Utility company street patching destroying bike routes

Has anyone else noticed the new style of rough, hard, concrete patching that is being done and apparently accepted by the City of Chicago, often obliterating existing bike routes.

Clark St. between Howard and Devon used to be a prime commuting route for me.  In spite of many lights, they were well synchronized and you could make really good time on that part of the commute.  Not so good in the evening but a great morning route.

That was until last year when some utilty tore up the street right in the bike lane and replaced it not with asphalt, but with this hard concrete.  The crew that did the patch made not the slightest attempt to smooth their work out and now Clark is basically unrideable.

Now another bike lane that was part of my commute, Pratt Blvd., has gotten the same treatment.

So while the city, to great fanfare, introduces new protected bike lanes in some part of the city, they fail to enforce basic street-paving standards and lose bike lanes that have served us well for years.

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on May 23, 2013 at 9:10am

Hey folks, we're definitely going to keep looking into this and working on it...it's good to hear that people think it's important (we do too).

We will also keep addressing it with CDOT, of course.

I think it’s important to keep in mind there’s no shortage of potential advocacy issues for all of us to engage in, but as a mission-driven organization with limited capacity we have to make strategic decisions about how to maximize the impact of our time and other resources. 

Like any movement for social change, building a more walking, biking and transit friendly Chicagoland is going to take many different individuals and groups pursuing diverse strategies over a long time, which is why spaces like The Chainlink are so important so we can all connect, discuss and find ways to take action together.

We’ll seek more clarity from CDOT on this so we can all better understand what the expectations should be and where there’s room for improvement.

Thanks again, Chainlink community, we appreciate the input and will continue to listen and stay involved.

Best - Jim Merrell, Active Trans

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on May 23, 2013 at 9:17am

Are there:

  • Things we can do to improve your effectiveness
  • Things you can pass off to us
  • FAQ of things general bike nerds can do to help ATA

?

Just thinking out loud.

Skip


Active Transportation Alliance said:

I think it’s important to keep in mind there’s no shortage of potential advocacy issues for all of us to engage in, but as a mission-driven organization with limited capacity we have to make strategic decisions about how to maximize the impact of our time and other resources. 

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on May 23, 2013 at 9:26am

Well said Jim, and nice to meet you virtually.  

Like any movement for social change, building a more walking, biking and transit friendly Chicagoland is going to take many different individuals and groups pursuing diverse strategies over a long time, which is why spaces like The Chainlink are so important so we can all connect, discuss and find ways to take action together.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

Hey folks, we're definitely going to keep looking into this and working on it...it's good to hear that people think it's important (we do too).

We will also keep addressing it with CDOT, of course.

I think it’s important to keep in mind there’s no shortage of potential advocacy issues for all of us to engage in, but as a mission-driven organization with limited capacity we have to make strategic decisions about how to maximize the impact of our time and other resources. 

Like any movement for social change, building a more walking, biking and transit friendly Chicagoland is going to take many different individuals and groups pursuing diverse strategies over a long time, which is why spaces like The Chainlink are so important so we can all connect, discuss and find ways to take action together.

We’ll seek more clarity from CDOT on this so we can all better understand what the expectations should be and where there’s room for improvement.

Best - Jim Merrell, Active Trans

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on May 23, 2013 at 12:00pm

I think many of us are disappointed in the change of mission of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation into the ATA.   While I agree that many of the goals of the ATA are good, and an organization is needed which works for the general promotion of alternate transportation and a unification of these alternatives, I wish it had not been done at the expense of killing a group which engaged in the advocacy of bicycling.   There was room, in fact, a need, for both.    The proper goals of the CBF should be the promoting of bicycling, even if it did not necessarily help the other forms of transportation.    Cars have multiple advocacy groups.   Bicyclists do not.  The mission of ATA and CBF overlap, but are not a unity.  For example, I would have hoped that a group with the mission of the old CBF would have fought very hard against the (idiotic) Ashland Bus Rapid Transit proposal.   Its likely not good transportation policy -- its really an Edsel trying to do many things with the result that it does nothing well --   but it is clearly BAD bicycle policy.  Ashland's not a great bicycle street, but it was usable and a number of good bike routes cut across it.   With this new BRT, its clearly no longer  a bicycle street and it will likely cut off, or at least impede, some of the cross streets AND will make visibility poor at those cross streets increasing the number of bicyclists hit.  But because the CBF had its mission co-opted, it now looks, to the public, that the bicyclists also support this (idiotic) proposal.  And just as importantly, for those that keep track of these things (mostly the car advocacy groups) this will be another "benefit" being provided to bicyclists who "use the streets for free" and thus be used to try to shoot down other projects.  

We need a CBF, and I would hope that thoughts are being undertaken as to what could be done to leave the ATA on its current mission and start up or restore an advocacy group for cyclists.   My suggestion for a name...  The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation....

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

I understand that ATA is small organization with limited staff. My complaint is less about their response time and more about how they have increasing become cheerleaders for CDOT and the CTA very willing to put out glowing press releases, but less willing to offer criticism or take on a watchdog role as would be more typical of an advocacy organization.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 23, 2013 at 12:46pm

FWIW, as a cyclist first and a bus rider second I support the Ashland BRT proposal. I have always thought it is reckless to bike on Ashland and Western. Would I like the parking removed and bike lanes put in? Yes. Is that realistic in the near future? No. Is Ashland BRT a big step in the right direction toward more complete streets in Chicago, the result of which will be improved cycling conditions generally? Definitely.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on May 23, 2013 at 3:10pm
David. This is a free country. why don't. you start this advocacy org?

