What's this doing in the bike lane?

Share your pics, videos, streets, stories of what you find in the bike lane of the non-bike variety that has an impact on your ride and/or your safety. I've decided to keep it a little more open ended - cars, snow, buses, garbage, cabs, etc. If they shouldn't be in the bike lane, go ahead and add it to this thread. Please be safe if you are taking pics or video! :-)

My hope is that we can collectively build some evidence of what we see when riding in the city with the overall hope of better enforcement of "bikes only" and improving maintenance.

Update: More Hashtags to Capture Vehicles in the Bike Lane

With popular hashtags:
#BikeLaneShaming

#LaneSpreading (Chicago Bike Selling)

#ClearTheWay (ActiveTrans), there are many options to capture violations.

We think you should use ALL of them AND post your photos on The Chainlink. ;-)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on January 17, 2018 at 3:12am

1740ish W. Polk Street

01/16/2018 @ 3:45

Canteen truck

- It would also be nice if they plowed the bollard protected bike lane.

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Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on January 18, 2018 at 3:14am

1747 W. Roosevelt Road

01/17/2018 @ 3:50pm

PACE - go ahead and make your client walk through the snow.

IL 7868 PT

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Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on January 18, 2018 at 3:15am

Or they could have used the Washburne Street entrance that is off of the parking lot:

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Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on January 18, 2018 at 3:17am

1737 W. Polk Street

01/17/2018 @ 4:00pm

IL JUJU B

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Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on January 18, 2018 at 3:19am

1750 W. Polk Street

01/17/2018 @ 4:00pm

IL L584724

"But I'm a cyclist too" (To his credit, he did move after we chatted for a couple of minutes).

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Permalink Reply by Gopher Biker on January 18, 2018 at 3:20am

1819 W. Polk Street

01/17/2018 @ 4:00pm

IL S263422

Rideshare? Shortly after I took this picture a CTA bus pulled up right behind them and blasted its horn several times until they moved.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on January 19, 2018 at 7:36am

Experiences like this make me think that shared bike/bus lanes might be the wave of the future.

Most cyclists don't have loud horns and none have the intimidating physical presence of a bus.

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Permalink Reply by Ben R. on January 19, 2018 at 11:14am

As much as I would love that, I was surprised that the new dedicated bus lanes on Madison and Washington in the loop are explicitly NOT shared bus/bike lanes. I think current traffic planning thinkers are working hard to divide up every potential road user. This segregation is carried out to an extreme in other places and I think it is actually more dangerous than some of the shared conditions before. (e.g. the new dedicated protected lanes on Elston near Fullerton & Damen actually make it HARDER to merge to the left of cars turning right - increasing a chance for a right hook, the Milwaukee ave North bound at Elston is another similar right-hook inducing situation) But maybe I'm just an old curmudgeon.

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on January 24, 2018 at 6:54am

I don't find the Mailwaukee Ave at Elston too worrying as there is a distinct light for right turns for motor traffic. Fullerton and Damen, though - I've seen several near right hooks there, and I wish they would put a separate signal for bikes and right turns to increase bicyclists' safety there.