Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sarah Kaplan on March 9, 2010 at 5:13am

This is copied from a message to the Cycling Sisters listserve from Suzanne Wahl. This is exactly what I want to change with Bike Boulevards:

We kind of abandoned street riding w/ the baby as it made us simply too
nervous--we live in the city, and ride the streets only when our
daughter is with her babysitter. Sad but true. I just don't trust the
drivers here, as I too have had quite a few near misses!

Permalink Reply by alewyfe on March 9, 2010 at 6:01am

I ride my bike in the city almost every single day- it's my primary mode of transportation. I don't drive, never have, and love the freedom and fitness my bike gives me. However, I often come away from my rides with something else- fear. Fear that a moment of inattention or even malice by a driver will make that ride my last- I've had some close calls (I've been hit by 3 cars- luckily the worst injury I sustained were some cracked ribs and bruises, and I didn't miss work over them but couldn't lift anything for weeks and was in a lot of pain), and I try to ride defensively, but sometimes... it can be really scary out there- each car is basically a speeding 2000 pound bullet that could end your lovely ride and perhaps your life- since I'm a chef and need to be active and on my feet all day, it could end my career as well. Since I don't like to feel weak or vulnerable (I'm a strong woman!) that fear often turns to anger, and anger does not lead to either sharing the road amicably, or to making me a nice person to be around... which then makes me sad. I also worry about the future if my partner and I choose to have a family- I would not want to give up my bike and my freedom, but would worry about the safety of a child in a trailer or bike seat, and would never forgive myself if something happened... although most drivers are very considerate when I'm pulling a trailer, and give me extra room and often smiles and waves (it helps if the trailer is visibly overflowing with an abundance of vegetables, flowers and garden plants)!
However, if there were safe dedicated streets with low traffic speeds I could choose, my commute would only be filled with joy! The joy of peace of mind, clean air, smelling flowers and green things instead of car exhaust, chatting with other riders, and watching children play without worry... What a blessing that would be!

Permalink Reply by Todd Allen on March 14, 2010 at 10:04am

My brother lives in Berkeley California. And one of my favorite things about visiting him is that I can take my folding bike and easily ride/BART/ride from the airport in Oakland to Berkeley. And once there it is wonderfully pleasant to use my bike. I can ride to the university for movies, talks and other events. I can ride downtown for shopping. I can ride to neighborhood cafes, restaurants and bakeries. And I can do it all on their bicycle boulevards.

They are laid out logically on the grid so it's not a twisty maze with lots of pitfalls like our own residential streets. They are attractive and pleasant with slow low volume car traffic. The car traffic treats cyclists with respect on the bike boulevards and I've never experienced an aggressive driver there or a shout of "get on the sidewalk" such as happens too often here.

Because the bike boulevards have increased the amount of cyclists in general, even the main streets of the downtown and other areas with heavy fast motor traffic do a little better at respecting and accomodating cyclists too.

Coming home last night from Harlem heading east on Addison I was dreaming of Berkeley's bike boulevards. I was on Addison because whenever I try the side streets out there I never seem to get more than a few blocks before hitting a cul de sac or getting dumped back on an arterial.

The pavement on Addison is poor. Lots of rough section and a few killer potholes. And the right half of the lane is particularly bad. When it's rainy and dark it's hard to gauge the depths of holes forcing one to frequently slow down walking speed or worse. While getting passed by a steady stream of high speed traffic that sometimes splashes up more water than you can imagine.

Why do our streets suck so bad for cyclists?

Last night I was at a party of hang glider pilots. Listening to drunken retellings of our various exploits. Like the time we were flying our gliders over Chanute Air Force base in a developing thunderstorm with lightning closing in from two sides and trying to escape the cloud suck in a rapidly darkening sky. Then we watched in horror as a plane flipped over and crashed upside down on landing as the gust front hit. And continued to watch in fascination to the speed of the response as emergency vehicles were being dispatched from the fire station, police station and hospital. We could see and track all of the vehicles from our bird's eye view.

The teller of that story then heard I was biking home afterwards on Addison and said "God you're crazy, do you want to get yourself killed?" I thought it hugely ironic, but I don't think anyone else there did...

Our streets can and should be better than this.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 3, 2010 at 9:43am

I feel very fortunate when I'm riding my bike on most streets in Beverly and Morgan Park, where traffic is usually slower and lower in volume, making those streets fairly bike friendly. When I try to ride to other south side neighborhoods, it's a different story. Much of the south side is as bad or worse than what Todd describes about Addison on the NW side.

Between expressways, waterways, railroads, industrial parks, and rail yards, the truly bike friendly parts of the south side become islands, connected by busy streets that are often more like highways. Experienced street riders can handle most of those connectors. Intermediate riders can handle some. For riders who are relatively new to street riding and not fully comfortable with it yet, these connectors are scary as hell and more likely to be dangerous.

The lion's share of the bike routes, bike lanes and other improvements have been on the north side, both because they are easier to implement on north side streets and because perceived demand is greater. In the last few years, since I've been doing a lot more riding in a wide variety of neighborhoods on the south side, I've had many conversations with people who have fewer resources than most of the people I meet on the north side. There are so many people who ride in their little "islands" on the south side but have not developed the level of riding skill and confidence to handle the busy connecting streets and ride longer distances.

King Drive is one of the best south side bike routes we have, connecting many neighborhoods. There are few others as good that run more than a few miles.

Last week I was at a citywide conference of park advisory councils. I met a woman from the Riverdale neighborhood, who said that she'd really like to have a safer way to get from her area to the Major Taylor Trail and beyond so that she and other people could ride further - for recreation, transportation and health. A bike boulevard might or might not be the answer in this particular location, but there is a need for more and better routes here that has not been acknowledged in what has been built or designated with signage.

To give you a visual, take a look here. To go from Golden Gate Park (the red A near the bottom right corner) to 127th & Michigan (the nearest street that is relatively bike friendly) is not a long distance, but those connecting streets are inhospitable enough that it may as well be 100 miles to the people who live near that park. 130th, Indiana and 127th are fast, high-volume roads, with relatively narrow lanes. This is a major truck route. There is a narrow sidewalk on one side of each street, right next to traffic, not a place where anyone really wants to ride or walk. I'd like to see the folks in Riverdale get a better connection to the rest of the city for riding and walking. It could make a difference in quality of life, easing the isolation of their location.

Here's a less daunting example. For most of the distance from Cicero (city line) to the lake, 83rd St. is a good bike route. Parts of it are suitable for less experienced street riders. More of it works for riders of moderate experience and skill. There are a few pieces that are just plain difficult and could use better solutions. The intersection of 83rd & Vincennes is an interruption to the route, thanks to two major rail viaducts. To navigate between the sections of 83rd east and west of the viaducts, you have 3 options: 1) go south on Vincennes under the two viaducts (long and dark), then turn right on the next street and rejoin 83rd; 2) go south on the sidewalk next to Vincennes under the viaducts (long, dark, littered with debris and broken glass), then take the next right to rejoin 83rd; or 3) go north on Vincennes for 2 blocks, left on 81st, then south on a N-S street of your choice to rejoin 83rd. None of them is a nice solution.

83rd St. is also interrupted closer to the lake, at the Skyway. The best option is to go SE on Anthony, N on Jeffery, then continue east on 83rd. It works for riders with at least a moderate level of street riding confidence, but could be scary as hell for the less experienced.

When I lived in Rogers Park, the islands were smaller, but the streets connecting them were less daunting. I've ridden in neighborhoods all over the city, and seen plenty of need in many of them for safe connectors between the islands of safe, quiet streets.

Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on March 28, 2013 at 11:00am

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