Cool Tucson bike stuff I'd love to see in Chicago: bike boulevards and more

I recently visited Tucson, Arizona, a college town of 520,000 people in the Sonoran desert, and was surprised by just how bicycle-friendly it is. People on bikes and cycling-inspired public art are everywhere, and there's great infrastructure, including a network of bike boulevards that Chicago would do well to emulate:
http://gridchicago.com/2012/cool-tucson-bike-stuff-id-love-to-see-i...

Keep moving forward,
John Greenfield


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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on April 20, 2012 at 4:26am

Are those bollards also street lighting for the intersection?

The road-closed sign on the other side sort of puts a damper on the coolness of this intersection. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 20, 2012 at 4:44am

I like this curb separated bike lane configuration with bollards.  Looks like Tucson has adopted some good configurations.

What was your impression of Tucson drivers compared to Chicago?

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on April 20, 2012 at 5:25am

Actually that's not a full-on, curb-separated bike lane, just a traffic diverter at the intersection of a bike boulevard.

There aren't many cars on the bike boulevards and none of them are speeding. The arterials aren't particularly pleasant to bike on - outside of the central city a lot of the area has a suburban feel - but the ubiquitous wide, striped, paved shoulders make biking feel safe on them.



Anne Alt said:

I like this curb separated bike lane configuration with bollards.  Looks like Tucson has adopted some good configurations.

What was your impression of Tucson drivers compared to Chicago?

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on April 20, 2012 at 5:26am

Not sure if those bollard light up or not.

What "road closed" sign are you talking about? The "Do not enter/Bicycles exempt" sign?

James BlackHeron said:

Are those bollards also street lighting for the intersection?

The road-closed sign on the other side sort of puts a damper on the coolness of this intersection. 

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on April 20, 2012 at 6:43am

John,

 

What do you do for a living that allows you to see/do all this awesome stuff?

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on April 20, 2012 at 6:56am

You're looking at it: freelance writing about transportation issues and other topics for several local and national publications, a weekly column in Newcity, ad sales, seasonal work at Boulevard Bikes, plus a few other odds and ends.

Jim S said:

John,

 

What do you do for a living that allows you to see/do all this awesome stuff?

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on April 20, 2012 at 6:59am

I was here at this exact intersection in December 2010. Also during the day so I can't say if they light up the intersection. I'd like to add that people driving cars east-west on University Avenue are forced to make right turns onto the cross street (Stone Avenue). 

It's called a TOUCAN. 

John Greenfield said:

Not sure if those bollard light up or not.

What "road closed" sign are you talking about? The "Do not enter/Bicycles exempt" sign?

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on April 20, 2012 at 7:02am

I don't think there's a solid connection between what one does for a living and being able to see/do awesome stuff. It's more about one's passions and priorities.

These are all my trips. 

Jim S said:

John,

 

What do you do for a living that allows you to see/do all this awesome stuff?

Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on April 20, 2012 at 7:09am

Steven,

 

I can definitely see where you're coming from, but for someone like me who only gets 1 week of paid vacation per year (and only usuable from mid January-May) and works many hours, it might become more difficult. Though, I have met many contract/freelance people like John who have been on some AMAZING trips. I think *I* need to find some way to become a freelancer. :)

Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on April 20, 2012 at 7:31am

Awesome pics, great article.  Thanks.  

This looks like heaven to me:

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on April 20, 2012 at 7:48am

Thanks! Glad you like the post.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on April 20, 2012 at 11:28am

I agree. 

Or start working towards a United States that requires vacation time. We require none, many other countries require a lot, and yet those same countries reach or beat the metrics economists care about (like GDP per capita). They even beat us on the metrics economists don't (or can't) care about, like happiness. 

Jim S said:

Steven,

 

I can definitely see where you're coming from, but for someone like me who only gets 1 week of paid vacation per year (and only usuable from mid January-May) and works many hours, it might become more difficult. Though, I have met many contract/freelance people like John who have been on some AMAZING trips. I think *I* need to find some way to become a freelancer. :)

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