Connecting route from N Shore Channel Trail to N Branch Trail ?

I've been extending my commute home by heading north to Howard St (via Glenwood, Pratt, and Sacramento) and coming back down the North Shore Channel Trail along McCormick, to Devon, then Kedzie, then back on the trail to Lawrence.

I want to head further west to the North Branch Trail and was wondering if anyone had a bike friendly route to the start of that trail at Devon and Caldwell.

I'll be traveling at night (at rush hour), so I'm not comfortable riding on Howard or Devon.  Is Pratt, west of McCormick, a good route?  Is it too busy?  It starts off alongside the shopping center.  I'll have to use Howard, Touhy, Pratt or Devon to cross the Edens, but is there a good route limiting my time on any of those?

If Pratt's OK, I was thinking Pratt, to Minnehaha, to Devon, to the trail, to Superdawg, and then south on Elston.

Any advice?  Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Jared on March 6, 2012 at 10:35am

This is vague, but basically you head west on Byrn Mawr from the North Shore Channel Trail and then follow the city bike route signs through the Sauganash neighborhood.  The signs will point you to the part of the trail near Devon/Caldwell/Central.  Not sure if this is exactly what your looking for.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on March 6, 2012 at 10:41am

I know what you mean, but I'll be coming from the north (Howard), so Bryn Mawr's a little south for me.  I did try it last night though, but instead of heading back up to the North Branch Trail, I followed the route to Forest Glen, to Elston and then south.  Bryn Mawr's real busy at the NEI campus at rush hour.  I'm hoping to cut over further north.  Thanks

Jared said:

This is vague, but basically you head west on Byrn Mawr from the North Shore Channel Trail and then follow the city bike route signs through the Sauganash neighborhood.  The signs will point you to the part of the trail near Devon/Caldwell/Central.  Not sure if this is exactly what your looking for.

Permalink Reply by Mark on March 6, 2012 at 10:46am

If your goal is to head north on the North Branch Trail, I like taking Howard west to Lincoln, then NW on Lincoln all the way to where it ends at Dempster next to the North Branch Trail.  This avoids a lot of the meandering at the south end of the NBT.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on March 6, 2012 at 10:52am

What about Bryn Mawr and cross at Forest Glen Rd.

EDIT" Ahh! I saw that's already been suggested.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on March 6, 2012 at 10:54am

No, I'm looking just to use that southern 1 mile section of the North Branch trail to get to Milwaukee/Elston and then head south to home.  But how's the traffic on Lincoln up there?  Seems like it would be busy.

Mark said:

If your goal is to head north on the North Branch Trail, I like taking Howard west to Lincoln, then NW on Lincoln all the way to where it ends at Dempster next to the North Branch Trail.  This avoids a lot of the meandering at the south end of the NBT.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on March 6, 2012 at 10:56am

More specific start and end locations of your ride would be really helpful.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on March 6, 2012 at 11:07am

I'm actually starting in the loop and ending in Ravenswood (Wilson/Damen), but the relevant part of my ride for this question is starting at Howard/McCormick and ending at Devon/Caldwell.  Specifically, I was wondering if Pratt is a good bike route (at night/rush hour) west of McCormick. Or Touhy, I guess.  I just know I want to limit my use of Howard or Devon west of McCormick.  Thanks.

Kelvin Mulcky said:

More specific start and end locations of your ride would be really helpful.

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on March 6, 2012 at 11:42am

Pratt is probably your best bet. Another user (Madopal) and I use variations of the north branch (and Sauganash) trail for commuting purposes. You definitely don't want to use Touhy, as it doesn't really start to calm until you get east of McCormick.

And BTW, I would not advise using Lincoln that far north unless you're otherwise desperate. My old route was Balmoral/Berwyn to Lincoln all the way north to Pratt. It gets really, really hairy due to it being 2 lanes on each side, with people speeding and leaving you very little room to stay out of the door zone. It's a little unnerving to be riding along with cars passing you at 45-50 mph.

I pretty much compare it to that two lane section of Lawrence between Western and Ravenswood (I think?)...people weave and jockey for the opportunity to go as fast as they can.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 6, 2012 at 12:24pm

You REALLY don't want to be on Touhy west of McCormick at all - crazy speeds and/or extremely heavy traffic.  Pratt is one of your best east-west options in this area, and it's better than most major streets for crossing the Edens because it does not have an interchange.  I agree with Jim's assessment about Lincoln between Balmoral/Berwyn and Pratt.  It can be crazy, hairy, life threatening, especially north of Peterson.  He's not joking about the speed problem.

You might want to try SB Kedzie (a little fast but workable) to Pratt to Minnehaha going S/SW (crossing Sauganash), then turn right (NW) on Hiawatha to Central, where you have a 4-way stop by the corner of Edgebrook to get onto SB Central for your last few blocks.  Or if you're okay with Central, you could go directly there on Pratt.  The Minnehaha/Hiawatha alternative is fairly quiet area of residential streets, and Central is slower and calmer from there to Devon. I used to go that way sometimes and liked it. 


JeffB said:

I'm actually starting in the loop and ending in Ravenswood (Wilson/Damen), but the relevant part of my ride for this question is starting at Howard/McCormick and ending at Devon/Caldwell.  Specifically, I was wondering if Pratt is a good bike route (at night/rush hour) west of McCormick. Or Touhy, I guess.  I just know I want to limit my use of Howard or Devon west of McCormick.  Thanks.

Kelvin Mulcky said:

More specific start and end locations of your ride would be really helpful.

Permalink Reply by JeffB on March 6, 2012 at 4:22pm

I took Pratt tonight and it was definitely the right route.  Well paved, wide, and moderate traffic.  It did get narrower west of the Edens, but not too bad.  I turned on Minnehaha and took that to Devon, but I could have just taken it to Central and then to Devon.  Riding the bottom of the North Branch Trail to Milwaukee was cool after dark, even though I almost ran into some deer.  I found a new commute to use when I want to add some miles
 
David R Glass said:

I live in Evanston and routinely take Pratt from McCormick west across the Edens and then zigsag to Caldwell and Devon. Pratt isn't too bad from McCormick to Crawford. West of Crawford it can get busy but it is wide enough that even I on my low recumbent don't have a problem. West of Edens it becomes narrow so I just take to the side streets where you need to be careful because they run at odd angles. I have yet to find a better alternative.

Permalink Reply by paulcycles on March 6, 2012 at 4:51pm
I agree that this route has been very nice... Flowers if you head up bike path, off street!

Mark said:

If your goal is to head north on the North Branch Trail, I like taking Howard west to Lincoln, then NW on Lincoln all the way to where it ends at Dempster next to the North Branch Trail.  This avoids a lot of the meandering at the south end of the NBT.

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on March 6, 2012 at 6:52pm

I agree Pratt is probably your best option.  If you feel like going farther north, Main Street would be pretty decent if the pavement were in better condition.  Even farther north, Church Street is my favorite route to the North Branch Trail, but it sounds like it's not a convenient option for you.

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