Streetsblog Chicago

Checking out a new Loop docking station. Photo: Steven Vance

Imagine if almost everybody who rode the Chicago Transit Authority, a public transportation system subsidized with taxpayer money, was Caucasian. Denver found itself in an analogous situation last year, when a survey revealed that, in a city where almost half of residents are people of color, 89.9 percent the people using the publicly funded Denver B-cycle system were non-Hispanic whites.

“Our demographic profile is nothing to be proud of, and we know that,” acknowledged Parry Burnap, director of Denver’s bike-share program. “We are mostly male, mostly white, mostly wealthy, mostly well educated.” That year a study found Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare is largely being used by a similarly narrow demographic of District residents.

Chicago Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Scott Kubly helped launch Capital Bikeshare along with CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein, and Kubly is helping to manage Chicago’s upcoming Divvy system. At a community input meeting for the bike-share program last November in Bronzeville, he promised attendees he’d work hard to create a system that is accessible to Chicagoans of all ethnicities and income levels. “Since we’re using public dollars, it’s important that the folks who are using the service reflect everybody in the community,” he said. “It’s a challenge but we’re going to crack it.”

Bronzeville resident Bernard Loyd discusses bike-share with CDOT bike program coordinator Ben Gomberg at a community meeting last fall. Photo: John Greenfield

There are a number of reasons why bike-share use might potentially be low in poor neighborhoods and/or communities of color. Nationally, cycling is more prevalent among non-Hispanic whites, according to a recent League of American Bicyclists report, although the study also found the fastest growth in bicycling over the last decade is among Latinos, African Americans and Asian Americans. Although the annual fee for Divvy is only $75, less than a monthly CTA pass, a credit card is required, which is a barrier for unbanked individuals.

Bike-share works best in densely populated areas with many destinations like retail and job centers, but low-income communities are often isolated by physical barriers like expressways and industrial zones, and density is often lower due to economic disinvestment. This is the case in many poor neighborhoods on our city’s South and West sides. “Growing bike share will be easy in some parts of Chicago,” Kubly said last fall.  “I’m really focused on building membership in parts of town where it will be hardest.”

The city released a map of planned docking station sites in May. While the coverage area is split fairly evenly between the North and South sides, most of the stations are located within three miles of the lakefront, and station density is higher on the more affluent North Side. University of Chicago grad student Moacir P. de Sá Pereira, a fan of Paris’ Vélib’ system, argued on his blog that, in their quest for density, the Divvy planners disproportionately favored wealthier parts of the city and overlooked poor neighborhoods.

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Looking north on Marshall Boulevard last April; Cars are parked in the bike lanes.

In November, Chicago Department of Transportation crews installed bike lanes on Marshall Boulevard from Sacramento Drive in Douglas Park to 24th Boulevard in Little Village, near Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy. On most of this stretch the lanes are protected by parked cars on the west side of the street; to make room for the protected lanes, car parking was removed from the east side.

However, CDOT didn’t remove signs for rush hour parking restrictions along Marshall, and they didn’t install “No Parking” signs on the east side of the street, or “bike lane” signs anywhere. As a result, drivers have been parking in the bike lanes, making them unusable. There have been periodic ticketing stings, the latest on June 9, which have understandably upset local residents since there are no signs to inform them that parking in the lanes is illegal.

Dan Korn, who lives in The Hub, a co-op building on Marshall owned by bike advocates, has exchanged several emails with Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein since November in an effort to fix the problem. “I’m worried that the way this is being handled by the city is just making things worse for cyclists in the neighborhood,” Korn wrote Klein in November. “I was already yelled at on my ride to work this morning by someone whose car had been towed.” Klein responded immediately saying, “I am asking my team to jump on this to prevent any further damage. The signs must go in with the install, or this is what happens.”

