Skip to Content
Streetsblog Chicago home
Log In
Bicycling

Petition Launched for a Neighborhood Greenway on Leland Avenue in Lincoln Square

5:14 PM CDT on July 26, 2018

Leland Avenue east of the Chicago River. Image: Google Street View

I included Leland Avenue (4700 North) east of the Chicago River on the Mellow Chicago Bike Map because it's a super-chill eastbound route with stoplights on the major street crossings with Western and Ashland. East of Clark it's designated as a neighborhood greenway -- earlier this year the Chicago Department of Transportation installed wayfinding signage and pavement markings. The greenway route winds through a new eco-friendly plaza at Uplift Community High School before heading south to Wilson and the (controversial) sidewalk bike lanes under Lake Shore Drive to connect with the Lakefront Trail. However, Leland doesn't work as a continuous westbound route between the river and Clark because most of that stretch is one-way eastbound.

Bike advocates Aaron Greicius and Nate Hutcheson hope to make Leland an even better bike route. They've launched an online petition proposing a neighborhood greenway with contraflow bike lanes heading west on Leland from Western to Virginia (the north-south street just east of the river), and then north along Virginia to Lawrence, near the southern terminus of the North Shore Channel Trail. They note that CDOT has already successfully installed contraflow lanes on several neighborhood greenway streets, like Berteau, Glenwood, Wood, and Albion.

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2017/05/12/dont-panic-take-a-virtual-ride-on-the-new-glenwood-greenway-instead/
https://chi.streetsblog.org/2017/05/12/dont-panic-take-a-virtual-ride-on-the-new-glenwood-greenway-instead/

While Lawrence has bike lanes and Wilson has shared-lane markings, they also have plenty of traffic (Wilson is a popular cut-through route for drivers), and Greicius and Hutcheson note that many cyclists already prefer Leland. "The preference is strong enough that a large number of cyclists already choose to travel westward (against traffic) along Leland Ave," they write. "A contraflow lane would simply legalize this behavior, transforming the existing 'desire path' into a safe, sanctioned route."

I asked why they're not also proposing a contraflow lane on the other one-way eastbound stretch of Leland east of the river, the segment between Damen and Clark. "Our focus on this smaller portion of Leland is simply a result of our not wanting to get too ambitious," Greicius responded. "Also, we originally were considering creating a pop-up contraflow lane, and so we wanted to keep its extent limited." Eventually they'd also like to see a contraflow lane on the short southbound segment of Francisco north of Lawrence, creating a direct connect from Leland/Virginia to the North Shore Channel Trail.

Contraflow
The proposed greenway zone.

Greicius and Hutcheson have already discussed their proposal with bike-friendly 47th Ward alderman Ameya Pawar, and they say he's enthusiastic. Racking up dozens of signatures signatures in support of the idea would make it even more likely the new greenway will become a reality.

Show your support for the new contraflow lane on Leland by signing up here.

Banner for our fundraising campaign that says Donate and help us win a $50,000 grant from The Chicago Community Trust to hire a new reporter

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Chicago

Taste of 79th Community Walk uses a stroll with a New Orleans-style brass band to highlight the corridor

Saturday's event was a reminder that there's no better way to get to know a neighborhood than taking a walk with others, enjoying live music, and supporting local businesses.

September 20, 2023

Check it out: Now it’s safer to get on and off the 312 RiverRun from Belmont Avenue

One of the coolest new things on the on-street route is the treatment of Belmont near and over the Chicago River, by the southern trailhead of the north-south path.

September 19, 2023

Who’s to blame for the killing of a man on the sidewalk after two drivers crashed in West Ridge?

The police statement and crash report provide different accounts of which driver should have yielded, but a 6-lane street layout may have also played a role in the tragedy.

September 19, 2023
See all posts