Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on April 8, 2011 at 9:25am

It's not in the street because the cars move and blow it out of their lane; just like happens with all the crap in the roads that ends up in the bike line on every street in the city.

This is not a mystery, not a conspiracy and nothing more than one of the many conditions of living in an industrial city.  The best way to deal with an issue like this is by using a better route or being aware of the issue and avoiding the glass on that route.

 

thepuppies said:

I too have noticed this for years.  Always heading west and always in the bike lane. Here is the problem with the scrapper truck theory: the glass is only in the bike lane, never in the street. If it was the trucks bringing scrap across the bridge the glass would also be in the street. Besides, these trucks haul scrap metal, not glass to be recycled. Time for a good old fashioned stakeout.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 8, 2011 at 9:39am

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of good east-west routes that cross Ashland, the Kennedy expressway and the river in this north-south section of the grid.  That's why I tend to use Cortland, which is otherwise a pretty good route. 

 

How many east-west streets with bridges are bike friendly from east of the river to west of the river and past other major obstacles?  Chicago is okay crossing the river, but has its challenging sections.  Division and North are not winners here.  Fullerton isn't any great prize either.  Next up is Diversey, which is the best of the lot in some ways, at least west of Damen.  If Cortland is a direct route for you, or slightly north of your ideal route, do you really want to detour all the way up to Diversey, then back south again?  I usually don't.

 

I don't think that giving up on Cortland because it has industrial sites is an acceptable answer.  They didn't give us a bike friendly bridge on North.  Asking for better street sweeping on this small problematic section of Cortland isn't a lot to ask.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on April 8, 2011 at 11:29am

I never said to give up on it, I just said to be aware and accept that it is part of living in an industrial area.  The world is not perfect and we can't all live in bubble free from harm; only John Travolta gets that honor.

I personally doubt that calling 311 is going to have any effect on this at all.  If the city wanted to enforce the vehicle codes which ensure cargo carrying trucks are safe for the road 99% of the scrapper trucks out there would not be on the road as most of them are running missing lights, without the proper tires, over gross and without a properly secured load but the city does not really enforce laws like that (Chicago city proper is a playground for crappy trucks), only the state cops do and neither of them seem to care about scrappers.

Me, I'll just continue to look out for glass, be careful and put my efforts into things that may get an actual result...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 14, 2011 at 8:00am

I rode there the other day, and it was pretty clean.  My assumption was that a few of you have called and your message was heard.  If it's bad again next time I pass that way, I will call it in.

 

Thank you to anyone who made a 311 call on this!

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page