Five days after I contacted CDOT for an update on the situation, I have yet to receive a response, but here’s an update that Korn sent me today:

They replaced the signage last week. It all seems to be properly marked now. Today they were out installing plastic bollards. People are mostly honoring the parking restrictions, at least south of Cermak, but north of Cermak there are still cars parked in the bike lanes on both sides. The pavement under the Metra tracks is still in really bad shape, although there are some new white and orange striped barriers there, so hopefully they’ll fix that soon.

Korn noted last week that “some better dissemination of information to the neighborhood would be great.”

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Flowers and candles near the Carissa Hinz crash site. Photo: Chicago Tribune

Last week two different people lost their lives to hit-and-run drivers, in two different South Side neighborhoods, on the same day. Both of the drivers are still at large.

On Friday at about 3:40 a.m., a southbound motorist fatally struck Timothy Jones, 41, of the 200 block of South Sacramento, in the 6000 block of South Yale, below the CTA Green Line elevated tracks, according to police. Jones was found unresponsive in the street after the crash; as of Saturday, the exact cause of death was still under investigation, according to the Chicago Tribune.

This section of Yale is a frontage road for the Dan Ryan Expressway with few intersections, making it an easy place to speed, especially late at night. The police department’s Major Accidents Investigation Unit has issued a community alert, asking anyone with information about the crash to call MAIU at 312-745-4521, or submit an anonymous tip at tipsoft.com.

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6100 block of South Yale Avenue.

That evening, shortly before midnight, another southbound driver struck and killed Carissa Hinz, 21, of the 3300 block of South Lowe Avenue, as she crossed Morgan Street near the Co-Prosperity Sphere Gallery, 3219 South Morgan, according to police. Hinz, who volunteered at the gallery, was taking out the garbage during an event when the driver of a dark-colored vehicle, possibly a Honda Accord, struck her and then fled the scene, witnesses said.

The crash threw Hinz about 100 feet and she landed on the rear windshield of another car, according to police. She died at the scene. An autopsy conducted on Saturday determined that she died from injuries sustained during the crash and ruled the death an accident, according to the Tribune.

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The bikeway upgrades on Milwaukee Avenue between Elston Avenue and Kinzie Street were completed Wednesday, adding bike lanes separated from traffic with parking and flexible posts. Other features include green striping before intersections and the city’s first two-lane bike lanes allowing faster cyclists to pass slower ones on the bridge over the Ohio Street ramp to the Kennedy Expressway.

Chicago's first passing lane for bike traffic.

Chicago Department of Transportation bikeways planner David Smith gave an overview of the changes at the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting on Wednesday. One feature Smith mentioned is the new signal timing at Milwaukee and Elston. In the northbound direction, the right-turn lane and the bike lane have been swapped, eliminating the dreaded center bike lane where drivers consistently merged across the path of cyclists. Now, bicyclists have a dedicated bike signal designed to eliminate conflicts with right-turning drivers.

Smith also said that traffic signals at Milwaukee and Ogden Avenue would be modified soon, bringing in a new “protected left turn” — in which northbound traffic will have a dedicated left-turn signal. This will eliminate the “yellow trap” seen at this kind of six-way crossing, in which turning drivers and bicyclists are caught in the middle of an intersection when their light turns red, while, unbeknownst to them, oncoming traffic still has a green. Two weeks ago I was on the wrong end of a yellow trap at this intersection and almost got broadsided by a motorist.

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Rob Reid, Mike Filipski, and Elisa Addlesperger. Photo: John Greenfield

[This article also ran in Checkerboard City, John Greenfield's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

I’ve walked the entirety of 11 Chicago streets in order to experience aspects of the pedestrian environment, plus local architecture and culture, that I might have overlooked using faster modes. So when Rob Reid, who writes the history blog Avondale Time Machine, invited me to join him and his friends to hike all 9.5 miles of Elston Avenue last month, I couldn’t say no.

