Why is this an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago?

Folks,


For a writing project I'm working on, please respond with a few sentences. If you want to possibly be quoted, please provide your real name:

Why is this an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago? Are there any new bike facilities or initiatives that you're particularly jazzed about?

Thanks!

John Greenfield

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on August 28, 2012 at 1:22pm

We have a pro-bicycling mayor who hired a bicycle-change-experienced head of transportation at a time when a new generation of urban professionals is rejecting automobiles and embracing cycling for commuting and getting around. At the same time a rough economy, the green movement and rising gas prices have created a perfect storm to push bicycling as a way-of-life forward. More cyclists mean greater political and community forces to create a more bicycle-friendly city.

Gene Tenner

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 28, 2012 at 2:38pm

Thanks Gene! Anyone else care to chime in?

Permalink Reply by Sarah D. on August 28, 2012 at 6:12pm

It's an exciting - and frustrating - time to be a bicycle commuter in Chicago now...we're seeing an administration that is more transportation progressive combined with emerging numbers of people hitting the streets on two wheels instead of four. But both of those things (with the backdrop of the struggling economy) have created a fair amount of backlash against what I consider to be massive positive cultural change.

It's exciting to be in the debate and to be a seasoned veteran of cycling in the city, but that also makes us targets and spokespeople for both very visible trial-and-error infrastructure change and the unpredictable behavior of fellow cyclists. Until we get many more folks on two wheels, we've got a lot of two-way educating to do.*

*which can be done in super fun ways, don't get me wrong!

Sometimes I long for the good old days when people just thought I was crazy to be out commuting by bike year round in the big city!

Sarah Dandelles

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 28, 2012 at 6:28pm

Thanks Sarah!

Jennifer, don't worry, Amsterdam and Copenhagen are still very exciting places to ride (especially Amsterdam where there are tons of streetcar tracks to watch out for and speeding scooters in the bike lanes.)

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on August 28, 2012 at 6:43pm

John

It's an exciting time to be a cyclist in Chicago because we are about to see a major collision between theory and reality.

The theory is that dedicated bike lanes will improve cycling for one and all.

The reality is that dedicated bike lanes will simply produce a new political conflict between advocates for cycling and the status-quo folks.

This conflict will be exacerbated by physical realities produced by the very improvements in cycling infrastructure that cyclists otherwise embrace.  We're seeing the beginning of the backlash in articles by jackasses like Konkol in the ST and Kass in the Trib. 

But that jackassery will gain momentum, as cyclists who don't play nice make things hard on cyclists who do--just like they did before the city spent millions on infrastructure to make it easier on bikers.  I have lost count of how often riders blow past me on Kinzie or Elston, out into the "car only" lanes that "bike only" lanes logically and necessarily produce. 

As much as drivers and pedestrians already hate cyclists who blow red lights and stop signs, and who swerve around people in crosswalks, they will hate us even more when we do so in areas with "bike only" lanes.  For crissakes, they'll say, we give 'em their own lane, and they still run me over or cut in front of my car!

So, I continue to avoid both the Lakefront Bike Path and the Kinzie Corridor and other places where cyclists congregate.  Let me take my own routes, quiet side streets, and calm.

In short, it's an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago the same way it was an exciting time to be an enlisted man in a European army in 1939.  Things are about to heat up.

Cheers!


Bill

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 28, 2012 at 7:41pm

Thanks Bill!


Chainlinkers, here's a write-up of the epic ride Bill and I did, basically from the southwest corner of Chicago to the northeast corner, on a blazing hot Memorial Day Monday:

http://gridchicago.com/2012/savage-ride-a-trans-chicago-bike-trek-w...

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 29, 2012 at 12:25am

Bill, can you point out the relevant city statues that create these "bike free" zones near bike lanes?  I'm not aware of any laws that prohibit bikes outside of bike lanes. 

Permalink Reply by NYC (7.0 mi) on August 29, 2012 at 2:45am

Come on, James.  You know it is expected that bicycles won't be cruising down the middle of Elston when there is a protected bike lane put in.  Don't argue for arguments sake.

James BlackHeron said:

Bill, can you point out the relevant city statues that create these "bike free" zones near bike lanes?  I'm not aware of any laws that prohibit bikes outside of bike lanes. 

Permalink Reply by TehDoak on August 29, 2012 at 2:47am

Still 3 months until winter!! :-D

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 29, 2012 at 5:01am

Actually, James' question is a good one. I've spoken to faster riders who dislike riding in protected bike lanes and having to maneuver around leisurely pedalers like myself. Certainly if a cyclist is keeping up with the speed of traffic they should be permitted to ride outside the protected lane.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on August 29, 2012 at 5:02am

Of course there's no law creating such zones, but drivers are perfectly reasonable to expect that when a lane of car traffic is taken away and made into a bike lane, that bikers will use that lane rather than the remaining car lane.  Cyclists always say that drivers have to share the road, but so do cyclists. 

James BlackHeron said:

Bill, can you point out the relevant city statues that create these "bike free" zones near bike lanes?  I'm not aware of any laws that prohibit bikes outside of bike lanes. 

Permalink Reply by Adam Kitzmann on August 29, 2012 at 5:21am

The community is growing, fuck the ballots, reclaim the streets, Scofflaws one and all.

On a side note, I love how much the word scofflaw is used on the Chainlink. If that isn't a bike crew yet it damn well should be, the Chicago Scofflaws has a nice ring to it. 

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