The Chainlink

Suggested signs for the LFP

Would it help to suggest signage to the Park District?  I thought of this:

This is a SHARED USE PATH.  You ARE NOT SPECIAL!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Fitz, Scrabblor on June 22, 2012 at 11:48pm

As a daily commuter on the south side I'd suggest:  'Bicyclists, please use a bell!'  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 23, 2012 at 7:18am

I like both of these suggestions.

Permalink Reply by ilter on June 23, 2012 at 9:48am

something like "pedestrians please stay on right" & reduced speed (6 mph?) areas for bikers would be nice.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 23, 2012 at 10:18am

How about block #'s and street names ON THE PATH so you know where you are?   I'm all for the "shared path" signage.  But there are a lot of stupid signs on the path that really are nothing but decoration.   Having a clue where you are, and where your turn-off is, would be a big help too.  I have NO CLUE why this type of common-sense marking is so scarce on the LFP.

Permalink Reply by S on June 23, 2012 at 2:31pm

That used to be painted on the path every couple of miles or so.  But the paint has worn off or been removed when places got repaved and never replaced.  The mile marker signs kind of help but frankly the best thing to do is to learn how far north or south various landmarks are and use that as a guide.

James BlackHeron said:

How about block #'s and street names ON THE PATH so you know where you are?   I'm all for the "shared path" signage.  But there are a lot of stupid signs on the path that really are nothing but decoration.   Having a clue where you are, and where your turn-off is, would be a big help too.  I have NO CLUE why this type of common-sense marking is so scarce on the LFP.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 23, 2012 at 3:55pm

Seriously, would that excuse cut it on the interstate?  Or any other automobile road or highway infrastructure?   "Just learn the landmarks?"  Is THAT the answer? Should I "just learn" the landmarks of  where i-90 crosses I-65 rather than having a sign?  SHould I just memorize every street in Chicago,  in Illinois?  -For the whole country, for that matter?

Some people don't take the same route every day.  I'm a bicycle commuter who uses his bike for just about everything and goes everywhere on it -not the same route every day -day in and day out.   Some people (me included rarely use the LFP because it sucks.  When I am using it is usually dark or rainy and I always end up missing my turn.  It's not like the next turn-off is a block down or anything.  Sometimes they are a half-mile or more apart.

If the city is even half-ass serious about making some REAL bike infrastructure for commuters as a means of shifting mode share away from cars and towards bikes they have to put up some darn signs so that people can find their way around.    

Telling someone who is coming to visit you to turn off the highway where old man Johnson's barn used to be is sort of 19th century, don't you think?   Navigation for mass market transportation/mobility has to be better than that.  

FAIL



S said:

That used to be painted on the path every couple of miles or so.  But the paint has worn off or been removed when places got repaved and never replaced.  The mile marker signs kind of help but frankly the best thing to do is to learn how far north or south various landmarks are and use that as a guide.


Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 24, 2012 at 11:53am

+1

It really is pathetic.

I tend to avoid the LFP because it is the furthest thing from a backbone as you pointed out.  

About the only times I ever get on it is when I'm with someone else who knows where they are going, or when CCM dumps off on it and I'm far North or South of where I live and need to get home or somewhere else after that.   Usually this is when I realize that I am almost certain to miss my turn.    

I really should "learn the landmarks" around the Diversey "exit" better.   Trying to read the road signs will have me way off as they tend to be WELL before the exit on LSD.  I often get off too early or past where I want to and then have to fake it as I "navigate" through the Diversey shore area by feel using Roscoe or something like that to the North or Wrightwood/thereabouts if I'm South.    I'm not even sure of what the neighborhood is called as the only time I'm ever in that part of town is when I'm trying to make my way back to Logan Square via the LFP.    



Jennifer said:

Well, that's what you get when the backbone of the city's bike infrastructure is actually a shared-use recreational facility under the Park District's jurisdiction.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 24, 2012 at 12:48pm

Any worn or lost location marks on the LFP should be repainted.  There's no good excuse for that lapse.

I agree that, in order to improve the quality of bike infrastructure, navigation should be made easier.  People who aren't intimately familiar with the path shouldn't need to memorize a lot of landmarks.  For the purposes of navigation, 311 and 911 calls, there should be navigation information (painted marks for north/south location, supplemented by signage when appropriate) at every intersection.

Those of us involved with Friends of the Major Taylor Trail have been seeking the same thing for our trail.  When the trail was first built, there were little street signs at each street intersection.  Unfortunately, nearly all of them have disappeared.  Painted location marks are a more practical solution.  

I hope that we'll see repainted location marks on the LFP and new ones on the Major Taylor Trail this year.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on June 24, 2012 at 3:46pm

Everyone is special, but no-one is any more special than anyone else. That would make for a pretty awkward sign.!

Permalink Reply by Chuckchuck on June 24, 2012 at 9:25pm

But wait, the money has to go to the Flyover!  The Flyover will solve all problems!  Spend sixty million on the flyover!  (wasn't that suppose to start this summer?)  What a joke and waste of good money.

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on June 25, 2012 at 9:51am

I don't think the flyover will ever happen...



Chuckchuck said:

But wait, the money has to go to the Flyover!  The Flyover will solve all problems!  Spend sixty million on the flyover!  (wasn't that suppose to start this summer?)  What a joke and waste of good money.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 25, 2012 at 10:00am

The LFP flyover will happen the same day the Roscoe bike bridge is built over the brand spanking new Taj Mahal Boathouse at Clark Park 

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