Husband, wife sue "reckless" Dearborn bike lane cyclist

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago/7/71/663892/husband-wife-s...

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on June 7, 2015 at 5:09pm
It's a poor design with 2 way lanes on the left side but how many times have I locked my wheels or yelled at someone who is staring in their phone then steps out into the lane 3 feet in front of me? Also we have people standing in the lane waiting for "real" traffic to stop.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 12, 2015 at 7:04am

Happens to me nearly every day.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on June 8, 2015 at 11:14am

Just want to pipe up in support of Dearborn. It requires more mellow riding than some streets in the city, and with that in mind I find problems arise extremely rarely.

Permalink Reply by Will on June 8, 2015 at 4:41pm

Agreed. In my experience, riding on Dearborn is fine if you treat it like the congested center of the city that it is.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on June 12, 2015 at 3:23am

If Dearborn is not for you, that's fine. You can bike on State, etc.

 

For me, it has transformed the experience of biking to work in the Loop. Clark, LaSalle, State, in my experience, can be harrowing. With Dearborn, I take it nice and slow, and I rarely encounter the problems you describe.

Permalink Reply by V W on June 12, 2015 at 4:21pm
Yep I'm with Alex Z on this
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 12, 2015 at 7:04am

And that's how I treat it.

Permalink Reply by Maurice on June 12, 2015 at 6:08am

I can't imagine how slow you would have to ride to avoid the problems kilted listed.  Cyclists with the right of way are required to come to a full stop routinely on Dearborn to avoid collisions.  We're not talking about a path through a park.  The lane was intended to make riding in a street safer.  We hoped that compliance from pedestrians and motorists would get better over time, but it's simply not happening.  In that sense, it's clearly a failed experiment.

Permalink Reply by Not too hip on June 12, 2015 at 3:58pm

Thumbs up to you.

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on June 12, 2015 at 7:03am

I just have not had this experience. Yes, on occasion, a car is parked in the bike lane on Dearborn. And on occasion, a pedestrian has stepped into the lane some distance in front of me.

 

Guess what? When I see a pedestrian walking toward the curb, craning his neck to look south, I slow down, maybe ring the bell, or perhaps even say "Heads up!" I have yet to hit a pedestrian or even need to come to a complete stop to avoid hitting one. Maybe I am the luckiest cyclist in the city?

Permalink Reply by Alex Z on June 13, 2015 at 8:40am

Cheers to that! :)

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 12, 2015 at 10:34am

I've often had peds step out in front me mid-block (or at the crosswalk when I had the green light), in spite of calling out or ringing a bell. I've also had close encounters with peds walking in the bike lane who refused to get out of the bike lane, or folks who were about to step in front of me, then stopped when I asked them to wait or rang my bell. I don't ride fast there but still have close calls because of people not using their eyes and ears and common sense. I see similar situations with other cyclists every day.

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