According to South Side bike advocates, illegal parking in the bicycle lanes on South Shore Drive isn’t just making the bikeways impassible, it’s also obstructing CTA buses and private cars.
Many portions of South Shore Drive have curbside buffered bike lane and, although there are No Parking signs posted, it’s common for motorists to ignore them and use the lanes for short-term parking. Since the drive is a relatively narrow two-lane street, the parked cars sticking out into the travel lanes create an obstacle for motorized traffic as well as bike riders.
The problem is especially bad at 75th Street and South Shore, near Excel Academy of South Shore, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Paideia Academy, and Powell Elementary because many parents are using the lanes to drop off and pick up their kids before and school, according to nearby resident and bike commuter Waymond Smith. “It’s just a really messy spot,” he says.
In particular, cars curb side near the intersection are an issue for the several CTA bus lines that pass by, Smith says. They’re especially problematic for #71 buses that have to make a turn at 75th Street. “Sometimes when the light changes, the bus is still stuck at the intersection,” he says. “Because no one’s moving, it’s just a big knot.”
Smith brought up the issue at last month’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council Meeting last month. The response from city officials at the meeting was “an unsatisfactory non-answer,” according to Streetsblog freelancer and Beverly resident Anne Alt.
Smith says he hasn’t reached out to local alderman Greg Mitchell’s office yet, because he believes Mitchell’s staff is currently focusing on recent gun violence cases in the 7th Ward. He has discussed the traffic problem with MBAC’s South Side community representative Deloris Lucas, who told me she plans to get in touch with Harris’ office soon.
The 7th Ward, the Chicago Department of Transportation, and the CTA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the meantime, if you encounter problems with illegally parked cars in the South Shore bike lanes, you can contact the city’s 311 non-emergency help line to document the issue. The city recently added a “Vehicle Parking in a Bike Lane” category to the 311 system, which makes it more likely your call with be processed properly. At the recent MBAC meeting, a staffer from the Department of Finance, which enforces parking, said that the department will be adding bike routes to patrol maps and using the 311 reports to identify streets that need more enforcement of illegal bike lane parking.
Obviously, bike lane enforcement is not one of the most pressing issues in communities that have major public safety issues to address. However, the situation at 75th and South Shore isn’t just endangering cyclists, but creating major issues for all road users, so the city should prioritize working with the schools to find a solution.
