I rode Dearborn today...anyone else?

I just missed the press conference and just hung out at lunch to see how it would all work. It seemed easy enough, so I took Dearborn as my starting route home to Roscoe Village. Normally I hit Franklin to Orleans then north to Lincoln.

I have to say, it was pretty easy and relatively safe. The ambassadors were helpful with the the auto traffic. The walkers were easy enough to avoid. I had to chuckle at two riders riding side by side in the lane.

What I didn't see was any oncoming traffic; southbound riders. I am guessing that will come in time or at other times during the day.

Way to go Mayor RE! This is really making a statement.

Who else rode the new path?

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Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on December 16, 2012 at 10:02am

I've never had a problem with this type of drain cover on my 25mm tires. The holes are very short and radial so it's rare that your tire will hit the exact spot, and if it does it won't get caught. 

Tricolor said:

I just got back this weekend and rode down this morning to take a look.  Gripes are the narrow width, the drain covers that 25 and smaller tires can fall into and general poor drainage that plagues a lot of Chicago streets that put the south lane under a few inches of water in some places.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 17, 2012 at 3:58am

I tried it on the way to work today (from Kinzie to Adams) during early morning rush hour, passing through between 7:15 and 7:30 I think.  I currently take Clark into the Loop, and will continue to do so for the following reasons:

  • It's going to take awhile for pedestrians to get used to looking left and right before jaywalking.  I predict a fair number of people will be hit by bikes over the next several months.
  • There are no plates on the bridge over the river.  You ride right on the steel grates.  This alone is a deal breaker for me.
  • The rain over the weekend left lots of standing water which often entirely covered the southbound bike lane.  Some rework of drains and judicious patching of the asphalt will be necessary to address this properly.
  • I had to go around a delivery van sticking out of an alley in which the driver blocked both the sidewalk and both bike lanes, then just walked away!  I nosed out carefully into Dearborn to get around (could have dismounted and walked around the other way as well).  I suspect that a few tickets will need to be issued to address this behavior.

Skip

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on December 17, 2012 at 4:22am

If the eastbound light is already green though, it seems like one could skip the whole box thing and just go with the peds or motor vehicle traffic, regardless of the color of the bike signal - while respecting the right of way and safety of the pedestrians of course.

I rode it today from Polk to Monroe. Drivers were all good about waiting for their turn arrows. Peds were mostly good about not standing around in the lanes and there no double parkers or any other parking/unloading cars or trucks. Somehow waiting for the bike signal to turn green was much easier than waiting for a regular traffic signal. 


Steven Vance said:

To turn right from northbound to eastbound: proceed to the turn box on a green bicycle and orient yourself east. Wait for the eastbound light to turn green and proceed. 

Here's the video I made, riding northbound from Madison to Kinzie.


globalguy said:

Rode it also just after the press conference.  One smallish question - if going north, what's the proper procedure for turning right off of Dearborn onto any the east-bound streets.

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on December 17, 2012 at 4:34am

I agree w/ most of those issues Skip mentioned, especially the puddles in the SB lanes. The main reason I'll stick to Des Plaines is the low speed of the Dearborn bike lane.  It did feel good to have an almost relaxing loop cycling experience, but catching every light for 6 blocks is a bummer.  I guess I could've hit 2 yellows but I would of had to been flying, at probably >16mph, and with pedestrians still stepping off the curb there will be a few ugly collisions.  I will take it when I'm heading North out of the city, but I won't go 3 blocks out of my normal NW/SE commute to ride it.  Well maybe when I'm taking it easy (hungover ;).   My mind has changed about the width, I think it's perfectly fine. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 17, 2012 at 4:45am

We've been told that plates *will* be installed on the Dearborn bridge, but they weren't available in time for Friday's official opening.  Hopefully we'll see them soon.

Skip Montanaro said:

There are no plates on the bridge over the river.  You ride right on the steel grates.  This alone is a deal breaker for me.
Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on December 17, 2012 at 5:09am

Following up on Cameron's comment: "Despite all that I'm still going to give the project an overall positive."

I should have added in my note that I too give it an overall thumbs up.  I think it's a good thing.  It's not quite complete yet. Any idea if any CDOT folks watch The Chainlink?  If not, is there a good place to provide feedback?

Skip

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on December 17, 2012 at 5:41am

We watch it. Thanks for the feedback ya'll.

Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on December 17, 2012 at 5:48am

I'll ride it on my commute home today :)

Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on December 17, 2012 at 5:57am

In case you don't often ride in the Loop, here's a before/after video to give you a sense of what it felt like biking on Dearborn Street before the protected bike lane, and what it feels like now. It's an incredible transformation!

Dearborn Protected Bike Lane - Before and After from Active Trans on Vimeo.

- Lee Crandell, Active Trans

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on December 17, 2012 at 6:05am

I plan to ride it this afternoon. can't wait!!!

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on December 17, 2012 at 6:07am

Rode southbound from Kinzie to Randolph today.  There was a taxi parked just south of the hotel driveway south of Kinzie where the taxi stand used to be.  As I approached Wacker I had the green bicycle signal but several cars went through the red turn arrow.  The bike "ambassadors" on the corners are great for dealing with the pedestrians, but they can't do much about those folks disregarding the "left turn on green arrow" signs.  I think it would be good to periodically have one at the former taxi stand (and probably all former taxi stands along Dearborn) at least for a while. 

Ditto on the drainage issues--a big puddle right at the light just north of Randolph all across the southbound lane.  The fellow ahead of me and I just inched a little over to the northbound lane to get out of the water. :-)  I am reallyl more worried about that becoming ice if winter ever arrives.

I like it!

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on December 17, 2012 at 6:36am

Good feedback Lisa. We've actually had the Dept. of Finance out giving tickets between Wacker and Dearborn, but we recognize that we're going to have to be vigilant there. I've chased out about 10 cabs myself since Friday and it doesn't stop them coming back. I had a guy tell me they'd have to tow him out of the lane, and that I didn't scare him.

We'll have Ambassador staff out everyday this week, and then after the holidays. We're using every available resource to do outreach.

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