New Bike Lane on Albion in Rogers Park

I just realized that I hadn't seen this new addition to the city's bike infrastructure mentioned on Chainlink anyplace.  The city has put in an against-traffic bikes-only lane (like the one at Ardmore at the north end of the LFBP) on Albion, west-bound between Sheridan and Lakewood.  This makes rides that used to require cutting over to Glenwood or Greenview (to avoid salmoning against one-way traffic, taking The Road of Death (ie, Sheridan Road) or glass-filled alleys) much easier and more direct.  From the northbound bike lanes on Kenmore, you can cut through Loyola (the ride along the lake by their library is beautiful), then Loyola Ave to Winthrop, Winthrop to Albion, and Albion to Lakewood.  If your destination is in East Rogers Park, or further north, this is a nice route.

But we should also be alert: Loyola University currently is building new dorms at the north end of Kenmore, where it intersects with West Sheridan Road.  The road is closed north of Rosemont, and this requires either cutting west to Winthrop (and going against traffic) or east to Sheridan Road (crazy busy) or Sheridan Road sidewalks for a block (illegal).  They plan to petition the city to sell them that half-block of Kenmore, permanently cutting off the street and the bike lane (never trust Loyola when they say they will maintain public access: they ALWAYS lie).  So, when this comes up formally, Chainlinkers will want to petition the Alderman of that ward (Osterman) to NOT let Loyola have another land-grab.

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 13, 2012 at 5:55am

No one in the area had any illusions that the 'temporary' closure of Kenmore between Rosemont and Sheridan was going to be anything but a takeover of the street.  Strange that the 48/49 boundary was moved up to Devon as it splits a lot of Loyola's new purchases.  A lot of the four plus one apartments on Winthrop and Kenmore have become dorms in the last three years.  I'm not sure if Loyola's leveraging the housing market to buy as much as they can now and hoping to sell some of it at a profit later or if they actually can afford this expansion.

I'd like to think this means Loyola will help create some kind of path that will push a little farther north into Rogers Park to get more bikes off Sheridan, but even after a few blocks anyone heading to Evanston would be back on that road.

Sheridan between Hollywood and Devon is already a terrible mess without bikes, which should be using Winthrop and Kenmore, even though all the poorly maintained speed humps are starting to crumble and get dangerous.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 13, 2012 at 6:15am

Actually, there's no reason for anyone to ride Sheridan Road north of Devon.  A scant quarter-mile west, you have the nice, quiet tree-lined sidestreets of Glenwood and Greenview, the latter of which can take you between Devon and North of Howard without a single stop light, but many traffic-calming stop signs.  We have the right to ride on Sheridan, sure, but is it any fun or relaxing in the least way?  Nope. 

Tricolor said:

No one in the area had any illusions that the 'temporary' closure of Kenmore between Rosemont and Sheridan was going to be anything but a takeover of the street.  Strange that the 48/49 boundary was moved up to Devon as it splits a lot of Loyola's new purchases.  A lot of the four plus one apartments on Winthrop and Kenmore have become dorms in the last three years.  I'm not sure if Loyola's leveraging the housing market to buy as much as they can now and hoping to sell some of it at a profit later or if they actually can afford this expansion.

I'd like to think this means Loyola will help create some kind of path that will push a little farther north into Rogers Park to get more bikes off Sheridan, but even after a few blocks anyone heading to Evanston would be back on that road.

Sheridan between Hollywood and Devon is already a terrible mess without bikes, which should be using Winthrop and Kenmore, even though all the poorly maintained speed humps are starting to crumble and get dangerous.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on September 13, 2012 at 7:24am

i've ridden Sheridan  from Evanston to Loyola av. every day for most of the last 10+ years and actually fairly regularly for most of  the last 40 or so i've lived up north. Is it a busy road? Yes, particularly south of Touhy. Does one need to keep one's head on a swivel? Again, yes, but if you're on the way to or  through Evanston it's the best route as compared with Clark/Chicago aves. 

 

i saw what they did on Albion and i scratch my head over  that... i'd recommend taking the alley east of Sheridan and going to the next street (North Shore) and then go west. That alley is fairly clean glass-wise.

The Salmon lanes on Albion look to me like a collision waiting to happen as a car pulls out of a space on the north side of Albion. You'd be better off just going west on North Shore.

Bill Savage said:

Actually, there's no reason for anyone to ride Sheridan Road north of Devon.  A scant quarter-mile west, you have the nice, quiet tree-lined sidestreets of Glenwood and Greenview, the latter of which can take you between Devon and North of Howard without a single stop light, but many traffic-calming stop signs.  We have the right to ride on Sheridan, sure, but is it any fun or relaxing in the least way?  Nope. 

Tricolor said:

No one in the area had any illusions that the 'temporary' closure of Kenmore between Rosemont and Sheridan was going to be anything but a takeover of the street.  Strange that the 48/49 boundary was moved up to Devon as it splits a lot of Loyola's new purchases.  A lot of the four plus one apartments on Winthrop and Kenmore have become dorms in the last three years.  I'm not sure if Loyola's leveraging the housing market to buy as much as they can now and hoping to sell some of it at a profit later or if they actually can afford this expansion.

I'd like to think this means Loyola will help create some kind of path that will push a little farther north into Rogers Park to get more bikes off Sheridan, but even after a few blocks anyone heading to Evanston would be back on that road.

Sheridan between Hollywood and Devon is already a terrible mess without bikes, which should be using Winthrop and Kenmore, even though all the poorly maintained speed humps are starting to crumble and get dangerous.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on September 13, 2012 at 7:28am

Oh. And Yes, the Kenmore closure is going to be a permanent thing. Start working on the Aldermen to get a proper bike route laid out.

