DNAinfo, "A Bike Lane That Would Connect Edgewater to Evanston Is In The Works"

This is promising news for those that travel North to Evanston and the North Shore. Having travelled this section many times (North and South), this would be a huge improvement over the current Clark Street option. In sections, Clark is narrow and between parked cars, speeding cars, and rough pavement, it's sketchy at best. I hope this new bikeway is created quickly. 

Plans are underway to build a new bikeway that would connect Evanston, Rogers Park and Edgewater,with a meeting planned at 7 p.m. Thursday in Rogers Park to discuss the matter.

Ald. Joe Moore (49th) said the plan is funded by participatory budgeting in his ward, and the idea sprang up in April when residents formed an advisory council for the project.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160112/rogers-park/bike-lane-conne...

Ald. Joe Moore/Chicago Department of Transportation

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Permalink Reply by mike w. on January 12, 2016 at 5:01am

Wish they'd do something different from contra-flow lanes. Think the block-long stretch of Albion from Sheridan to Lakewood. Riding contra-flow with parked cars on your right whose drivers aren't looking for you is no fun at all. Myself i'd ride through the alley a block from Albion to North Shore and go west across Sheridan there.

Permalink Reply by Dean Bekken on January 14, 2016 at 9:33am

As I now sometimes do, but those alleys have ball-buster plastic speed bumps. Can the city at least put gaps in these things? 

Permalink Reply by David P. on January 12, 2016 at 5:57am

I think Clark is fine and it's what I take when I'm in a hurry, but the Glenwood route is certainly more pleasant. I do not quite get, however, what is going to change other than a couple of contraflow sections that don't seem necessary to me.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 12, 2016 at 7:57am

This route pretty much mimics how I get from Evanston to LFT, with a little detail differences at either end.

This came up awhile ago. As I recall, at the time they were talking about removing some stop signs on Glenwood, which made little sense to me, as people already bomb up Glenwood on their way to home or work.

I would rather turn left on Pratt, then right on Greenview. I wrote recently about a very bad experience on the Ardmore contra-flow lane. I wouldn't use the proposed version on Glenwood, preferring instead to just continue with my current option. Also, I think stuffing people onto Chicago Ave in Evanston is a bad idea. I much prefer my current route, Howard past Clark, then turn north on Custer.

I don't know who cooks this stuff up, but I think they need to have their heads examined.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on January 12, 2016 at 11:16am

I take Glenwood, Wolcott, Custer and Hinman from Uptown to downtown Evanston.  Chicago Ave. is nasty!

I'm with Mike W. inre contraflow lanes.  They need to be really well marked and really well maintained if they are used at all.  The one on Albion is almost invisible and the drivers who might care often seem not to know it's there.  The concept and marking is better on Berteau, but a lot of drivers don't respect it there, either (or they think it's 2-way and expect you to stay in it going both ways).

Permalink Reply by Dean Bekken on January 14, 2016 at 9:35am

Custer is far better option than the Chicago Ave Superhighway, with its potholes from Main to Davis. 

Permalink Reply by mike w. on January 14, 2016 at 10:35am

  i use Sheridan rd from Juneway to Greenleaf NB and cut to Judson NB. SB it's Sheridan from Foster or Clark onto Forest and then South Blvd back onto Sheridan...

Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on January 12, 2016 at 10:28am

Yasmeen- they repaved Clark St. (Devon to Howard) last year and it's WAAAYYY better than it used to be.

Skip- big +1 on Custer northbound from Howard.

Re; Chicago Ave. (Clark)- I can never decide what's scarier; the graveyard itself or the road surface we're supposed to ride on.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 12, 2016 at 1:19pm

I sent this to Ald Moore:

Alderman Moore,

I was made aware of the proposed bike lane/route to provide an alternate route through Edgewater and Rogers Park to Evanston:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160112/rogers-park/bike-lane-conne...

I don't know if I'll be able to make the meeting Thursday evening. I hope you don't mind if I offer some feedback via email.

I commute by bike almost daily from my home in Evanston to the Loop. My usual route takes me right through Rogers Park and Edgewater. I've been doing this for several years now, and have refined my route over time. I sometimes take Clark, but most days my route overlaps quite a bit with the route in the proposal. I see two problems with the proposed route.

1. I am no great fan of counterflow lanes. I need to use the little lane on Ardmore between Sheridan and Kenmore. In the best of circumstances it can be trying. In the winter (I ride year 'round), it can be downright dangerous. In my opinion, if you are determined to use the block of Glenwood between Farwell and Pratt, it would be much better to reverse the direction of the one-way street instead of turning cyclists into salmon. Consider the proposed counterflow lane on Greenwood. I assume it will run along the east edge of the street, next to the CTA retaining wall. How will a cyclist bail out if a southbound car doesn't see her and winds up in her lane? There is no cushion at all, no place to escape. A much better option for northbound riders would be to turn left on Pratt, then right on Greenview one block later. Southbound, I turn left on Morse off of Greenview, then right on Glenwood. Both Greenview & Morse and Pratt & Glenwood are four-way stops, so turning left is not a big deal.

2. Chicago Avenue in Evanston is currently no place for bikes, especially south of Main Street. I realize it's on Evanston's list of upcoming road improvements, but I think side streets will still be a better north/south option. I normally ride Howard Street between Greenview and Custer/Damen, using Custer as my north/south route. There is a bike lane along much of that stretch of Howard, a streetlight at Howard & Custer, a multi-way stop at Howard & Greenview, and the area near the Howard Street CTA station is fairly congested, so traffic doesn't move very fast.

Taking out those two counterflow lanes would be a big improvement to the scheme, in my opinion.

Permalink Reply by mike w. on January 12, 2016 at 5:40pm

Thanks for sending this along, Skip. i hope it helps them realise that couterflow lanes can be nightmarish. They seem to have been designed by non-riders.

i used to live in Rogers Park back when all the side streets were two way. i've noticed how the traffic engineers have over the years worked it out throughout the city to interrupt easy flow on side streets by arbitrarily (so it seems) changing directions along many side streets every few blocks (Greenview comes to mind...)

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on January 13, 2016 at 5:06am

I'm glad you wrote the Alderman. A number of cyclists have expressed the concern about counterflow lanes on Facebook and The Chainlink.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on January 13, 2016 at 6:24am

I am with Skip on counterflow lanes. I doubt I would use this route much but I do not live that close to the lake. If I did I might use it more. I prefer California/Dodge. I use that route a lot.  I am content to ride Clark/Chicago during slower hours if I need to be closer to the lake. 

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