The street’s namesake was Daniel Elston, a London merchant who immigrated to Chicago in the early 1800s. By 1830 he’d bought a 160-acre parcel in River West, located along a meandering wagon road then called the Woodstock Trail. The multitalented settler established several businesses, making soap, candles, bricks, beer and whiskey; he also served as a school inspector and an alderman, and founded a bank. While Elston was first living by the trail that would later bear his name, it was a plank toll road owned by Amos Snell, who charged travelers 2½ cents per mile to travel it. Displeased with this, local farmers staged a Boston Tea Party of sorts – they dressed up like Indians, chopped down the toll gates and burned them.

Nowadays, Elston parallels the Kennedy Expressway, and it’s a popular alternative for drivers trying to avoid expressway traffic jams, but it’s also a useful bicycle route, providing a relatively mellow alternative to hectic Milwaukee Avenue. Last year the Chicago Department of Transportation installed one of the city’s nicest protected bike lanes on the street from Milwaukee to North. Elston and Milwaukee are the only two streets in the city that intersect twice; pedaling north on one and then returning via the other is a circuit called “biking the knife,” for a reason that’s obvious if you look at a map.

The Elston Avenue protected bike lane at Division Street. Photo: John Greenfield

I show up at the south intersection of the two streets, just north of Chicago, a few minutes after the 5:30 p.m. meeting time and don’t notice Rob and his crew, so I hang out for a few minutes observing the massive amount of rush hour bike traffic on Milwaukee. Assuming the others have taken off already, or else that I’ve gotten the date wrong, I start walking north on Elston solo, hoping I’ll catch up with them at a tavern up the street.

The protected lane features smooth pavement, green paint at conflict points, and lines of flexible posts and parked cars to keep motorists out, but I see only a handful of bikes here, since it’s not as direct a route northwest as Milwaukee and has far less retail. Elston is generally an unwelcoming environment for pedestrians, with narrow sidewalks, some dangerous street crossings, and views mostly of industrial buildings, garages, gas stations and big box stores, but there are some gems along the way. Climbing a small hill to Division, I turn around and enjoy a stunning skyline vista.

Just before Division, Elston began curving northwest. I pass by the Morton Salt umbrella girl logo painted on the roof of the company’s massive riverside factory, and then arrive at North Avenue, where men with cardboard placards are asking motorists for change. Above them, the spinning sign for Stanley’s Produce features a caricature of the founder smoking a pipe, riding an airplane shaped like a watermelon. North of North, the protected lanes disappear and the street has a more desolate feel.

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Last year the Chicago Department of Transportation reconfigured Fullerton Avenue between Cannon Drive and the lakefront to make it easier for cars to enter southbound Lake Shore Drive, at the expense of pedestrians and bicyclists. To make room for a dedicated right-turn lane and a second on-ramp lane, CDOT eliminated the south sidewalk of Fullerton, which previously served as a safe (just 2 bike crashes and 0 pedestrian crashes from 2005-2011), direct route for people on foot and bikes (since it was a de-facto multiuse path) heading east to the Lakefront Trail.

Walkers and bikers heading to the lake now have the option of crossing to the north side of Fullerton in a crosswalk west of Cannon, walking east across Cannon, and then proceeding east to the beach on the north sidewalk, which has been widened to 20 feet. The wider sidewalk is an improvement over the old 13.5-foot sidewalk on the north side, but it only reclaims about half the space that was taken from pedestrians when the 13.5-foot sidewalk on the south side was eliminated.

The northwest corner of Fullerton and Cannon, looking east. All pedestrian and most bicycle traffic is funneled to the north sidewalk of Fullerton, because the south sidewalk was removed east of Cannon.

Alternately, from the southwest corner of Fullerton/Cannon, walkers and bicyclists can proceed east across Cannon and use a very circuitous, ramps-and-underpass route to the north sidewalk. A third option for cyclists is to pedal east in the street, but this is dangerous because there are now two lanes of cars turning south onto LSD. Other changes include the removal of the crosswalk from the eastern leg of Fullerton/Cannon, and the creation of two left-turn lanes for southbound drivers on Cannon turning east onto Fullerton.

