Chicago Completes Installation Of First Protected Bike Lane, Announces Second On The Way

The Chicago Department of Transportation on Monday announced the completion and official opening of the city's first protected bike lane, located along a half-mile stretch of Kinzie Street between Milwaukee Avenue and Wells Street on the city's near north side.

The Kinzie stretch, which cost roughly $140,000 to install, is just the first of 25 protected bike lanes that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein plan to install on an annual basis in order to achieve the goal of "making Chicago the best big city for bicycling in the United States," according to a statement.

The improvements to Kinzie, as HuffPost Chicago previously reported, entail a marked lane directly next to the curb in each direction, with a three-foot "buffer" area with flexible marker posts and a parking lane for automobiles.

According to the city, the protected lane has already proven popular with bicyclists as recent counts of bicycle traffic during the morning rush hour at the corner of Kinzie and Clinton have already seen a 60 percent increase over last year's numbers. By last week, bicycles accounted for just less than half the morning rush hour traffic on southbound Milwaukee Avenue at Kinzie.

Nearly half of the cyclists using the new Kinzie lane also said they felt the addition of the new lane was improving motorist behavior, in line with Klein's claim that the improvement would have an impact on pedestrian and motorist safety as well as cyclist safety.

The next protected lane, they also announced, will be installed along Jackson Boulevard between Damen Avenue and Halsted Street, just south of the United Center and north of Malcolm X College and the city's Medical District. Construction of the Jackson lane is set to begin in early August in coordination with an upcoming street resurfacing.

As NBC Chicago reports, the city had originally received a $3.2 million federal grant in order to pilot a protected bike lane along Stony Island Avenue (between 69th and 77th streets), but that project was cancelled due to low usage. This effort seems to be receiving a much better (though still not universally enthusiastic) reception.

Comments

[jsallen]

07:58 PM on 08/08/2011

The expression "protected" has a very specific meaning in traffic engineering: a traffic-signal phase is protected if signals stop all conflicting traffic streams. The word "lane" also has a specific meaning: a part of the roadway separated from other lanes by a painted stripe. The use of the term "protected bike lane" to describe a through bikeway to the right of right-turning motor traffic, and hidden behind parked vehicles where motorists entering driveways can't see bicyclists until the last moment, is a splendid example of propagandistic use of language.

I'll admit that don't know what it was like to ride a bicycle, or drive, on Kinzie before the new installation -- I'm not a Chicagoland resident. I do know that there are problems with this kind of installation, in terms of traffic capacity for bicyclists as well as others, and in terms of safety, and that bicycling advocacy has these days become messianic, turning toward promotion of bicycle use by pandering to uninformed opinion and glossing over real and serious concerns.

[Cromoly72]

05:45 PM on 07/27/2011

While I love the idea of this protected bike lane, the picture above is, sadly, a pretty accurate depiction of what one encounters while traversing this lane by bike each day. I've taken this lane for about 3 weeks straight now and there are 2 obstacles I've encountered every time. Without fail, there is a postal truck parked in the center of the bike lane at the intersection of Kinzie/Kingsbury. And the "bike" lane between Orleans and La Salle was immediately overtaken by pedestrians; the saddest part being that they appear to be crossing the street just to access the lane. While it's great to be "protected" from cars and potential doors flying open in front of you, one is essentially boxed in when encountering cars/trucks blocking the lane and pedestrians walking 3 and 4 wide in the bike lane. Without proper monitoring, I think this lane will become useless for bikes in just a matter of months. I wish they had tried this on Grand instead.

[Liam Mccarthy]

11:25 PM on 07/26/2011

Get ready for a war on your bike lane Chicago! Hope your bike lanes go over better than ours did in NYC!

[patg00]

02:13 PM on 07/26/2011

280 thousand per mile. Good thing the city has all that extra money.

[Ceyx]

05:05 PM on 07/26/2011

It's not the city's money. It's Federal money provided in the form of a grant. Under the terms of the grant the city has to spend it on this type of project. We know that this money is derived from a Federal grant as it's mentioned in the last paragraph of the story, specifically: "As NBC Chicago reports, the city had originally received a $3.2 million federal grant." (Feel free to read stories in their entirety before commenting. The facts don't magically go away simply because you fail to read them. Ignorance is not bliss.)

Also, a little poking around on this newfangled thing called the "Internet" revealed that one of cyclist groups donated US$10,000 to the project. (That's US$9,600 more than your previously mentioned plates and stickers. In the future if you oppose a project maybe you could put your money where your mouth is.)

[George Rod Spencer]

07:57 PM on 07/26/2011

It is true that dollars trump votes. For now I remain on the back roads.

[patg00]

01:48 PM on 07/27/2011

Missed that. But it only changes the target. At least the Federal government has the money to spend on bike lanes.

[Omri Schwarz]

03:25 PM on 07/27/2011

That's less than the price of the traffic signals for one intersection.

[patg00]

02:10 PM on 07/26/2011

protected right through the red lights at the corners too? Biker don't pay any road taxes, so they have no rights on the streets. My plates and city stickers cost $400 a year.

[Ceyx]

04:02 PM on 07/26/2011

Based on your "logic" then pedestrians would also have no rights to /cross/ streets (as they would have to traverse the road to do so).

