Are any barrier protected bike lanes getting plowed?

Broadway was impassable this morning--how's the city doing keeping Dearborn and Kinzie and the others clear this week?

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Permalink Reply by BootsyC on January 7, 2015 at 7:14am

Elston was clear yesterday, but blowing snow has caused some accumulation -  it's not impassable.  The main issue I encountered is with the intersections and major driveways, where people turning drop slush mounds onto the bike lane.

Permalink Reply by Shirlee Berman on January 7, 2015 at 10:20am

Contact your alderman. The 2nd ward office said everyone should contact their alderman who will contact CDOT. I guess that's more effective than contacting CDOT directly, at least in the opinion of a ward office, who probably want to seem relevant, haha.

I responded to your post in "Did you ride today?", but I'll paste here, as well. Feel free to use my "template".

On Wed, Jan 7, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Ward02 a href="mailto:Ward02@cityofchicago.org" target="_blank">Ward02@cityofchicago.org> wrote:

Thanks for taking time to let us know your views. We share your concerns about snow removal  in bike lanes and have written a formal letter to the Dept. of Transportation asking about its plans to clear snow from these areas. We will keep you apprised of any response that we receive.

Office of Ald. Bob Fioretti
Chicago's 2nd Ward
1319 S. State St., Suite A
Chicago, IL 60605
 
From: Shirlee Berman
To: Ward02
Subject: Snow removal needed for bike lanes
 
Hello!
My name is Shirlee Berman, and I commute to work from Ukrainian Village to the Loop by bicycle. My husband also commutes by bike from Ukrainian Village to Wicker Park.
I have noticed that the bike lanes on Augusta (b/w Damen and Milwaukee), on Washington (b/w Damen and Des Plaines), and on Clinton (b/w Fulton and Kinzie) are not being cleared of snow. There are probably other bike lanes that need attention, but these are the ones I frequent the most. This requires cyclists to ride outside of the bike lane, causing confusion among motorists. It is also unsafe to have cyclists weaving in and out of bike lanes trying to avoid falling due to patches of snow, slush, and ice.
Thank you for your consideration. Please let me know if there is anything else I should do or someone I should contact.
Shirlee Berman
Permalink Reply by Shirlee Berman on January 7, 2015 at 10:23am

Agree about the intersections. My bigger issue is that I'm not seeing any non barrier protected bike lanes being cleared.

BootsyC said:

Elston was clear yesterday, but blowing snow has caused some accumulation -  it's not impassable.  The main issue I encountered is with the intersections and major driveways, where people turning drop slush mounds onto the bike lane.

Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on January 7, 2015 at 10:40am

Hmmmm--our commutes usually go through at least a few wards...

Shirlee Berman said:

Contact your alderman. The 2nd ward office said everyone should contact their alderman who will contact CDOT. I guess that's more effective than contacting CDOT directly, at least in the opinion of a ward office, who probably want to seem relevant, haha.

I responded to your post in "Did you ride today?", but I'll paste here, as well. Feel free to use my "template".

On Wed, Jan 7, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Ward02 a href="mailto:Ward02@cityofchicago.org" target="_blank">Ward02@cityofchicago.org> wrote:

Thanks for taking time to let us know your views. We share your concerns about snow removal  in bike lanes and have written a formal letter to the Dept. of Transportation asking about its plans to clear snow from these areas. We will keep you apprised of any response that we receive.

