Eyes on the Street: Construction Crews Pour New Concrete on Milwaukee Bike Lane

Crews are in the end of week two of two in constructing new curbs on the northbound side of Milwaukee Avenue to separate bikes and cars. The project to enhance the existing protected bike lane on this side of the street was announced last Wednesday and constructed started immediately. Construction is supposed to last two weeks in each direction.

New concrete curbs are being poured between the row of parked cars and the bike lane, while concrete islands are being placed in the clear zones the separate parking lanes from driveways. Motorists tend to park in the clear zones while waiting to pick up or drop off, and block views of oncoming bicyclists.

Parts of the curbs in some areas appear ineffective, given that they’re an inch or two tall. Additionally, at some of the most dangerous parts of the street, at Erie and at Green/Ohio, there will be no new infrastructure to slow down drivers or close off certain turns that drivers sometimes speed into.

There is no detour, so bicyclists and motorists are required to shared a single, standard width lane. But if you ride north on Milwaukee to at least Leavitt Street, then it feels pretty much like the stretch of the street through the Wicker Park “Death Star trench”.

Next week, presumably on Wednesday, crews from the Sumit construction company will work on installing similar infrastructure on the southbound protected and buffered bike lanes.