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 payton on April 23, 2010 at 10:44am
My first request is to have "bike lines" at stoplights which are currently triggered by cars or pedestrians. These are generally newer stoplights where side streets (potential bike boulevards) cross arterials, like Paulina at North, Wabansia at Milwaukee, and Oakley at Division. Here's an example from Davis; otherwise, a pedestrian "push to cross" button mounted by the street might also work.

Second request is for more "pedestrian refuge" medians. Having a planted median in the middle of Ashland or Western, with curb cuts to cross, would make it a lot easier to cross the street in two phases than the current situation.

Re: Bloomingdale. The Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail board is aware of the need for connections, since the trail actually lines up pretty nicely with the Prairie Path in the western suburbs. The current trail plan cannot cross the river due to existing industrial users, so it terminates at Ashland Ave on the east. To the west, I've ridden some combination of Bloomingdale and Cortland out to the city limits and it would make a fine bike boulevard candidate. However, all of this does suppose that a trail will be built soon -- and while we are indeed getting a new park at Milwaukee pretty soon, the trail itself will be 5-20 years away. No rush to put more things on people's plates just yet!

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