The new configuration was designed during the Richard M. Daley administration, back when the city’s complete streets policy consisted of a single sentence. It would fail to meet several of the standards of CDOT’s Complete Streets Chicago design guide, which was released in April.

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Barba Yianni's sidewalk cafe is a relaxing spot because there is no speeding traffic nearby, thanks to the Lincoln Avenue road diet. Photo by John Greenfield.

Business owners in Lincoln Square are whining that the upcoming Lawrence Avenue streetscape, which involves removing travel lanes, will cause traffic jams and hurt sales. The irony is, they’re currently reaping the benefits of a longstanding road diet on Lincoln Avenue. The new project will transform Lawrence between Clark Street and Western Avenue from it’s current status as a four-lane speedway with narrow sidewalks to a safer, more pleasant, more economically viable corridor.

The streetscape involves a “four-to-three conversion”: through lanes will be eliminated in each direction and replaced with dedicated left-turn lanes and bikes lanes – currently there are only shared-lane markings on this stretch. Sidewalks will be widened from nine feet to twelve feet, and high-visibility crosswalks, pedestrian refuge isalnds, and curb bump-outs will make it easier to cross the street.

Chicago Department of Transportation traffic studies indicate that the changes won’t worsen congestion. Instead, the lane removal will discourage speeding, and the turn bays will keep turning vehicles from blocking through traffic. CDOT is also adding longer green signal times on Lawrence and a left-turn arrow at Damen Avenue to facilitate traffic flow.

CDOT rendering of the Lawrence Avenue Streetscape.

In addition to creating safer conditions for walking, biking and driving, the road diet will encourage people to spend their money at shops and restaurants along Lawrence. It will make this stretch, currently a bleak, car-dominated roadway, much more appealing to pedestrians and cyclists, and by slowing down motorized traffic it will make it more likely drivers will notice the storefronts. The wider sidewalks will also allow restaurants to have sidewalk cafes, which will increase their capacity and make the strip more lively.

Last month at a meeting between CDOT staff and local merchants to discuss the streetscape, Carol Himmel, co-owner of Himmel’s restaurant, 2251 West Lawrence, said she’s excited about being able to add a café, according to a DNA write-up. This will be a boon for her bottom line because outdoor seating is crucial for attracting customers during Chicago’s rare warm-weather months.

However, the DNA piece quoted twice as many local merchants wringing their hands that the road diet will jam traffic on Lawrence and sap their customer base. “I’m not excited. I think they’re going to have terrible problems with traffic,” said Louise Rohr, who owns of Fine Wine Brokers, 4621 N. Lincoln Ave.

“I’m concerned about Lawrence already as it is,” said Anas Ihmoud, who manages the Greek restaurant Barba Yianni, 4761 N. Lincoln Ave. “People will avoid Lawrence and that will mean less exposure to Lincoln Square. Lincoln Square is becoming a destination. We’ve created such a brand for people to come, but is it accessible?”

Yes, Mr. Inmoud, Lincoln Square is a shopping, dining and nightlife destination, and you know what has been one of the biggest factors in making it one? A road diet.

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Looking northwest at the Infiniti car. Photo: Jon Kobiljak, via DNA Info.

Police are questioning the driver of a Mercedes who was involved in a head-on collision with an Inifiti and then fatally struck cyclist Robert “Bobby” Cann, 26, from behind. The crash took place while the Mercedes driver and Cann were traveling southeast on Clybourn Avenue near Larrabee Street in Old Town. The driver, who stayed on the scene, is in policy custody but any charges have yet to be filed, pending an investigation, according to Police News Affairs. Police have not released the driver’s name, but DNAinfo reports that he is 28 years old.

Marcus Moore, owner of Yojimbo’s Garage, a bike shop (the building with the red door in the photos), didn’t see the crash, but helped the three occupants of the Mercedes exit the car. He said they did not appear injured. While Moore was helping them out of the car, someone on the sidewalk said, “Where’d the bicyclist go?” It was then that he realized a cyclist was involved and saw Cann lying in the street 40 feet from the damaged cars, with his leg severed and blood coming out of his mouth, he said.

