LakeFront Path

Has anyone tried to ride the LFP during lockdown?

Wondering if you could bandit sections without getting into trouble.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ketoguychicago on June 15, 2020 at 2:42pm

From 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. each day, the trail will be open to people who follow the city’s “keep it moving” strategy while doing activities like walking, running and cycling. Even as the trail reopens, some sections remain closed due to rising lake levels and erosion.

Some of it's going to be awkward with these closed sections, and there's going to be some people forgetting which path is the bike path and which is the foot path in some spots. I'm going to wait a day or two then I'll be out there! https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/millennium-park-reopen-with-rest...

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on June 17, 2020 at 5:28am

Has anyone seen a list of exactly which access points will initially be open?

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Permalink Reply by Philip Iplixian on June 17, 2020 at 10:19am

Access points at Diversey Harbor, Belmont Harbor, Recreation Drive/Addison, Irving Park, Lawrence and Sheridan/Hollywood as well as the north end at Ardmore are already open. I have been riding on this section since last weekend. You can also exit at Fullerton by Theater on the Lake but you cannot enter.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on June 23, 2020 at 5:54pm

The path is really nice now. Car parking areas are closed. There is no car traffic. The path is fun and safe, even for kids. Enjoy it while you can. Drivers will be back soon, trying to kill us as usual.

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Permalink Reply by Philip Iplixian on June 24, 2020 at 3:18am

Except that very few people are wearing masks. I've been riding in early morning the last 3 days. Besides myself, I saw only 6-7 other cyclists wearing masks. The overwhelming majority of joggers are not wearing masks. There are signs every few hundred feet reminding LFT users to don masks (in English and Spanish).

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Permalink Reply by Ernesto Lube on June 24, 2020 at 3:21am

Yesterday I saw some of the "ambassadors" on the bike path, about 5 of them walking together, not wearing masks.

Also saw a peloton of cyclists without them.

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Permalink Reply by Philip Iplixian on June 24, 2020 at 3:26am

Like the selfish, self-absorbed irresponsible toddlers that we are, we'll be back in "time out" (read: lockdown) in no time flat.

It's a shame that people are incapable of inconveniencing themselves for the benefit of their fellow city dwellers.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on June 24, 2020 at 3:43am

This seems to be a universal issue on shared paths. One thing I did notice is that more people are wearing them now than were a month ago. On my dog walks, people are finally distancing and wearing masks much more where before they were not. It's a relief. I hope Chicago follows too. I've watched this change over time.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on June 25, 2020 at 1:28am

I have been riding mostly where the cyclists and runners are separated, so I don't know how the runners are behaving. Few of the cyclists had masks, but I didn't see any groups. Everybody was separated pretty well.

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Permalink Reply by Philip Iplixian on June 26, 2020 at 7:35am

Yesterday afternoon, I rode with my wife and 6yo son from Fullerton down to North Avenue. We passed a few "LFT ambassadors" but they're doing little to ensure distancing or enforce the mask wearing. They seem to be most focused on keeping people away from the beaches and water. It seems a bit counter-intuitive to prevent people from being in the water (it's highly unlikely to catch COVID-19 by swimming in such a large body of water) and opening up more available space for people to spread would seemingly help to add distance between people.