Why can't LaSalle Street Have a Bike Lane?

As others have noted on this message board thingy, if one heads North from the Merchandise Mart area the options are limited.  Orleans  has no bike lane and is jam packed; Wells and Clark are both one way headed South until you reach Chicago.  

Like many others, I often go over to Dearborn which has a Northbound bike lane  though for some reason  you need to ride on the left side until past Chicago.  

Now let's talk about  LaSalle, which has 3 lanes in both directions until you reach North Avenue (or maybe just shy of it).  Sometimes after 8 pm I take LaSalle when headed North and  more or less command the right most lane (forcing cars to drive in the two left lanes (which at this hour isn't such a big deal as traffic is light then).

So as the post title asks, why can't a lane on both the North and South bound sides of LaSalle be turned over to buses and cyclists?  LaSalle would give riders in the West side of the Loop and Near North an easy, safe way to head North.  What is the rationale for devoting so many lanes to one Street beyond the fact that  90% of the vehicles on LaSalle are passenger cars with one occupant (based on my observational study)?  I doubt people are  using it to get to 290 as it would be easier to take the Kennedy South from North Ave.

I'm assuming that one of you better informed than I will explain why this idea has never received serious consideration.  I'm hoping it's not due to $ and influence- many  of the financial types take LaSalle from Lincoln Park to get to their offices near the Board of Trade.

J

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on September 25, 2014 at 3:52pm

I think it may be because LaSalle isn't really considered a bike route. I'm actually amazed at how many people I see riding on LaSalle during rush hour. I've just never felt it to be a very safe route. 

Have you tried crossing the river at Franklin where it turns into Orleans and then making a right on Hubbard and left again back onto Franklin? Not sure if the traffic on Orleans backs up south down to Hubbard or if it would be cool for those few blocks. But it might be an option. 

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on September 25, 2014 at 4:45pm

Yes I've taken Franklin. Less traffic and bikers have an advantage  over  cars given the El line poles.  But there's a fair number of stop signs so your average speed is low. I'd like to bike faster in a dedicated lane.

Of course I know LaSalle isn't  a bike route..that's my point. I've taken it South a few times from North during rush hour but was holding  up drivers and was biking within the door zone.   Northbound, like I  said, isn't so bad for some reason.

Just don't understand why the City hasn't considered using LaSalle to help folks on the Western edge of Loop/Near North.  I'm assuming there must be some traffic flow considerations.

Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on September 26, 2014 at 2:02am

Some streets in Chicago are controlled by both CDOT (Chicago Dept. of Transportation) and IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation).  If La Salle (or parts of it) is one of these "both" streets getting changes like this can be a real obstacle, even tho they're good idea.

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on September 26, 2014 at 2:07am

LaSalle is way overdue for a safety overhaul. There have been at least three serious or fatal crashes on LaSalle between Chicago and North in recent years: http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/09/23/emily-fredbloom-dies-after-ta...

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on September 26, 2014 at 2:10am

Couple ideas:

1. LaSalle gets funky around North Ave and sort of "merges" into LSD, right? Maybe it is viewed as a street whose purpose is to ferry cars onto the "highway." I'm okay with having streets like that, although it's better when there is a good bike alternative (and I agree there isn't a great one here).

2. LaSalle dead-ends at Jackson, so perhaps, when the city put together the 2020 bike route plan or whatever, LaSalle was ignored because of the dead end?

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on September 26, 2014 at 1:15pm


Interesting point. for anyone in the city it  would be a longer route to take  north/lasalle but I agree for evanston and  other folks who come down on LSD it's a decent route to the West loop. I would still think it would be faster to continue  on to  Monroe though...North to the Loop  during rush hour is still a good 20 mintues I would think by car  with traffic.
Alex Z said:

Couple ideas:

1. LaSalle gets funky around North Ave and sort of "merges" into LSD, right? Maybe it is viewed as a street whose purpose is to ferry cars onto the "highway." I'm okay with having streets like that, although it's better when there is a good bike alternative (and I agree there isn't a great one here).

2. LaSalle dead-ends at Jackson, so perhaps, when the city put together the 2020 bike route plan or whatever, LaSalle was ignored because of the dead end?

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on September 26, 2014 at 2:06pm
I think there is parking on LaSalle outside of rush hours, so it's really only 2 lanes / direction most of the time. I doubt there is enough width for two lanes, a bike lane, and parking. I do like the idea of making buses a higher priority on LaSalle and making Clark (just one block east) a better bike route.

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