Ravenswood Manor bike advocacy: Support now!!!

This is the link to the "neighborhood plan" survey I told you about: https://north-river-plan.metroquest.com/
Anyone who lives, works or plays in the "North River Communities" (roughly from the River to Cicero, Montrose to Bryn Mawr, plus Horner Park which is south of Montrose) is welcome to take the survey.  It's completely anonymous, no spam or mailing lists will follow you. The survey will be active until September 15, please forward the link to anyone you think has opinions to share.
 
The plan we are working on focuses on economic development, transportation of all kinds (cars/bikes/CTA/pedestrian), housing needs, public/park spaces and environmental concerns (including flood abatement for the neighborhoods along the North River branch). Details available here:
Then there is the controversial Manor Greenway project:
The city has a long term goal of creating a continuous North/South bike/walking trail along the north branch of the river that will connect to the North Shore Channel trail and head to the suburbs. Major improvements to the trail between Addison and Montrose are underway, due to complete next year. Once that is done, there will be a significant increase of bikes on Manor Ave, which is the official bike route from Horner Park to Ronan Park on Lawrence.  CDOT already considers the vehicle traffic on Manor Ave to be "unsafe".  At rush hour, it has the volume of an arterial street but at times is only wide enough for a one way street (in particular north of Wilson near Manor park). Creating a Greenway on Manor between Montrose and Lawrence is meant to calm traffic speeds and disperse some of the car traffic to surrounding streets in order to accommodate the influx of bicycle traffic the trail improvements will generate.
Main point to share: anyone who supports the Greenway and the river bike trail in general should write to manorgreenway@gmail.com , which is an account Deb Mell  set up to field people's feedback on the project.  
The most controversial element is the Wilson/Manor diverter, which proposes that Manor Ave cars travelling both north and south bound must divert off of Manor at Wilson. Cars may not turn onto Manor from Wilson or Mozart. Bicycle traffic WILL be allowed to continue on Manor across Wilson.  A temporary trial period will run approximately Sept 19 - Nov 19 to collect traffic counting data and see if if the diverter achieves the desired results.  There is a  monthly Transportation Action Committee meeting that Mell's office holds at Horner Park: the next one is September 22 @630pm.  There will also be public meetings during and after the trial to discuss, and I will let you know when they get scheduled. 
There is a Not-In-My-Back-Yard anti-Greenway faction in Ravenswood Manor (primarily those who live north of Wilson) who are trying to reduce or even kill the project by strong-arming Deb Mell (who does seem genuinely surprised at the nasty response from RM people) into pulling her support.  Their position is that traffic on Manor has been a point of contention for decades, this whole issue has been blown out of proportion and no changes are needed. I think they just don't understand that regardless of past conditions or actions, the evolution of the city currently underway will fundamentally change their neighborhood, and they have to change with the times.   This is not just a Ravenswood Manor decision, it affects literally all of Chicagoland.
Some others in RM are at least granting that the Greenway should happen, but are advocating to eliminate all parking along Manor Ave to make room for a separate bike lane.  These people have off-street parking for themselves, so the fact that this would essentially leave all the renters with nowhere to park, not to mention anyone who wants to drive to visit Manor Park or any of the businesses by the Francisco el stop.
TLDR: everyone who bikes in Chicago should chime in!
Thanks for any help you can provide, let me know if you have questions ( I do tend to get a little too in-depth on details sometimes).
Cheers,
Nathan

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hannah Bass on September 11, 2016 at 6:55pm

This needs support before next week.  If Manor drive is to be more bike friendly, it needs support now.  Please call Alderman Deb Mell.  It is not supported by residents in Ravenswood Manor, but is supported by the surrounding neighborhoods who face dangerous fast traffic on residential streets with lots of children present.  Thank you!

