What's the best way to get to the lakeshore from the West Loop on a weekday morning?
Google Maps suggests Jackson for west-to-east biking through the loop...however this was way too crowded and stressful during the Wednesday morning when I attempted it. Any alternate routes that work better?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on
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Where on the lakeshore? Harrison with its new bike lanes is probably less stressful but it is farther south.
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But he wants to go west to east. :-)
rwein5 said:I think grand --> wells --> kinzie --> clinton is another good option if you're coming from the north. I use it to go from Streeterville to the Union Station area with some frequency.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Brown on
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Hi all, thanks for the suggestions. To be more clear: I live by Union Park (Lake & Ashland) and am trying to commute to Hyde Park via the lakeshore trail. I know of some ways I could bypass the loop entirely (e.g. by riding Halsted down to 18th and crossing LSD there) but also curious if there is a reasonable way to get through the loop and get on the trail up there. Harrison looks like a good option, thank you Lisa!
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Permalink Reply by Gecko on
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I'm also trying to figure out ways to get south on LSD. The route I'm thinking from Humboldt would be to take Damen to Roosevelt out to the path. Can anyone see anything wrong with that? I think Roosevelt has bike lanes the whole way right?
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Based on that I would definitely take Washington to DesPlaines to Harrison.
Adam Brown said:Hi all, thanks for the suggestions. To be more clear: I live by Union Park (Lake & Ashland) and am trying to commute to Hyde Park via the lakeshore trail. I know of some ways I could bypass the loop entirely (e.g. by riding Halsted down to 18th and crossing LSD there) but also curious if there is a reasonable way to get through the loop and get on the trail up there. Harrison looks like a good option, thank you Lisa!
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Roosevelt has bike lanes. They are not bad west of the expressway. East of the expressway they are faded and the traffic on Roosevelt moves pretty fast. I know a few people who are regular riders who avoid Roosevelt. Also, you probably know this but you cannot get to the path directly from Roosevelt. You have to go through the park or go down to 18th Street.
I have not been down there since they started the construction on the Roosevelt bike lanes in the area of Grant Park. I am sure someone here knows what is happening there.
Nick G said:I'm also trying to figure out ways to get south on LSD. The route I'm thinking from Humboldt would be to take Damen to Roosevelt out to the path. Can anyone see anything wrong with that? I think Roosevelt has bike lanes the whole way right?
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How is that underground bit on Kinzie/North Water, in terms of potholes, fallen concrete, lighting, traffic, etc.? That would seem to make a good swap for my usual route in the evening rush hour (Illinois from Dearborn to the LFP). The "underground" bit on Illinois makes me nervous these days, since I've seen a lot of hard-to-see fallen concrete all over the bike lane there lately.
If I'm not mistaken, it looks like you could take lower North Water as far as McClurg, if you wanted, which would have the added advantage of avoiding the pothole hell in the bike lane between Columbus and McClurg. Is there a reason you don't do that?
Cameron 7.5 mi said:My favorite route is sort of hard to explain, but not to bad to figure out once you go through it. Take Clinton north to Kinzie and go east on Kinzie. Stay on Kinzie as it goes underground and becomes North Water. When North Water ends turn north on Lower St. Clair. Take Lower St. Clair to Lower Illinois (which has a bike lane). Lower Illinois will emerge from the underground near the Lake Shore Drive Bridge, where you can pick up the Lake Front Path.
If you want to stay more south Washington is also a decent choice, except that you have to get to Monroe at some point to get all the way to the LFP and the one way streets are working against you. I'd probably take Wabash south to Monroe and then walk the half block from Wabash to Michigan where Monroe becomes two way.
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Permalink Reply by Will on
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I used to live very close to you in the West Loop, and I work at Harrison and Michigan.
There are a few decent options, but I like getting on at the 11th St pedestrian interchange. So I would ride Washington to Dearborn to Harrison (which is pretty good now with the new bike lane) to Wabash to 11th.
There is also the N Harbor Service Drive shortcut, but I've never used that with any regularity, so I'm unsure of its general safety.
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Permalink Reply by Tominator on
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Washington to Michigan. At Michigan, stay in the MIDDLE lane, turn left, to Northbound Michigan and move to the right lane up Michigan.
Turn right on Randolph.
Stay on upper Randolph. At the end, turn left into the park. Head down the hill, to the right at the bottom. Go through the building on your right (I'm sorry I don't have a better way to describe this but I did it the other night on way back from Lolla) to the lakefront path.
Thank you poster above, This is it, the N. Harbor Service Drive:
N Harbor Service Drive shortcut,
I have used it. It's fine.
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Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on
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Monroe the whole way
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I took Washington to DesPlaines to Harrison this morning and it was excellent. Thanks a lot, Lisa! Looking forward to checking out these other routes as well.
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