Is It a Bike Lane or Turn Lane? Cyclists Lament Drivers' Lack of Awareness

CHICAGO — Bicyclists say cars can't stay in their lane, and #bikechi has had enough.

Last week's well-documented fight between a bicyclist and an angry driver who blocked a West Side bicycle lane underscores the years-long rift between Chicagoans who commute on four wheels versus two.

Bicyclists say the issue is particularly acute Downtown, where cars use the protected bike lanes on Dearborn Street as turn lanes or parking spots.

Police wrote 51 tickets for parking in the Dearborn bike lanes from 2010 to 2015, but bicyclists believe the bike-lane-squatters are much more prevalent. They also say the practice endangers cyclists by forcing them to either stop suddenly or swerve into traffic.

For the full article go here: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160307/downtown/is-it-bike-lane-o...

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on March 7, 2016 at 4:43am

That's seventeen tickets a year (2012-2015) for parking in the bike lane on Dearborn. Do you think the city could write 5-10 a day? Conservative estimate - if there is an average 1 car/day that parks in the bike lane that would mean the city is ticketing 5% of the violations. Who rides on Dearborn? I'd love to hear from you about the frequency you see cars parked in the bike lane. I think this is a great example of how law enforcement isn't keeping up with the violations with motorists using the bike lanes as parking. The joke about parking in the bike lane to avoid an expired meter ticket seems to have some truth to it.

Permalink Reply by Maurice on March 7, 2016 at 7:25am

Cars, trucks, limos, etc. park in the Dearborn lane every single day.  The most frequently recurring location in the "what's this doing in the bike lane?" thread is the two-block stretch of Dearborn between Randolph and Wacker. 

 

The article contains Active Transportation Alliance's standard nonsense that the problem is just the "product of a learning curve."  Yet the issue is no better in 2016 than it was in 2012.  Livery drivers dropping passengers at the Goodman and truck drivers making deliveries to 7-Eleven known damn well that they're parked blocking the bike lane, but they don't care because they know that the city doesn't care.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on March 7, 2016 at 7:38am

Thanks Maurice. I'm not sure this will change without adequate enforcement and consequences. If you have (less than) 1% chance of being ticketed, why wouldn't motorists use the bike lanes?

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 7, 2016 at 8:22am

Agreed. 4 years is beyond the point at which we should just be patient. I try to politely educate people - "please step back, this is a TRAFFIC lane." When I am a pedestrian there, I try to do the same thing. Some peds are determined to be jerks and just don't care about anyone else.

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on March 7, 2016 at 5:45am

I don't think conditions are ever going to be perfect in areas where pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers are all proceeding through congestion.  They could be better, though.  If you read the comments to this or any other story about cyclists, you'll see that the majority of them are from drivers complaining about the behavior of cyclists.  And guess what?  There's some truth to that.  A minority of poorly-behaved cyclists creates a lot of hostility against all cyclists.  So, in addition to chiding drivers who misbehave, it's time for cyclists to police their own.  Let's not give the haters so much ammo!  That being said, the occasional poacher on the bike lanes doesn't bother me much.  It's going to happen.  What does bother me is drivers who park in the bike lane or double-park when there's a space available ten or twenty feet down the road.  American drivers are incredibly lazy when it comes to that.  They should at least try to keep the way clear.  I drive, too, and I make a reasonable effort to do just that.  That's all I ask from anybody:  a reasonable effort.  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 7, 2016 at 8:25am

Asking for a reasonable effort is fair. There's plenty of bad behavior by all types of road users. Clear communication AND making a reasonable effort to do the right thing can improve things a lot.

Permalink Reply by Jordan M S on March 7, 2016 at 12:25pm
I really am not that bothered by cars in bike lanes. I simply take the lane and go around them. What bothers me are the cars that react negatively to me taking the lane (by threatening, honking, dramatically swerving, resenting me for being on the road) - that speaks to a more important issue (for me), one that I encounter daily and one that won't be solved by any bike lane enforcement (which is obviously non-existent anyway).
Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on March 7, 2016 at 2:00pm

+1

On Wells in Old Town, I spend as much time taking the lane as I do in the bike lane, which is always full of double-parked cars.  Most drivers get what I am doing, but pretty frequently somebody lays on the horn.  There's no fixing stupid.

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