Eyes on the Street: Goodbye to “Lake Kluczynksi”?

The Dearborn protected bike lanes are one of the gems of Chicago’s bikeway network, but ever since the two-way route opened, poor drainage has been a major fly in the ointment.

Two years ago, the bike lanes were installed curbside, on existing asphalt that had some rough spots. From the get-go, rain and slush accumulated in low spots. Large puddles at Randolph (by Petterino’s Restaurant) and Adams (by the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building) were practically permanent geographic features, which remained full of water for days after a storm. “Lake Kluczynski” was usually filled with cigarette butts left by office workers on smoking breaks.

These bodies of water, which often occupied most of the width of the bike lanes, might be a thing of the past. The Chicago Department of Water Management improved drainage at Randolph last year, which helped shrink “Lake Petterino’s." This September, the Chicago Department of Transportation repaved problem sections along Dearborn, which may eliminate Lake Kluczynski as well.

CDOT resurfaced about 500 linear feet of Dearborn in the Loop, largely to address poor pavement conditions, rather than drainage, according to spokesman Pete Scales. All affected bike lane markings have been restriped with thermoplastic.

When roughly 200 linear feet of new asphalt was put in south of Adams, by the federal building, the contractor added a slight downward grade towards the curb. That will help water flow out of the bike lanes, towards the sewer catch basin, Scales said. This month, CDOT will do a little more grinding on that stretch to further improve drainage.

The eradication of that not-so-great lake will be cause for celebration by cyclists. And, who knows, maybe it will encourage the IRS employees to toss their butts in a real trashcan.