New Protected Bike Lanes Announced

Josh Koonce

The City Department of Transportation announced more protected bike lanes during its Wednesday meeting. The plan is to have protected bike lanes on Elston Avenue, from Division Street to North Avenue, and 18th Street, from Clinton to Clark Streets.

CDOT is moving forward with the PBL projects after providing an update on the Kinzie Street pilot program showed bike traffic along the corridor increased by 55 percent during the morning commute with no major change in travel times for motorists since the installation. [You can read the minutes from the meeting here. (PDF)]

The new location choices for installing the PBLs already has people debating whether they're better served elsewhere. We like the 18th Street location better than Elston, but can understand why CDOT chose that section of Elston, given the congestion of Division Street and North Avenue, both major arteries into downtown and the West Side with a fair share of cyclists sharing the street.

The section of 18th Street is also a prime location connecting the industrial no-man's land of Pilsen and Bridgeport with the gentrified and populous South Loop and Motor Row. A protected bike lane will make it easier to traverse the two neighborhoods while making it easier to access the expanding Ping Tom Park by bicycle.

CDOT said they plan on having the bike lanes installed by the end of the year.

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By Chuck Sudo in News on September 16, 2011 3:20 PM

Comments [rss]

fergmelk

So wait... they're putting in a protected bike lane where there's pretty much almost NO NEED for one on Elston between Division and North?

Why?

I take Elston because I hate dealing with the idiots (car and bicycle alike) on Milwaukee. Now I'm going to have to deal with them on Elston? Great. Thanks, Chicago! <3 u, mean it!!!!!

High_n_Dry

Yes. (I love answering rhetorical questions.) As Navin said above, Rahm doesn't have the cajones to put a cycle track on Milwaukee Ave. Even with Moreno backing the idea for the section of Milwaukee in his ward, whatever weight that carries.

BlueFairlane

A second question: Much like Blommer's on Kinzie, this particular stretch of Elston often has semis parked, in this case to unload Mercedes. How will these lanes affect--or be affect--by that?

BlueFairlane

So, has the city said whether it plans to plow these things this winter, and how it's going to go about doing that?

High_n_Dry

Most likely a pickup truck with a snow plow on the front. Those are narrow enough to fit in the space. At least that is how NYC does it.

Navin_Johnson

True test will be to see if they have the cajones to do this on a street like Milwaukee that's both heavily trafficked by bikes and cars/parkers. Wouldn't it be a challenge to make these areas gradually less friendly to cars and more friendly to bikes and pedestrians.