Office of Ald. Bob Fioretti
Chicago's 2nd Ward
1319 S. State St., Suite A
Chicago, IL 60605
 
From: Shirlee Berman
To: Ward02
Subject: Snow removal needed for bike lanes
 
Hello!
My name is Shirlee Berman, and I commute to work from Ukrainian Village to the Loop by bicycle. My husband also commutes by bike from Ukrainian Village to Wicker Park.
I have noticed that the bike lanes on Augusta (b/w Damen and Milwaukee), on Washington (b/w Damen and Des Plaines), and on Clinton (b/w Fulton and Kinzie) are not being cleared of snow. There are probably other bike lanes that need attention, but these are the ones I frequent the most. This requires cyclists to ride outside of the bike lane, causing confusion among motorists. It is also unsafe to have cyclists weaving in and out of bike lanes trying to avoid falling due to patches of snow, slush, and ice.
Thank you for your consideration. Please let me know if there is anything else I should do or someone I should contact.
Shirlee Berman
Permalink Reply by Brian on January 8, 2015 at 3:42pm

Earlier in the week, with the first snow this week, I was impressed the Milwaukee bike lane was cleared prior to my early morning commute. Tonight, with the day of snow, the lanes I rely on were fairly unusable....had to ride in some car tire tracks and in the lane of traffic a bit. Same on Division and Damen and Armitage. Hopefully they clear things a bit overnight. 

Permalink Reply by Maurice on January 9, 2015 at 4:45am

Northbound Canal is not passable.  For example, a city or private snow plow recently created three large snow barricades right in the middle of the bike lane south of Polk.  So at least some barrier protected lanes are rather the opposite of plowed.

Permalink Reply by Apie (11) on January 9, 2015 at 4:57am

Is Ancien Cycles still pushing snow into the bike lane in front of their business?  I haven't passed by since Tuesday.  

Permalink Reply by pherm on January 9, 2015 at 5:49am

You know, I noticed that the lane was particularly hairy there yesterday morning. I thought it was weird that they didn't do their part for bike infra by shoveling the 50 or so feet in front of their shop.

Apie (10.6) said:

Is Ancien Cycles still pushing snow into the bike lane in front of their business?  I haven't passed by since Tuesday.  

Permalink Reply by David P. on January 9, 2015 at 6:00am

It may be the building owners doing this rather than the shop.

pherm said:

You know, I noticed that the lane was particularly hairy there yesterday morning. I thought it was weird that they didn't do their part for bike infra by shoveling the 50 or so feet in front of their shop.

Apie (10.6) said:

Is Ancien Cycles still pushing snow into the bike lane in front of their business?  I haven't passed by since Tuesday.  

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on January 9, 2015 at 6:19am

This makes too much sense. It'll never happen.

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

I really think that we'd be better off with bike lanes designed to be cleared by Streets and Sans as part of their normal snow removal process. CDOT made a big deal about their plans for this winter, but reports are that they're not working. The reality is that the few things (bridge sidewalks, under viaducts, and protected bike lanes) that CDOT is responsible for clearing are usually the last things cleared and worst maintained. Streets and Sans does an amazing job of clearing snow. Lets design infrastructure that can be maintained and let the department of a track record of success maintain it.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 9, 2015 at 6:40am

I agree with the premise, but so far Streets and San has not cleared the side streets in my neighborhood at all, so I disagree with the amazing job of clearing snow part. :-)

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

I really think that we'd be better off with bike lanes designed to be cleared by Streets and Sans as part of their normal snow removal process. CDOT made a big deal about their plans for this winter, but reports are that they're not working. The reality is that the few things (bridge sidewalks, under viaducts, and protected bike lanes) that CDOT is responsible for clearing are usually the last things cleared and worst maintained. Streets and Sans does an amazing job of clearing snow. Lets design infrastructure that can be maintained and let the department with a track record of success maintain it.

Permalink Reply by pherm on January 9, 2015 at 6:51am

David P. said:

It may be the building owners doing this rather than the shop.

Ah, hadn't thought of that. Good point. Would still be nice if the shop cleared the lane that presumably brings them business.

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

CDOT made a big deal about their plans for this winter, but reports are that they're not working.

Granted, we haven't seen as much snow yet as points last winter, but I'd argue that for the routes I take (Milwaukee, Kinzie, Dearborn) it's been a little better this year than last. They seem to be addressing the lanes within 24 hours of a snowfall, which couldn't be said of last year.

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