With all the construction on the Lakeshore campus, crossing through on a bike can be a real pain -especially at class change times.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 13, 2012 at 7:31am

I usually did take North Shore, but this is easier (depending on the timing of the lights); and people parking in the 'hood seem to have adapted pretty quickly to it.  All contraflow lanes have the collision risk.  And, again, I dig that some people like riding on Sheridan, but it's certainly more dangerous than either Clark/Chicago or sidestreets.  My head's on a swivel wherever I ride, but I prefer traffic that's going slower than the LSD speeds of Sheridan Road.

mike w. said:

i've ridden Sheridan  from Evanston to Loyola av. every day for most of the last 10+ years and actually fairly regularly for most of  the last 40 or so i've lived up north. Is it a busy road? Yes, particularly south of Touhy. Does one need to keep one's head on a swivel? Again, yes, but if you're on the way to or  through Evanston it's the best route as compared with Clark/Chicago aves. 

 

i saw what they did on Albion and i scratch my head over  that... i'd recommend taking the alley east of Sheridan and going to the next street (North Shore) and then go west. That alley is fairly clean glass-wise.

The Salmon lanes on Albion look to me like a collision waiting to happen as a car pulls out of a space on the north side of Albion. You'd be better off just going west on North Shore.

Bill Savage said:

Actually, there's no reason for anyone to ride Sheridan Road north of Devon.  A scant quarter-mile west, you have the nice, quiet tree-lined sidestreets of Glenwood and Greenview, the latter of which can take you between Devon and North of Howard without a single stop light, but many traffic-calming stop signs.  We have the right to ride on Sheridan, sure, but is it any fun or relaxing in the least way?  Nope. 

Tricolor said:

No one in the area had any illusions that the 'temporary' closure of Kenmore between Rosemont and Sheridan was going to be anything but a takeover of the street.  Strange that the 48/49 boundary was moved up to Devon as it splits a lot of Loyola's new purchases.  A lot of the four plus one apartments on Winthrop and Kenmore have become dorms in the last three years.  I'm not sure if Loyola's leveraging the housing market to buy as much as they can now and hoping to sell some of it at a profit later or if they actually can afford this expansion.

I'd like to think this means Loyola will help create some kind of path that will push a little farther north into Rogers Park to get more bikes off Sheridan, but even after a few blocks anyone heading to Evanston would be back on that road.

Sheridan between Hollywood and Devon is already a terrible mess without bikes, which should be using Winthrop and Kenmore, even though all the poorly maintained speed humps are starting to crumble and get dangerous.

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 13, 2012 at 7:31am

Where did you get the information that the Kenmore closing is permanent and approved by the city?  Is that a rumor or a fact?

mike w. said:

Oh. And Yes, the Kenmore closure is going to be a permanent thing. Start working on the Aldermen to get a proper bike route laid out.

With all the construction on the Lakeshore campus, crossing through on a bike can be a real pain -especially at class change times.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 13, 2012 at 7:40am

Bill - Thanks for sharing this good news.  People were skeptical about the contraflow lane on Ardmore, but it's generally worked well.  If I was still in Rogers Park and riding in Rogers Park/Edgewater a lot more regularly, I'd definitely be pushing Osterman to lean on Loyola for a path.  Sheridan/Devon/Broadway is such a HUGE barrier that could be so easily overcome by a path connecting now-closed Kenmore to the campus north of Sheridan/Devon.  This would be a huge benefit to students and non-student residents.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 13, 2012 at 7:51am

I don't think a permanent closure has been requested or announced, but anyone you ask says it's going to happen.  After a year or two with temporary status there will be plenty of evidence there's no need to re-open it.  Now if they get rid of the traffic light at Kenmore and Sheridan and close off the road to left turns into the campus I'll call it a win (along with a some kind of path up Kenmore for bikes).

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 13, 2012 at 8:50am

Now if they get rid of the traffic light at Kenmore and Sheridan and close off the road to left turns into the campus I'll call it a win (along with a some kind of path up Kenmore for bikes).


But if they do that, there will need to be some sort of ped/cyclist activated light to allow crossing, right?

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 13, 2012 at 12:05pm

Right now, the ONLY entrance to Loyola's campus for cars is Kenmore northbound. There's no entrance on the north side at Loyola Ave, and Winthrop is one-way southbound from campus.  If they shut down the north-bound Kenmore, they could never take the light out: making a left turn (when south/eastbound) is the only driving route onto campus. 

Tricolor said:

I don't think a permanent closure has been requested or announced, but anyone you ask says it's going to happen.  After a year or two with temporary status there will be plenty of evidence there's no need to re-open it.  Now if they get rid of the traffic light at Kenmore and Sheridan and close off the road to left turns into the campus I'll call it a win (along with a some kind of path up Kenmore for bikes).

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 14, 2012 at 3:18am

That's bad planning considering the mess it makes on Sheridan when someone stops to turn there and there's not much of a sight line for oncoming traffic from that spot.

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 14, 2012 at 3:55am

They want to take Kenmore down to Granville as Loyola. The community garden next to the Loyola stop is gone.

They have acquired the old Hospice and the Hostel on Winthrop, another bldg. down the street closer to Granville as well as an apt. bldg on Sheridan.

I won't be surprised if it doesn't end up like DePaul in Lincoln Park or UIC nearly fenced off and blocks inaccessible except for a few entry points.

I rode up Winthrop during a move in day on my way to the beach, in the bike lane and a parent told me I was an asshole going the wrong way. yeah thanks.

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