Northshore Channel Trail Re-opened through Lincolnwood
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on
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I first noticed it was open last Friday. By Sunday it was already looking more finished with more path options open as well. On Friday morning I saw only one way through the construction that wasn't blocked off.
Unfortunately the disc golf course looks pretty hazardous to bicyclists as many of the "holes" are very near to the path (<15 feet) and the driving greens cross the bike/ped path repeatedly. I'd hate to get whacked in the head or face (helmet or no) with one of those heavy drivers.
The sightlines of some of the path crossings are pretty bad with the weaving in between the raised berms. With faster-moving bike traffic I can see a much-increased chance of collision at these intersections.
I think that I will continue to take the Kedzie Bypass all the way until Touhy due to the permanent deficiencies mentioned above. Due to the lack of a good way to cross at Lincoln and the poor layout/marking of that general area of the "bike route" one might as well continue on Kedzie to at least Devon anyhow to cross so one doesn't have to backtrack going North, and either make a huge detour or ride against traffic on Kedzie when detouring going Southbound on the trail. Continuing all the way to Touhy misses all the disc golf hazards. In golf the hazards are supposed to be for the golfers -not everyone else in the area!
Kedzie is about as safe, if not safer,(at least for an experienced cyclist) than riding on that section of the path due to the disc golf course on the path.
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Permalink Reply by NYC (7.0 mi) on
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Wow. I didn't know what those "trash cans" were really for until I just googled disc golf.
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on
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And I was trying to figure out what kind of golf clubs one uses to hit discs!
NYC said:Wow. I didn't know what those "trash cans" were really for until I just googled disc golf.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on
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I'm pretty excited about finally having a disc golf course so close to the city, but I can definitely see how it could be hazardous to cyclists.
The course itself has gotten some pretty bad reviews.
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Permalink Reply by Madopal (16.5 mi) on
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I have seen quite a few disc golf players on the trail since they put it up. More at night than in the morning. I'm usually going from Pratt down to the end of that section around 6:15-7pm. Thankfully, I haven't been hit by any frisbees yet. But considering the amount of right hooking that was going on to me on Granville yesterday, I'll take a frisbee instead anyday.
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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I hate that we haven't have to think this way, but yes, I'm taking this trail. Grant it that I'm lucky. I have an early schedule. I get on the NCT at 7am, riding from just North of Lawrence to Noyes Street.
Has anyone contacted their elected officials on the lack of coordinated planning? Would anyone be interested in forming a NCT Advisory Group to have a voice in future planning of this vital trail? I don't think officials realize how this small path is a connector between populated neighborhoods and employment centers. Beside the artistic, health, and societal benefits, this trail takes me between home and my job.
Madopal said:I have seen quite a few disc golf players on the trail since they put it up. More at night than in the morning. I'm usually going from Pratt down to the end of that section around 6:15-7pm. Thankfully, I haven't been hit by any frisbees yet. But considering the amount of right hooking that was going on to me on Granville yesterday, I'll take a frisbee instead anyday.
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I would think that early in the morning the path would be pretty clear of folks so at least you'd be able to spot any Frolfers and keep an eye out for their shenanigans.
To those who think that "getting hit by a frisbee" isn't that big of a deal, most of these guys are NOT using toy frisbees that weigh almost nothing and are designed to play catch with. Some of those discs are seriously solid and heavy. From Wikipedia:
Disc types
The golf discs used today are much smaller and heavier than traditional flying discs, typically about 8 or 9 inches (20 or 23 cm) in diameter and weighing between 129 and 180 grams. The PDGA prohibits any disc to be heavier than 200 grams. Discs used for disc golf are designed and shaped for control, speed, and accuracy while general-purpose flying discs, such as those used for playing guts or ultimate, have a more traditional shape, similar to a catch disc. There is a wide variety of discs used in disc golf and they are generally divided into three categories: putters, all-purpose mid-range discs, and drivers.
