What’s Going on With Alderman Reilly and the Kinzie Protected Bike Lanes

Alderman Brendan Reilly submitted an order to city council on Wednesday that would compel Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld to remove the Kinzie Street protected bike lane between Dearborn and the Chicago River because he says it conflicts with Wolf Point construction truck traffic.

In 2013, under former commissioner Gabe Klein, CDOT agreed to a development plan [PDF], which was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission and codified into law. The plan called for Hines, the Wolf Point developer, to pay for installing temporary protected bike lanes on Grand Avenue, Illinois Street, and Wells Street, before the temporary removal of the Kinzie Street bike lanes to facilitate the construction project.

In the long term, it makes sense for there to be bike lanes on both Grand Avenue – already identified as a "Crosstown Bike Route" in the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 – and Kinzie Street. The Active Transportation Alliance recently launched a petition asking other aldermen to oppose Reilly's order. "Ald. Reilly has proposed installing new bike lanes on Grand Avenue as an alternative," the petition stated. "But the reality is, people will continue to bike on Kinzie because it is less stressful than Grand Avenue with fewer cars and no buses, not to mention it provides the most logical and direct connection to the central business district."

CDOT appears to have changed its position about the development plan. Spokesman Mike Claffey underscored the importance of the Kinzie bike lanes in a statement to Streetsblog:

"CDOT has safety concerns about removing the protected bike lanes on Kinzie, which is the second most popular street for bicycling in Chicago. The protected bike lane is in place to reduce conflicts and the risk of accidents between bicyclists, motor vehicles, and pedestrians. We have been in discussions with the Alderman about these concerns and will continue to work with him on this issue."

Specifically, the development plan, identified as Planned Development 98, calls for:

• Temporary removal of the protected bike lanes on Kinzie from Dearborn to Milwaukee
• Eastbound and westbound PBLs on Grand from Milwaukee to Wells
• Westbound PBL on Grand from Dearborn to Wells
• Eastbound PBL on Illinois from Wells to Dearborn
• "An improved bicycle accommodation on Wells Street for cyclists traveling, between Grand Avenue and Illinois Street"

The Kinzie bike lanes are indeed important, but it's unclear why Scheinfeld is now pushing back against the plan. Reilly told City Council that Scheinfeld cited an internal study that supported keeping the bike lanes on Kinzie. We asked for a copy of this report but Claffey said he didn't have one. The development plan also says that all of the developer's designs for these temporary bicycle accommodations are subject to Scheinfeld's departmental review.

CDOT could propose retaining the Kinzie Street protected bike lanes throughout the construction project, which started over a year ago. If that's not feasible, and the bike lanes must come out, the agency should bring back their support for the original plan that temporarily relocates the bike lanes to Grand. However, it's important the the Kinzie lanes be reinstalled, because Kinzie is the direct and route between the popular protected bike lanes on Milwaukee and bike lanes on Desplaines, Canal, Wells, and Dearborn.