Why is this an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago?

Folks,


For a writing project I'm working on, please respond with a few sentences. If you want to possibly be quoted, please provide your real name:

Why is this an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago? Are there any new bike facilities or initiatives that you're particularly jazzed about?

Thanks!

John Greenfield

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on August 29, 2012 at 5:21am

In the protected bike lanes, slow pedalers like me need to stay to the right so that faster riders can easily pass me.  Then they do not need to move into traffic lanes.  Obviously, this is different from buffered or shared lanes in which I will ride outside of the door zone regardless of my speed.  Isn't it about common sense?  Of course, sometimes that seems to be in short supply. :-)

 

As to John's question:

 

I believe that the city's focus on improving bicycling conditions and the publicity being given to it is exciting.  The more people believe they can safely ride a bike to get around the more likely they will try it.  Cyclists who gain experience and confidence in their bike handling skills are more likely to be less fearful of riding in general and more likely to get on the bike for commuting and errands.

I am really looking forward to Dearborn and the extension of Kinzie.  In non-summer months I will be riding Milwaukee to Kinzie, and will be very excited to be able to take it to Dearborn to head to the Daley Center rather than turning on Wells.  Even with the shared lanes and my greater confidence in my bike handling skills, I still don't like Wells!

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 29, 2012 at 10:14am

That's what I thought.

Welcome to The Chainlink Mr. Savage...

Bill Savage said:

Of course there's no law creating such zones, but drivers are perfectly reasonable to expect that when a lane of car traffic is taken away and made into a bike lane, that bikers will use that lane rather than the remaining car lane.  Cyclists always say that drivers have to share the road, but so do cyclists. 


Permalink Reply by Matheis on August 29, 2012 at 10:36am

It's fun and I love my bike! Almost 2 years car-free!

Also the infrastructure changes are monumental. Gabe Klein at CDOT is a visionary.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on August 29, 2012 at 10:45am

Dr. Savage, actually, but thanks for the welcome. 

James BlackHeron said:

That's what I thought.

Welcome to The Chainlink Mr. Savage...

Bill Savage said:

Of course there's no law creating such zones, but drivers are perfectly reasonable to expect that when a lane of car traffic is taken away and made into a bike lane, that bikers will use that lane rather than the remaining car lane.  Cyclists always say that drivers have to share the road, but so do cyclists. 


Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on August 29, 2012 at 10:47am

Interesting how cyclists get irate when drivers violate the law, but celebrate when cyclists do.  This sort of intellectual double-standard (IOICDI: It's OK if Cyclists Do It) is one reason why we have trouble changing the minds of drivers about sharing the road. 

Adam Kitzmann said:

The community is growing, fuck the ballots, reclaim the streets, Scofflaws one and all.

On a side note, I love how much the word scofflaw is used on the Chainlink. If that isn't a bike crew yet it damn well should be, the Chicago Scofflaws has a nice ring to it. 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 29, 2012 at 11:17am

The law is an ass.   

This cyclist isn't a rule-worshiper.

Und Herr Doktor Savage, if your vanity requires the honorific then please put it into your username/profile...

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on August 29, 2012 at 12:53pm

Having biked around this city since childhood from the north side, it is really exciting to see more riders year after year since 2006. Looking forward to seeing a dream of mine come true where I can ride ALL over town and beyond without too much traffic hassle. 

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on August 29, 2012 at 3:31pm

The honorific was a joke, at being referred to as "Mr" rather than Bill.  And I'm all for not being a rule idolator: I skate through stop signs (when there's no crosstraffic), ditto red lights (when there's no cross-traffic).  Everything is situational and contextual on the streets.  But celebrating scofflaw behavior that politically backfires seems a bad strategy to me.

But back to the honorific: If you want to get German, it'd be Herr Doktor Professor Savage.  But that'd be a bit much, Ja?

James BlackHeron said:

The law is an ass.   

This cyclist isn't a rule-worshiper.

Und Herr Doktor Savage, if your vanity requires the honorific then please put it into your username/profile...

Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 30, 2012 at 2:21am

That is just as laughable as the bile that Konkol and Kass spew. Pretentious, fact-less, and one-sided, you are turning it into an us V. them argument.


clp said:

This is an exciting time for cyclists...because increasingly, cars and drivers are seen to be ruining the Earth.  Caught in their cages, which in turn are trapped in endless traffic jams of their own making, spewing noxious fluids into our environment, drivers are seen to be the dim-witted, self-absorbed, and unenlightened enemies of humanity and all of nature. 

As cyclists, we're the "good guys," on the side of truth, justice and the (new) American Way.  Critical Mass has shown us the future: we want our City to have that critical mass of cyclists & pedestrians on a 24/7 basis.  As bike commuters we're helping bring that about.  And this sudden awareness, and that vision of the future, IS exciting...it gives us hope!

Clark Maxfield

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on August 30, 2012 at 2:48am

It's an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago because it is any time at all.

Bill - protected bike lanes are going to make motorists expect to not have to share their lane... starting now? How is this any different from any other road anywhere?

Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 30, 2012 at 2:48am

It is an exciting time to be a bike commuter, partially because we now have a pro-biking city administration. I really start to see a effect of that: By next spring almost 35% of my 9 mile commute will be on protected bike lanes and buffered bike lanes. That number was 0% a little over a year ago. That difference is absolutely astounding. 

Combine the investment in bicycling-specific infrastructure with consistent high gas prices, and continuing economic uncertainty and it starts to explain why I see more bicyclists on the streets of Chicago every day. And since safety comes with numbers more cyclists on the streets is a good thing.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on August 30, 2012 at 6:25am

Not starting now, but being exacerbated now. 
Peenworm Grubologist said:

It's an exciting time to be a bike commuter in Chicago because it is any time at all.

Bill - protected bike lanes are going to make motorists expect to not have to share their lane... starting now? How is this any different from any other road anywhere?

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