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 12, 2016 at 10:58am

+1

Permalink Reply by Megan Wade on September 13, 2016 at 4:30am
Hi Nathan, I am a neighbor that lives in Ravenswood Manor and I don't think you are presenting a fair portrayal of your neighbors. Yes, there are some people that are averse to change in the neighborhood, and perhaps they are receiving more air time at the community meetings than they should. But there are many of us that would like to confirm that this plan is the best plan for bikers, pedestrians, and drivers - and the residents in the the neighborhoods which are all of these things. Many of us are trying to collect data so that we can more fully understand the reasons for the decisions. I have been collecting data on parking. Once we've documented more rush hour times, I will share the data with you - right now it seems there is plenty of parking in the Manor if we loose parking on the West side of Manor between Wilson and Eastwood - there are about 12 possible spots and this is 1 hour parking. By the way, I live on Windsor, and I do not have off street parking. There's plenty of room for you on Eastwood or Giddings east of Manor. Or on the east side of manor. If you are going to call people out for bias on the Ravenswood Manor page, it's only far that you present a fair vision of the other side of the coin. Feel free to join me in collecting data, so we can make this bike connection between the parks as great as it can be. Megan Wade.
Permalink Reply by Megan Wade on September 13, 2016 at 4:41am
And of course, everyone is welcome to park on Windsor, too. Bike or car, you're always welcome.
Permalink Reply by Betty B on September 13, 2016 at 7:15am

Nathan, I have not heard 1 person in the neighborhood of Ravenswood Manor say they do not want more bikes to go down Manor.  I think what most people are concerned over is that this diverter as planned will make it much more dangerous for bikers, drivers and pedestrians to travel through the intersection of Manor and Wilson AND intersections directly to the east and west as angry car drivers will be seeking alternate routes to go north and south.  By all the n/s cars TURNING.  The increase in cars turning at this intersection will be what...50% and at the others too.  Tell me how is it safe for bikes to go straight and ALL cars forced to turn?  How?  And all that diverted traffic will go where?  To other narrow neighborhood streets. Is that fair for those that use those streets?  Manor should be used by ANYBODY who wants to use it.  This is the city.  Not the suburbs. Share the road, respect the stop signs, and each other.  Everybody needs to follow the rules of the road and it would work as it is today.  Especially if you through in a few more speed humps with bike cutouts. If you are a biker, you should be WAY more concerned with riding through Horner where the sidewalk/bikepath is used by people, dogs and squirrels...Manor is not your problem north of Addison.  Horner is.  Good luck with that.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on September 13, 2016 at 11:11am

Betty, you might want to take a step back and read what you wrote, "much more dangerous for bikers, drivers and pedestrians to travel through the intersection of Manor and Wilson AND intersections directly to the east and west as angry car drivers will be seeking alternate routes to go north and south. "

Are you saying drivers will be angry, therefore cyclists are in danger? I'm going to hope I just misread this post.

You are correct, this is "not the suburbs" and the streets are narrow enough that there are parts of it the city has had to creatively rethink. Legally, the sidewalk is not an option unless you are a child. You can't fault cyclists for wanting safe passage on their way home. Every day we all see motorists showing impatience, driving while distracted, and many times cyclists are blamed. Like everyone else, cyclists just want to make it home safely to our families and loved ones. Convenient parking may sometimes need to be compromised to achieving goals to make a location safer for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on September 14, 2016 at 2:48am

replies such as this one make me hope that the new Chainlink's forum will have an upvoting feature of some kind. Well said!

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on September 15, 2016 at 11:14am

Thanks Tony! There are "likes" with the new site. Just finishing up Memphis and then I'll go back and finish Chicago. 

Permalink Reply by Betty B on September 13, 2016 at 3:02pm
as I wrote, much more dangerous for bikers, drivers and pedestrians. And it will be for all. It's just car drivers will have metal around their bodies. I did not selectively bold as you did.
Permalink Reply by Duppie on September 15, 2016 at 11:09am
So it will not be "much more dangerous" for all then. Just for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Permalink Reply by David P. on September 16, 2016 at 3:54am

It is "angry car drivers" who are a danger to pedestrians and cyclists (and, to a lesser degree, other car drivers, whether angry or not.) It is the responsibility of these people not to hurt less vulnerable people, especially if they are "angry." it is not the burden of others to accomodate one's anger.

How do you think that this proposed change will be "much more dangerous" for, apparently, everyone?

I do not think that there is much weight to be put on what ordinary people who do not ride on city streets think is safe for cyclists.

Permalink Reply by Betty B on September 13, 2016 at 3:14pm
And by the way, I sold my car in 1994 and have primarily been a cyclist ever since. I've lived in Ravenswood Manor since 1993. I ride manor multiple times a week and my 15 year old does too. I also have owned 3 dogs since living here. I know this neighborhood, the streets, the sidewalks and the parks pretty well. I have years and miles of experience transporting through this neighborhood.

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