Getting hit in the back of the head with a solid 200-gram disc flying at high speeds could be very serious. These discs are not the lightweight frisbee designed to be caught by someone. They are designed to be thrown a long ways in a straight line and not be effected too much by the wind.
I have nothing against disc golf and think it is a wonderful sport/hobby/activity. But I don't think it is a good idea to mix the throwing of heavy projectile missiles a long distance through pedestrian/bicycle traffic which may be unaware of some impatient schlep on the course making a poor decision about when it is safe to throw their projectile weapon past/over/through them.
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Would a good solution be to plant a bunch of tall trees along the path to shield from flying discs? Not sure how wide the area is.
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The Course is ON the trail and crosses it repeatedly. Many of the "holes" (the funny chain-covered trash cans) are only a few feet off of the trial.
You'll have to ride the trail to see what I mean.
I did notice that they kept the holes and the course as far away from McCormick Blvd as possible. Wouldn't want the discs flying into traffic, would we?
But it seems that peds and bicyclists don't count nearly as much as cars.
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THIS!
The push-to-walk buttons are infuriatingly poorly-placed at some spots. At others they are actually very well done. It'd be great if the walk lights were just automatic like they are in most of the city crosswalks though -or at least use sensors. Just having them turn on automatically without a button would be cheaper/easier to retro-fit.
This sort of thing is often the purview of the contractors who lay out the intersection and the design team that engineers the layout as far as where the buttons are placed and onto which pole -or if the pole is placed anywhere near a good place to put the buttons. The buttons on some of the intersections were not placed with any thought for bicyclists (especially those who are using clipped/clipless pedals).
But I've noticed that the lights are all fairly predictable and even without hitting the button there will come a safe spot to cross. There are sensors at the left-turn lanes on McCormick so that the left-arrow will usually not turn if there isn't a car in that lane. Using you head you can still cross at the green even though the walk/run light hasn't lit. I've noticed that 99% of auto drivers are not paying attention to the Walk/Don'tWalk lights anyhow or don't care when turning onto these side-streets or right-turning off of them. So just be wary of those with the walk or without it.
I push the button when I can reach it and don't worry about it when I can't.
A lot of path-users are not bright enough to figure out the light pattern and end up stepping off and right in front of left-turning traffic with a green arrow as soon as the traffic on McCormick gets a red. They always seem surprised and alarmed when this happens and left-turning traffic is bearing down on them. I pretty much go through my life assuming 99% of people out there are clueless and stupid and not understanding or paying attention to how anything works around them. This seems to cover most situations when I need to interact with them. If given the chance people will just do the wrong/stupid thing every time.
Cameron Puetz said:I've always thought the NCT was the sort of path a non cyclist who wanted to help cyclists would build. It looks very nice and is very close to being a great trail, but has some infuriating design details (like having to push the awkwardly located walk buttons at every road crossing and the issues James mentioned). Reading the reviews in Adam's post, it sounds like the frolf corse is same way. It sounds like the Skokie Parks Department has good intentions, but doesn't have the knowledge base to carry them out. They're designing facilities for activities that they don't know much about without engaging the intended users. If anyone has any connections to the Skokie Park District, reaching out and trying to form a NCT Advisory Group as Richard suggested would be a good idea.
Edit: It looks like the portion of the trail with the frolf course is in Lincolnwood not Skokie, although it would be nice if an advisory group could involve both parks departments.
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Just wait until a story makes the news about a cyclist being killed by a flying disc to the head. Then the village will do something about it. That's how our government works, right? Reactive, not proactive? Although, who is to say they won't just blame the cyclist for not wearing a helmet...
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My bicycle helmet has a sticker inside that says, "No helmet can protect against all possible impacts and serous injury or death can occur." I don't see anything about protecting against heavy rock-like discs traveling at 50+mph at the 2/3rds of my head not covered by the silly thing.
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