Wicker Park Committee votes against protected lanes on Milwaukee

DNA Info article says that Wicker Park Committee has voted against protected bike lanes on Milwaukee between North Avenue and Division due to concerns about the effects on motor vehicle parking.

 

"It would kill the merchants. For the sake of bikes you're disturbing vehicle and pedestrian traffic.  What are you going to do, walk a block and a half to cross the street? ... Why don't we create a second level bike lane that goes over the streets like the "L" tracks?" said Kevin O'Donnell, owner of Pint Bar, 1547 N. Milwaukee Ave.

 

O'Donnell, who has owned Pint for nine years, said parking is already tough on Milwaukee, "a corridor rich with retail and restaurants."

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on April 10, 2013 at 8:42am

Could have been a committee vote rather than a member-wide vote.


Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

Cannot find a list of members, and cannot tell how many people usually attend the meetings, but they don't need much for a quorum:

"Section 3.2 Quorum. A quorum for the conduct of business at any membership meeting shall consist of ten percent (10%) of the current membership. When a quorum is present at any meeting, the vote of the majority of eligible voting members present shall decide any question brought before such meeting except as provided by Illinois law, the Articles of Incorporation, or these Bylaws."

Also, they were taking an advisory vote--not sure that could be considered to be business of the committee that would even require a quorum.
 
Michael J Blane said:

Fewer than 30 people voted. I'm surprised that low of a number is even a quorum.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on April 10, 2013 at 8:44am

Soooo, the petition we all signed had nil effect. ARG

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on April 10, 2013 at 8:47am

For starters, I doubt the WP/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce is a 501(c)(3) as is the Wicker Park Committee. And I would doubt that the Chamber of Commerce has any non-commercial members, but the Wicker Park Committee does. 

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

Anyone know what, if any, relationship there is between the Wicker Park Committee and the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce?  Or why Waguespack asked the Wicker Park Committee for feedback rather than the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.  The Chamber of Commerce administers the SSA for the area through the Wicker Park Bucktown Organization and bike issues are a major focus of the organization's transportation committee.  Here are minutes from the March meeting:

http://wickerparkbucktown.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Trans...

 

It is also interesting that Waguespack took the lead on this since that stretch of Milwaukee is, at least at the moment, in the 1st Ward.

Of course comments quoted in reports like this are taken out of context, so it is really hard to make judgments on the overall discussion.  However, I doubt that more than two or three businesses on the entire stretch would be full to capacity if two people from every car that can park on one side of Milwaukee Avenue between Division and North were to show up at once.  And if they have "fly-over" space for the bikes, those folks on bikes will not stop at the businesses. 

I live in the neighborhood--near North and Ashland.  I would never think of trying to park on Milwaukee.  I walk or I ride my bike.  It is so much easier. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on April 10, 2013 at 8:50am

Incorrect. CDOT is still going ahead with its plans to put a protected bike lane on Milwaukee Avenue between Racine and Kinzie, where a PBL is completely unnecessary.

Juan 2-8 mi. said:

Soooo, the petition we all signed had nil effect. ARG

Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 10, 2013 at 10:16am

Good job Wicker Park! Keep on at it, and pretty soon all the local businesses will have moved to more bike and pedestrian friendly and welcoming locations and all you are left with are chain stores and bars catering to bro’s and bro-ettes.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on April 10, 2013 at 10:33am

While I think keeping local businesses is a good idea I am not sure what "chains" she is talking about in the article about the furniture store. 

Duppie 13.5185km said:

Good job Wicker Park! Keep on at it, and pretty soon all the local businesses will have moved to more bike and pedestrian friendly and welcoming locations and all you are left with are chain stores and bars catering to bro’s and bro-ettes.

 

Permalink Reply by william on April 10, 2013 at 11:15am

As much as I like PBLs, I think it's a bad idea on that busy and narrow stretch of Milwaukee. I dont ever see it happening and, if it were to be installed, I think it would still be a traffic clusterfuck -- just a different kind of traffic clusterfuck where cyclists are now scapegoats #1.

I dont see the advantage. And if there is no clear advantage, it strikes me as rather ideological or dogmatic to continue to support a PBL through that area. 

I agree with Cameron. Perhaps there is a better design to consider or a better location somewhere on Milwaukee.  

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on April 10, 2013 at 12:23pm

Boo hoo traffic clusterfuck.  If people want to drive then they should move over onto the Kennedy just to the side.   

Too many people are using cars for short trips and Milwaukee is a prime example of this.   The Kennedy is right off to the side if they don't like driving on a parking lot.  I say slow them down even more.  Maybe they'll decide to take a bike or ride the Blue line.  So many alternatives and yet cars STILL drive up and down Milwaukee like it is the interstate on the long haul downtown or outbound.

Make it narrower, make it slower, make it unbearable to drive on in a big hulking gas-guzzling CO2-spewing car.   That's the whole point. 

Built it and they will come.  Maybe unbuild it and the damn cars will finally go somewhere else. 

Permalink Reply by Duppie on April 10, 2013 at 12:32pm
Me neither. I'm just a smug Andersonvillain that parrots whatever the benevolent overlords at ADC tell me to.

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

While I think keeping local businesses is a good idea I am not sure what "chains" she is talking about in the article about the furniture store. 

Duppie 13.5185km said:

Good job Wicker Park! Keep on at it, and pretty soon all the local businesses will have moved to more bike and pedestrian friendly and welcoming locations and all you are left with are chain stores and bars catering to bro’s and bro-ettes.

 

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on April 10, 2013 at 12:57pm

"Andersonvillain"--Freudian slip or deliberate Meneer Duppie? :D

Permalink Reply by william on April 10, 2013 at 2:10pm

And that's exactly the rigid, ideological, or even fundamentalist thing I mentioned in my previous post. Nice job, perfect timing there. 

Like it or not, we share the road with cars. Peak oil disaster scenarios aside, that aint going to change anytime soon. City planners need to balance pedestrian/bicycle/auto traffic. And in such tight areas as that stretch of Milwaukee, it has to be just right or else the result would be more of clusterfuck than it already is and perhaps lead to further setbacks to other City of Chicago bicycle initiatives. 

James BlackHeron said:

Boo hoo traffic clusterfuck.  If people want to drive then they should move over onto the Kennedy just to the side.   

Too many people are using cars for short trips and Milwaukee is a prime example of this.   The Kennedy is right off to the side if they don't like driving on a parking lot.  I say slow them down even more.  Maybe they'll decide to take a bike or ride the Blue line.  So many alternatives and yet cars STILL drive up and down Milwaukee like it is the interstate on the long haul downtown or outbound.

Make it narrower, make it slower, make it unbearable to drive on in a big hulking gas-guzzling CO2-spewing car.   That's the whole point. 

Built it and they will come.  Maybe unbuild it and the damn cars will finally go somewhere else. 

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on April 11, 2013 at 1:40am


+1

 

While I would love to just get rid of all parking on that stretch of Milwaukee--the road is too narrow as it is--I can't say I -know- that no businesses would suffer as a result. But it would sure be interesting to see. I'd support trying it out.


James BlackHeron said:


Make it narrower, make it slower, make it unbearable to drive on in a big hulking gas-guzzling CO2-spewing car.   That's the whole point.

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