CDOT is Filling in the Gaps Between the Washington and Randolph Bikeways

This post is partly based on photos and observations from a longtime Streetsblog reader who asked to remain anonymous.

Earlier this month the Chicago Department of Transportation installed buffered bike lanes with flexible plastic posts on Middle Randolph between Michigan and the Lakefront Trail, creating a direct, relatively bike-friendly connection between the lake and the Loop. Recently CDOT did a few other treatments that help make the downtown bike network more useful.

While the department installed a protected bike lane on Washington in the Loop almost two years ago as part of the Loop Link bus rapid transit project, the lane stopped just east of State. Recently CDOT added some concrete protection on the last two blocks of Washington before Michigan, but due to a lack of pavement marking, drivers still tended to park against the southern curb, blocking the way for cyclists.

A short time ago, CDOT added green paint and bike symbols to the segment between State and Michigan, making the bikeway much more obvious. Still, illegal parking in the bikeway still seems to be fairly common, so adding plastic posts here would be helpful. Between State and Wabash there’s room for drivers to park (illegally) on the wide striped buffer to the left of the lane.

But east of Wabash the buffer is narrower, so motorists are blocking the bike lane. “It only takes one for everyone to decide to do it,” the reader noted.

Since Washington terminates at Michigan, it’s a common maneuver to turn left onto the massive six-lane avenue to head one block north to Randolph. (The other choice for getting to the lakefront is to head south a block on Michigan to Monroe.) To facilitate the left turn, CDOT has added a new dedicated bike signal at Washington/Michigan.

The bike signal goes green for eastbound cyclists while the left turn arrow for eastbound drivers are activated, and the right turn arrow for drivers remains red. This gives cyclists roughly 25 seconds to turn left without having to worry about getting “right-hooked” by drivers turning south, assuming that motorists obey their signal. This also makes crossing the south leg of the intersection safer for pedestrians.

Recently outlines were marked on the street that suggest CDOT will be marking a dashed bike lane across the intersection that will guide cyclists through the left turn. The department has already striped a one-block stretch of bike lane on the east side of Michigan between Washington and Randolph, making this potentially harrowing block a bit less intimidating for less-confident cyclists. (If you're still not comfortable riding on Michigan, I feel there's no shame in slowly biking on the wide sidewalk here, though it's technically illegal for adults to do so.)

The department installed a few plastic posts by the Michigan bike lane at Randolph to help keep right-turning drivers out of it. However, the configuration of the poles (see the photo at the top of this article) may give cyclists the impression that they’re not allowed to proceed north on Michigan, which isn’t the case.

Once you get to Randolph, you can either take Middle Randolph downhill to the Lakefront Trailhead, or head uphill on Upper Randolph in a buffered bike lane to access the Millennium Park bike station, the Lakeshore East development, and other destinations. In the past the Upper Randolph lane has often been blocked by tour buses parked by Millenium Park, but CDOT recently (re?)installed posts here, which should help discourage illegal parking.

While the transition from Washington to Randolph is still far from perfect, these small changes should help make it more comfortable for bike riders. In the long run, it would be great to see CDOT add an eastbound protected bike lane to the westbound stretch of Randolph between Michigan and Halsted (it already has a westbound PBL on it), which would create a simpler connection between the West Loop and the lakefront.