Overhead view of the Mercedes on Clybourn Avenue. Photo: Jon Kobiljak, via DNA Info.

Moore believes the driver of the Mercedes rear ended Cann, after which Cann landed on the hood and collapsed the car’s windshield. He said it’s possible the crash occurred in the intersection of Larrabee and Clybourn, or within 20 feet. Cann worked at Groupon on Larrabee/Kingsbury a half-mile south. Given that it was after work, and Cann lived in Lakeview, Moore believes Cann was cycling north on Larrabee before the crash and that the impact happened within the intersection, though he ended up lying on Clybourn.

The car-bike crash might have been avoided if this stretch of Clybourn had protected bike lanes. The Chicago Department of Transportation has proposed building protected lanes on Clybourn. However, Clybourn is an Illinois Department of Transportation-jurisdiction street, and IDOT has instituted a ban on PBLs on roads that fall under its jurisdiction until 2014, when three years of “safety data” on existing Chicago protected lanes becomes available.

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The signal points to the center of the intersection. Photo: Kevin Zolkiewicz.

Kevin Zolkiewicz sent us these photos on Saturday showing the new pedestrian crossing signals pointing diagonally across the intersection of State Street and Jackson Boulevard, right outside DePaul University’s Loop campus. We’re waiting for confirmation from CDOT, but it looks like these signals are designed to work as part of an exclusive pedestrian phase — known as a pedestrian scramble or Barnes Dance — in which people on foot can cross the intersection in any direction. This treatment is common in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Tokyo.

Kevin writes that there appear to be small speakers above the new signals. We have an inquiry in with CDOT to find out more about what’s happening.

The small speaker above a diagonal crossing signal. Photo: Kevin Zolkiewicz.

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No one wins with the current arrangement on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park, where traffic backs up every weekday. This line extended from Damen Avenue to Thomas Street, about 1 mile.

When the Chicago Department of Transportation proposed a redesign of Milwaukee Avenue that will improve safety for cycling, a few merchants groused about the loss of parking directly in front of their stores. Change can be scary, but this fear is misplaced. A safer street is a more inviting street, and CDOT could actually implement much more dramatic transformations that would still benefit the bottom line of local businesses.

Take the stretch of Milwaukee in Wicker Park. This is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in Chicago, but it has a congestion problem. And all that car traffic on neighborhood streets decreases the quality of life for people who live there, people who visit, and people who travel through.

If you approach this problem the conventional way, you might eliminate parking to make room for more travel lanes. But that would also make the street less pleasant for walking, and then it wouldn’t be such a vibrant place. The congestion might be alleviated, but you would also eliminate some of the reasons people came in the first place.

There’s another way to approach the problem: Giving priority to the most efficient modes of transportation, which would address both the need for people to travel and the need to create a desirable urban environment. More people will be able get to and through the place, even as the pedestrian environment improves thanks to the decline in car traffic.

This more rational option is paying dividends for American cities. Reallocating urban street space from cars to pedestrians, bikes, and transit has shown time and time again to improve the efficiency of the street and enhance retail performance. A recent analysis of sales receipts and real estate data in New York City found that streets where traffic lanes and parking had been re-purposed for bus lanes, bike lanes, and pedestrian space performed better economically, overall, than streets that saw no changes. San Francisco recently eliminated left turns and increased enforcement on its transit-only lanes on Church Street: travel times dropped, reliability increased. These changes are good for business in part because they make the street more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, who tend to make more frequent trips to retailers than car drivers.

So what could be done on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park? Well, one solution would be to make it a street only for transit, biking, and walking. Taxis could also be allowed to take home those who can’t take themselves home.

The resulting roadway would look something like this section of Copenhagen’s Nørrebrogade, the main drag of the Nørrebro district (think of it as the Wicker Park of the Danish capital):

This block of Nørrebrogade is for buses, bikes, and pedestrians only.

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