Winfield/West Chicago from Winfield Road through the bend at Prince Crossing Road for the same reasons as Mack Road. Cars travel at a faster rate of speed, 2 lane without a shoulder with some hills that makes it dangerous for cars to drive around cyclist coming up on a hill.

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