Bicycle Boulevard Infrastructure Requests

I hope you all will add to this discussion with a long list of needed infrastructure requests to improve cycling on our streets that should become Bicycle Boulevards.

My first suggestion is that on the southbound inner lane of the Humboldt Boulevard approaching North Avenue there should be a treatment to facilitate cyclists crossing North Avenue into Humboldt Park.  Only the center traffic lanes of Humboldt cross North Avenue.  For cyclists to cross from the inner lane they must first use the sidewalk to reach the center traffic lanes.  Because it is illegal for cyclists to use sidewalks except where posted the cheap and easy fix would be a sign or pavement markings there making it explicit that it is desired that cyclists use this bit of sidewalk.

However, sidewalks should be for pedestrians.  While it is possible to share it is better for both peds and bikers when they don't.  The minimal solution would be to widen the sidewalk and paint a lane for cyclists.  Another possibility would be stripe a bicycle lane on the center lanes of Humboldt and direct cyclists onto it at the previous intersection.   Another possibility would be to put in a crossing directly over North avenue for the inner southbound lane of Humboldt.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by alewyfe on March 17, 2010 at 6:18am
I would like "Kathy-plates" on more bridges, especially on Halsted just south of Chicago and just north of Division, and the Division St. bridges near Halsted. I'm sure there are plenty more that others would like to add to the list- these are just the ones I encounter most frequently- especially the Halsted and Chicago bridge, as if you are traveling north on Halsted, it is very inconvenient (not to mention the legality) to hop up to the sidewalk to avoid a dangerously slippery wet or icy bridge- there is no ADA curb-cut on the sidewalk at the north end of the bridge, and it's a very high curb jump (by the Greyhound maintenance terminal). As a cyclist, it's merely inconvenient- if I were in a wheelchair, I'd be hoppin' mad if I crossed the bridge and long stretch of sidewalk only to discover that I had to go back, cross the street, and do it all over again.

Also, several of the expansion joints in this area are dangerously wide and could easily catch a tire and bring down a cyclist.

While Halsted is of course not a proposed Bike Boulevard, it is a major arterial street used by many many many cyclists daily in all weather and is an unavoidable part of my commute.

If Fulton is still in the running for consideration, I'd say that the pavement surface is quite rough from all the truck traffic- I ride this street every day, and it can be scary especially when snow obscures the rough conditions- lots of long tire-biting long gaps and potholes- still, I prefer that to taking a better paved but busier street.
Permalink Reply by Jason Greenberg on March 18, 2010 at 2:06am
Make a mid-city West/East BIKE/PED BLVD.extension spurs that extend the Bloomingdale Trail!!!

Another opportunity for the city to make substantive contribution to the bike/ped access & green transit functionality in the city is with development of a bike boulevard spur extension of the already planned elevated Bloomingdale Trail project. A major advantage is connecting the BT to the Lakefront path for full city connectivity.

The Lakefront bike path is an exceptionally functional North/South bike artery for the city. If the city could connect the BT to the lakefront path and extend it further to the west (along the already city-owned CTA transit corridor to Galewood Park), there would be an exceptionally safe/accessible/extensive West/East thouroughfare that could get bikers from the west neighborhoods CONNECTED for a larger integrated system (based on the same radiating hub model that the subway/EL works on. This would also connect to/terminate at the bike/ped bridge over LSD which is already a great safe access to the lakefront path/park.

See the attached map for the proposed spurs (extending to the West (in green) and to the East/lakefront red).

It makes a lot of sense for the city to use existing infrasctructre (the BT elevated tracks) as the basis for its first city-wide bike/ped boulevard protected WEST-EAST thoroughfare. Politicos & city planners should recognize the advantage of a project that spans the whole city connecting numerous communities together (instead of just adding a blvd 10-20 blocks long that only serves 1-2 neighborhoods substantially).

The embedded map is too tiny to read street details, but click on the attachment to see it larger & readable.

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by Todd Allen on March 18, 2010 at 3:32am
Jason, we should contact Friends of the Bloomingdale trail and find out the status of the trail. Last I heard there was a plan to break ground this summer on a park that is to become an access point to the trail.

I imagine they have their hands full with just getting the trail itself going, but we should discuss with them this bigger plan to better connect the BT to the lakefront and the western burbs.
Permalink Reply by alewyfe on March 18, 2010 at 3:44am
I took Hubbard home yesterday instead of Fulton (well, at least until Oakley when I dropped south to Fulton for the rest of my ride west)- it's nice to mix it up once in a while! The pavement is much better and there was less traffic overall, however, it would be nice (for both bikes and peds) to have a protected/signalized light crossing at Ashland- I had to wait a long time for a break in the cars/cross-traffic to proceed.
Permalink Reply by Todd Allen on March 18, 2010 at 4:35am
Alewyfe, I agee we need more "Kathy-plates". The first was very hard to get because no one knew how to do it. But now we have examples and as far as I know they have been a great success. Bike Boulevards Now's parent organization Break The Gridlock should keep this item on the agenda and rally support for this cause.

