New protected bike lanes announced - Elston, 18th

Our team at the MBAC meeting just let us know that Elston (Division to North) and 18th (Clinton to Clark) will be the next protected bike lanes by the end of this year!

 

Thanks, CDOT!

 

Ethan Spotts, Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Jose A. Terrazas on July 2, 2012 at 4:18am

That's great, but I can't help but feel that the southwest side of the city is completely overlooked.

1. Archer ave. West has a lane that disappears just a bit after Halsted. After that, well, watch your back. I live just off Archer and the Bicycle traffic has increased quite a bit in the past three years.

2. Damen ave. South of the Medical District, after crossing Roosevelt, gets a bit combative. Not ot mention crossing I55, the bridge has no lanes and the side walk is always riddled with glass and debris. Proceed with caution. 

3. Ashland in General feels like a death trap. I've had my share of scrapes wit the reeper on tha one.

4. Western ave., well the only lane there is between 32nd and 31st. Good Intention? 

Lets not forget the South...     

    

Permalink Reply by Scott on July 2, 2012 at 8:12am

Is anyone else annoyed by the cars that park in the lane near Stanley's on Elston?  There is a whole parking lot right there, why do they park in the bike lane?

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 2, 2012 at 8:27am

Archer will be getting lanes - planned in Streets for Cycling.  Stay tuned on that.

I recommend taking Loomis instead of either Ashland or Damen to cross I-55 (Stevenson) and the river.  Ashland IS a deathtrap.  That section of Damen isn't any better.  Both are totally designed for cars and trucks.

California is supposed to be getting lanes on the section crossing the river.  Not sure of the timeline, but it's in the Streets for Cycling plan.

There will be other southwest bike lanes/routes, too.  The southwest has NOT been forgotten.

Jose A. Terrazas said:

That's great, but I can't help but feel that the southwest side of the city is completely overlooked.

1. Archer ave. West has a lane that disappears just a bit after Halsted. After that, well, watch your back. I live just off Archer and the Bicycle traffic has increased quite a bit in the past three years.

2. Damen ave. South of the Medical District, after crossing Roosevelt, gets a bit combative. Not ot mention crossing I55, the bridge has no lanes and the side walk is always riddled with glass and debris. Proceed with caution. 

3. Ashland in General feels like a death trap. I've had my share of scrapes wit the reeper on tha one.

4. Western ave., well the only lane there is between 32nd and 31st. Good Intention? 

Lets not forget the South...     

    

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 2, 2012 at 10:30am

Please please PLEASE let Western get BRT.  That would do me a lot more good than Ashland - like actually get me to (or close to) useful destinations and replace car trips.  Sorry Howard.

h' said:

Lanes on most of California are all but gone.  Unfortunately John G did not ask the good Alderman what he's actually done for bicycling in today's Grid.

The lane on Western between 29th and 33rd is all but worn away, and unfortunately will not be replaced due to possible Bus Rapid Transit on Western or Ashland.  Ashland is de-prioritized for the same reason. All the North-South corridor resources are going into Damen.

 

 

Please please please please (please) let Ashland "win" the BRT. And soon.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on July 2, 2012 at 10:35am

fight, fight, fight!  We should leave it to a bike race between the ashlandites and the westernites. Who would win?

I'd just like it to happen so I'm not getting involved here :))


Anne Alt said:

Please please PLEASE let Western get BRT.  That would do me a lot more good than Ashland - like actually get me to (or close to) useful destinations and replace car trips.  Sorry Howard.

h' said:

Lanes on most of California are all but gone.  Unfortunately John G did not ask the good Alderman what he's actually done for bicycling in today's Grid.

The lane on Western between 29th and 33rd is all but worn away, and unfortunately will not be replaced due to possible Bus Rapid Transit on Western or Ashland.  Ashland is de-prioritized for the same reason. All the North-South corridor resources are going into Damen.

 

 

Please please please please (please) let Ashland "win" the BRT. And soon.

