If you do a lot of riding in the city you must have noticed a recent increase in the number of designated bicycle lanes. It was back in the spring of 2000 that the City of Chicago produced the first Chicago Bike Map. This map shows bike lanes, the five foot wide section on each side of the street designated by signage and striping; bike routes, where cars and bicycles share the street; and multi-use trails that are paved off-road paths. This map is now being updated and the number of designated bicycle lanes will be significantly increased. We’ve reported that about fifty miles of lanes have already been striped, and perhaps another twenty-five miles will be completed this summer. Weather and funding are key factors in determining when the remaining lanes will be striped and appropriate signs posted.
The planning and design work for striping is complicated. Who has jurisdiction of the roadway must first be established — it could be a city, county, or state roadway. Adequate space for a bike lane must be assessed along the entire designated route, and traffic signals should be in place at busy intersections. Then the project must be funded and the actual work completed. Streets have various designations. Regional arterial streets are very busy roadways. Local arterial streets are less busy. Collector streets are even less busy, and finally there are relatively quiet residential streets. The nature of the roadway obviously determines its suitability for a designated bike lane. And, of course, the streets must lead to where people want to go.
In addition to this work, the city is also involved in developing some off-road paths. We reported last month on the development of the Chicago River Trail. We have more details now about work that is being done in Reach One. Remember, the Chicago River system has been divided into nine reaches extending along the river from the city limits on the north (in the forest preserves at Devon and Milwaukee avenues) to the city limits on the south (at Cicero and about 43rd Street). In Reach One work is being done to provide safe street crossings along the river path.
At Bryn Mawr Avenue (5600 north) and the river a lovely underpass has been completed, so that cyclists or other trail users pass under the Bryn Mawr bridge, thus eliminating the need to cross Bryn Mawr at street level. Work is underway to do the same thing at Lincoln, Peterson, and Foster Avenues. Can you picture this off-road trail? It runs from about Green Bay Road in Evanston along the west side of the North Shore Channel south to Devon Avenue (6400 north) in Chicago. Street crossings are required at each of the intersections along this portion of the route, but there are traffic signals at each intersection.
What Chicago is trying to do is eliminate street crossings as you continue south along this off-road path. The Chicago Department of Transportation has hired the consulting engineering firm of T.Y. Lin to plan the next portion of this off-road path. Their chief traffic engineer, John LaPlante, has developed the following model. At Devon Avenue trail users will cross Devon at the stoplight and turn east and then south along the west side of the river passing alongside of the Lincoln Village shopping center. There will be a river overpass constructed just before Lincoln Avenue. Riders heading south will cross to the east side of the river at this bridge. Then the trail will dip down to cross under Lincoln and Peterson Avenues. The path will rise up again as you continue south along the east side of the river. This path will pass under Bryn Mawr (already completed) and under Foster Avenue and take you south to Lawrence Avenue (4800 north). These details illustrate just how complicated the development of these off-road trails is.
It’s interesting to note that Evanston, Wilmette, and Skokie are all working to develop bicycle-friendly communities by establishing maps similar to the one that is being completed in Chicago. We spoke to Ann Freiwald, a landscape architect with Schreiber/Anderson Associates of Madison, Wisconsin. She is consulting with the village of Skokie to develop a bike-friendly plan. To do so, she must determine which streets are suitable for bicycle lanes, which for bicycle routes, and where off-road lanes could be developed. She may recommend the purchase of land perhaps along railroad right-of-ways or below electrical transmission lines. She will also be looking for ways to connect neighboring communities with these designated bikeways. It will likely take ten to fifteen years to complete the project once a design plan has been established.
Evanston transportation consultant Suzan Pinsof is developing a set of proposals to make biking better and safer throughout Evanston. The improved infrastructure plan will be presented to the public for comments and approval and then to the City of Evanston for appropriate development.
The newest Chicago Bike Map is the 2001 version but a 2002 version is in the works. In addition an online version is being developed. To request a copy of the 2001 version of the map, send an e-mail to cdotbikemap@cityofchicago.org or phone 312-742-2453. You can also write to the Department of Transportation at 30 N. LaSalle Street, Room 400, Chicago, IL 60602-2570.
Unless you have ridden the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s (CBF) Boulevard Lakefront Tour in past years you have never had your bicycle on the Outer Drive. This year will be different! This year the CBF is sponsoring the Bike the Drive ride. Yes, it’s true! The entire Drive will be closed to cars on the morning of Sunday, June 9. Riders will start their ride at Queen’s Landing, just to the east of the Buckingham Fountain. The route is north on the Drive to Bryn Mawr, south to 47th Street and return north to Grant Park. If you wish a shorter ride you can return to Grant Park directly from Bryn Mawr Avenue. The Drive will be closed only for the morning so plan on getting an early start. There will be no day-of-event registration and space is limited — we suggest an early registration. You can get full details and register online at www.biketraffic.org or you can phone CBF at 312-427-3325.
Whether you are planning to ride in a bike lane, on a bike route, or on some off-road trail we do hope that you’ll get out your bike and do it soon. Ride safely and stay healthy.