I recently saw the idea pitched on the Critical Mass forum to do a bridge tour. I think that would be an excellent opportunity to have Kathy speak about what she's done and what we all could do to further this effort. We could also make a map/flyer with key info about the bridges and what we can do to get more of them improved.
Permalink Reply by alewyfe on March 18, 2010 at 5:08am
That's a great idea Todd... Maybe we could make up form letters in advance to distribute and collect at the end of the ride, with a section for personal comments, and deliver them all to CDOT?
Permalink Reply by Sarah Kaplan on March 19, 2010 at 5:52pm
I want to see a separate bike path that connects Ogden south of Western to the Ogden bike lane that starts north of Roosevelt. Right now you can ride on the side of Ogden, separated from the middle lanes, up to Western. Then you have to merge into the center lanes of traffic to get to the bike lane. Meanwhile, there's a lot of unused space to the right. This is stupid. Actually I want the whole side sections of Ogden turned into bike paths. Now it has light traffic, but you still have to worry that some driver will speed through there.
Permalink Reply by Todd Allen on March 19, 2010 at 7:21pm
The off street path (North Channel trail?) along the Chicago river north of Lawrence ends on Kedzie/Jersey just north of Lincoln. A lot of money was spent on this to make the underpasses which are very nice and encourage me to ride this path when going north.

But I guess they ran out of money after the last underpass because if you are headed northbound the path ends rather badly on a short section of sidewalk with a fat pole in the middle of it right before it dumps you onto the southbound lanes of Kedzie with no light, no stop sign, no bike lane, no crosswalk or pavement markings of any sort.

It appears that the path users have taken matters into their own hands (or feet or wheels) by having established a couple dirts paths north and southbound running alongside Kedzie from the path terminus.
Permalink Reply by Todd Allen on March 19, 2010 at 7:23pm
I asked Kathy Schubert for the status on the bridge plates project and she has been enquiring with CDOT. Hopefully we will have an answer soon.

alewyfe said:
That's a great idea Todd... Maybe we could make up form letters in advance to distribute and collect at the end of the ride, with a section for personal comments, and deliver them all to CDOT?
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 3, 2010 at 9:53am
Actually, there was supposed to be a bridge from this stub on the east bank over to the west bank. If I remember correctly, there was money allocated for it several years ago. Alderman Bernie Stone killed the idea. The funding allocation expired. The money went away. Thank the stone-age aldercreature who doesn't get cycling.

Todd Allen said:
The off street path (North Channel trail?) along the Chicago river north of Lawrence ends on Kedzie/Jersey just north of Lincoln. A lot of money was spent on this to make the underpasses which are very nice and encourage me to ride this path when going north.

But I guess they ran out of money after the last underpass because if you are headed northbound the path ends rather badly on a short section of sidewalk with a fat pole in the middle of it right before it dumps you onto the southbound lanes of Kedzie with no light, no stop sign, no bike lane, no crosswalk or pavement markings of any sort.

It appears that the path users have taken matters into their own hands (or feet or wheels) by having established a couple dirts paths north and southbound running alongside Kedzie from the path terminus.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 3, 2010 at 9:53am
Great idea!

Sarah Kaplan said:
I want to see a separate bike path that connects Ogden south of Western to the Ogden bike lane that starts north of Roosevelt. Right now you can ride on the side of Ogden, separated from the middle lanes, up to Western. Then you have to merge into the center lanes of traffic to get to the bike lane. Meanwhile, there's a lot of unused space to the right. This is stupid. Actually I want the whole side sections of Ogden turned into bike paths. Now it has light traffic, but you still have to worry that some driver will speed through there.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 3, 2010 at 9:58am
I'd love to see the expansion joints on many bridges get repaired so that we don't have such huge gaps that can potentially catch wheels. The ones on Halsted over the Ike are some of the worst. They used to have big rubber gaskets, but those disintegrated long ago and have never been replaced.

I agree with the previous comment about needing plates on the bridges on Halsted near Chicago and Division. This section of Halsted is also in desperate need of repaving, as many potholes are growing to wheel-eating sizes.

While Halsted is less likely as a bike boulevard, it's so heavily used by cyclists that these repairs and improvements really should be made.

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