And, as you let the elephant into the room (mentioned taxes) would you please give us an itemized list of /all/ your taxes (otherwise, you're simply mentioning a single item to buttress an extremely weak argument). This way we can all participate in making a list of all the things you probably shouldn't use as you didn't pay for it. (Soz, you can't have it both ways).

Oh, and in Chicago, bikes are not allowed on the sidewalk.

Anyway, a road, in and of itself, is part of the commons and all people can make use of it, whether they contributed to the existence of the road or not.

[Myshkin57]

10:29 PM on 07/26/2011

They do because most of them own cars and every bike on the road means fewer cars and less need for more roads and fewer necessary repairs. Bike riders save you money.

[Bethab]

01:37 PM on 07/26/2011

If you really want to make Chicago better for cyclists...you are going to need to do something about the weather :)

[George Rod Spencer]

08:00 PM on 07/26/2011

Ahhh!! Global warming. I think we need to invest in bike lanes painted white. Funding of course would need to be channeled though the UN. ;>/

[benji85]

01:21 PM on 07/26/2011

I wish all cities would do this.

[Trickery]

12:37 PM on 07/26/2011

Now that the weather has cooled down a bit, expect to see this new bike lane used a lot :)

[Deefor Arrow]

12:36 PM on 07/26/2011

For those commenters who just looked at the picture and didn't read the article. I guess they didn't take the picture during rush hour.

"By last week, bicycles accounted for just less than half the morning rush hour traffic on southbound Milwaukee Avenue at Kinzie."

This is a win-win for drivers and riders.

[writeon1]

12:32 PM on 07/26/2011

And hopefully the cyclists will remember to follow the typical rules of the road that we all have to follow. http://newsy1.wordpress.com

[stav506]

01:49 PM on 07/26/2011

Agreed. Hopefully they will use it instead of riding in between the traffic lanes when there is a bike lane available.

I've almost killed countless bikers that don't follow the rules of the road that everyone, including them, are supposed to follow.

[Philip DeVon]

04:48 PM on 07/26/2011

When cars start stopping at stop signs and using turn signals then you can start complaining about bikers. One reason they don't stop at stop signs is because they actually have to burn energy to get going again, not gas.

[12Purple]

04:11 PM on 07/27/2011

Boy oh boy Philip. I can't tell you how many times I watch bikes zoom through red lights and stop signs both as a pedestrian and a motorist (on the rare occasion I need to drive to work). I even watched a cyclist zoom through a red light and get hit by a car with the right of way. Brutal - but it wasn't the motorists fault.

All I want is NOT to hurt anybody or myself. Following the rules of the road - especially in highly congested areas as this bike lane is beneficial for everyone.

It doesn't have anything to do with taxes or combustion engines

[George Rod Spencer]

12:01 PM on 07/26/2011

Now when I look at that picture I see cars backed up, and no one in the bicycle lane, except for an official truck that apparently has an "exception."

Well at least Rahm reflects the current thinking about Government programs: Useless, disrupting, and do not apply to government officials.

[katwalk78]

12:54 PM on 07/26/2011

I guess you don't bike anywhere! These bike lanes are amazing (NYC has alot of them already). They are the safest way to bike. Your comment is very cynical and teabaggish.

After being hit 3 times by cars while riding my bike in Chicago, I started riding on the sidewalk. But these lanes are excellent and I use them whenever possible. I bike probably 9 months out of the year instead of driving. So I think putting these on every street would be an excellent way to get cars off the road. (And bikes off the sidewalks!)

[George Rod Spencer]

01:32 PM on 07/26/2011

No, you get me wrong. I love biking, and am typing with my bike sweat still on! ;>)

The problem I have is so often these "bike paths" are put in places that get more public acclaim than use.

They are a great idea, but require study to place them right.

Cycle carefully my friend.

[madcityy]

11:55 AM on 07/26/2011

this is so stupiddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd.................

[Buckybars]

11:52 AM on 07/26/2011

As you can see with the mail truck how well the CPD protects the biking path you will see a lot of delivery trucks doing the same as well as cars.
It is just a game to make it look like Chicago cares about the biking public.

[gemini68]

11:32 AM on 07/26/2011

Great. Keep making those bike lanes- and then maybe people will stop riding their bikes on the darn sidewalks! So flipping annoying!

[katwalk78]

12:56 PM on 07/26/2011

I started biking on the sidewalk after getting hit by cars three times. I would rather apologize and risk a ticket than get hit by a car. I would gladly ride in the street where these new bike lanes, however.

[gemini68]

01:10 PM on 07/26/2011

I've been almost knocked down by bicyclists on the sidewalk numerous times. I can't wait for the lanes.

[Myshkin57]

10:31 PM on 07/26/2011

Poor logic. Unless you're stopping at every intersection on your bicycle (green light or not) you're likely going to be hit by a car turning right one of these days.

[Kenz300]

11:28 AM on 07/26/2011

As the price of oil continues to rise we will all be looking for ways to save money and reduce transportation expense. Walking and biking are a good alternative to the automobile. We can save money, help reduce air pollution and get a little exercise. We might just find that the quality of life improves.