David crZven 10.6 said:

We need a CBF, and I would hope that thoughts are being undertaken as to what could be done to leave the ATA on its current mission and start up or restore an advocacy group for cyclists.   My suggestion for a name...  The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation....

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

I understand that ATA is small organization with limited staff. My complaint is less about their response time and more about how they have increasing become cheerleaders for CDOT and the CTA very willing to put out glowing press releases, but less willing to offer criticism or take on a watchdog role as would be more typical of an advocacy organization.

Permalink Reply by Steve Cohen on May 23, 2013 at 3:15pm

OK, I'll plead ignorance:  Who's Gabe Klein?


h' 1.0 said:

I apologize for snarking, and especially for directing it at you. This discussion has been rather heavy on "somebody shoulds" and they tend to be kind of a button pusher for me.

I have also been in the habit of pinning various frustrations on Acitive Trans in the past-- it's really hard to know how busy everyone is without seeing it firsthand, becaues, well, they don't really have all that much time to tell us about it...

From my perspective some good strategies have been identified here, including Active Trans expressing that they'll look into it; the main prong I see missing, as I not 100% jokingly expressed earlier, is that one of our members who seems to have a direct line to Gabe Klein could bring it to him and let us know what the deal is.

Steve Cohen said:

Fair enough.

if ATA is not the organization that could do this, maybe something else needs to exist?  My frustration with their inability/unwillingness to do more on this is what caused me to search this place out and post this here.  I'm for whatever works.  How can we be more effective at advancing our concern?


h' 1.0 said:

ATA is a tiny and overstrapped organization trying to make change in a huge metropolitan area.

There's a common misperception that they have staff standing by to throw themselves into solving the next problem that the bike community faces, and as someone with a little insight into what goes on behind the scenes there, I can assure you that everyone is being strapped to the max to prepare for Bike the Drive, without which the staff they currently have couldn't be sustained. That anyone had time to read and respond to this thread is fairly noteworthy.

I am right with you on wanting these problems to be addressed, up to the point that you throw it back in Active Trans' lap.

Steve Cohen said:

What is the point of this snark?  The question is how we move forward.  Individual complaints may help but I still think we should be able to do better than that?



h' 1.0 said:

I would like ATA to offer a scoop of free mint chocolate chip ice cream at every major intersection to anyone on foot or on a bike.

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on May 23, 2013 at 4:39pm

I think that the concept of BRT is not that bad (not as good as streetcars, but not that bad).   The problem in this case is the execution. The primary problem is the keeping of the Ashland local.  This means that the one lane remaining in each direction will be badly slowed by the Ashland Local.  if you are going to put in BRT, get rid of the local bus from the remaining lane.  This will simply anger the drivers and force them off onto side streets (such as Damen and Greenview and Southport -- which were good bike streets) and thus ruin the side streets as well with more traffic.

It looks like lots of expensive infrastructure to basically parallel the Red Line.

And it looks to be so badly executed that it will "hurt" real and usable BRT.  (Irving, for example, is wider than Ashland.   It doesn't parallel any existing East West routes and the primary bike path crossings can be arranged so that they work.)



Alex Z said:

FWIW, as a cyclist first and a bus rider second I support the Ashland BRT proposal. I have always thought it is reckless to bike on Ashland and Western. Would I like the parking removed and bike lanes put in? Yes. Is that realistic in the near future? No. Is Ashland BRT a big step in the right direction toward more complete streets in Chicago, the result of which will be improved cycling conditions generally? Definitely.

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on May 23, 2013 at 4:41pm


I hope someone will.    Again, ATA is a great organization.  But it is no longer a Bicycle Advocacy Group.

, its a "alternate transit" advocacy group and thus has different goals.  


Duppie 13.5185km said:

David. This is a free country. why don't. you start this advocacy org?

David crZven 10.6 said:

We need a CBF, and I would hope that thoughts are being undertaken as to what could be done to leave the ATA on its current mission and start up or restore an advocacy group for cyclists.   My suggestion for a name...  The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation....

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

I understand that ATA is small organization with limited staff. My complaint is less about their response time and more about how they have increasing become cheerleaders for CDOT and the CTA very willing to put out glowing press releases, but less willing to offer criticism or take on a watchdog role as would be more typical of an advocacy organization.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on May 24, 2013 at 12:25am
Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on May 24, 2013 at 1:38am

This thread is the first this Evanstonian has heard of the Ashland BRT.  If I understand it correctly (http://www.transitchicago.com/ashlandbrt/), the center lane and much of the median will be taken up with bus infrastructure, leaving one traffic lane and parallel parking in each direction.  No bike lane, correct?  Is there currently a bike lane on Ashland?  Is there a street (or small network of streets) parallel to Ashland which could accommodate bike lanes?  How are cars supposed to turn left off Ashland, make a right and go around the block?

Pointers to discussion here or elsewhere about this facility would be appreciated.

Thx...

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on May 24, 2013 at 2:00am

There is currently no bike lane on Ashland. It is two lanes in both directions, with parking on both sides and a median in the middle.

I don't know how drivers are supposed to turn left off of BRT Ashland, or if they are even allowed to. Perhaps they are not, which would be fine with me.

To David, I agree that keeping the local bus with only a single lane of traffic seems like a problem. I disagree that Ashland duplicates the Red Line, although I agree some good east-west routes would be good.

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