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 2, 2012 at 11:53am

Wait, Howard, do you want Ashland to win so that Western will be left alone? Or what?

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on July 10, 2012 at 2:12pm
I think Elston is an excellent PBL. Few intersection conflicts, a wide bike lane, and a nice buffer. Some parking issues still, but they didn't have the posts in yet last time I went through.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 11, 2012 at 12:09am

I rode over 18th St. on Sunday.  Some of the plates were installed on both sides of the bridge.  Yesterday I passed by on the train and saw crews continuing the installation.

h' said:

Thank you for this, Tony.

Tony Adams said:

Kathy plates getting installed on the westbound side of the 18th St Bridge this morning!

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 18, 2012 at 4:40pm

Got finished today! Yay!

This is a shot from this morning showing the completed eastbound side. There were CDOT workers putting the last of the westbound plates in as I rode by. By the time of my PM commute it was all done.



Anne Alt said:

I rode over 18th St. on Sunday.  Some of the plates were installed on both sides of the bridge.  Yesterday I passed by on the train and saw crews continuing the installation.

h' said:

Thank you for this, Tony.

Tony Adams said:

Kathy plates getting installed on the westbound side of the 18th St Bridge this morning!

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 19, 2012 at 5:51am

This morning I noticed bollards on both sides of the bridge lanes. They must have gone in yesterday also. 

h' said:

Hooray!  Thanks for the update.

...

Permalink Reply by Kathleen Murphy on July 19, 2012 at 12:10pm

There are now posts all the way to Milwaukee, which seems to have mostly discouraged the club-goers from parking in the bike lanes. It was pretty terrible along there for a while after the removal of parking in a lot of areas, especially late-ish on Friday and Saturday nights when I'd be riding home from work, but it has definitely improved over the last week or two.

Cameron Puetz said:

Later last night I rode the stretch north of Division that has the posts in and it was nice. The stretch south of Division where the bike lane and the parking lane switch sides is confusing and has resulted in people parking in both the bike lane and parking area. Hopefully there are plans to put some posts in to keep the bike lane clear. I also noticed a couple of limos standing between the curb and the parking area in front of ESTATE completely blocking the bike lane. The protected lane from Division to North is nice, but from Milwaukee to Division it needs some more work. Does anyone know what the final plan looks like?

John Wirtz said:

I think Elston is an excellent PBL. Few intersection conflicts, a wide bike lane, and a nice buffer. Some parking issues still, but they didn't have the posts in yet last time I went through.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on July 27, 2012 at 4:56am

Just sent this to the 25th Ward alderman:

Greetings,

I am very grateful for  the protected bike lane on the 18th Street Bridge. Riding over that bridge provides a view of the 25th Ward and the City that is unparalleled and inspiring. The new plates on the metal section of the bridge are like icing on the cake.
However, intersection of 18th and Wentworth, at least for eastbound riders remains problematic. There are (at least) two issues which threaten the safety of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
1. A privacy screen hanging on the fenced in property on the south west corner of the intersection creates a somewhat blind corner. As a result, drivers often creep out into the bike lane to get a view of potentially crossing traffic. The privacy screen prevents drivers from seeing pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists until they are well into the intersection.
I'm not sure if the City can do anything about a fence on private property (assuming it is private property) but it would be great if the City could at least bring up the issue with the property owner.  Or perhaps there is another solution to this problem?
2. There is room for two motor vehicles to cross or turn onto 18th from northbound Wentworth. This can create a very hazardous situation as the view from the further east vehicle may be entirely blocked by another vehicle to its left. I'm not sure if two northbound (or turning) vehicles at that intersection is the intended use, but it is happening and it is dangerous. This could be addressed by a bumped out curb or other traffic calming device which would only allow one northbound car or truck into the intersection at a time. 
I appreciate all that you've done and continue to do to keep our City safe and healthy. I look forward to hearing from your office about these issues. If my concerns should have instead been directly directly to CDOT I'd also be grateful for any suggested contacts there.
thanks,
Tony Adams

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