Frequent Dearborn Street bike lane user Justin Haugens sends us these photos from his way to work in the South Loop. At the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council meeting two weeks ago, a CDOT staffer said that Dearborn Street would be receiving a slew of upgrades to better identify areas of conflict between people driving and bicycling, and to reduce the incidence of people parking and blocking the bike lane.
Large "P" and "S" stencils have been applied to parking and standing sections, respectively. Some sections, depending on their length, got more than one stencil.
The photos also show that the paint has been replaced with longer-lasting thermoplastic. Thermoplastic wasn't originally used when the road diet and bike lane was installed in November and December because it was too cold to apply.
CDOT will also be installing 25 additional plastic posts, green paint at alleys and driveways, and refreshed and new "LOOK" markings and decals at crosswalks to remind pedestrians about crossing bicycle traffic.
With these changes, the Dearborn Street two-way, parking protected bike lane remains the best new bike lane in Chicago, thanks to the enormous reduction in stress people feel while cycling downtown.
