Last Friday I checked out and posted about a depressing situation on Clark Street (100 W.) in Chicago's Near North Side. The Extended Out Dining district between Grand Avenue (530 N.) and Kinzie Street (400 N.), which used to be refreshingly car-free during the warmer months, is now overrun with drivers again.
On the bright side, on Friday I also looked at something encouraging happening on Clark in that neighborhood.
Now, the Dearborn Street (30 W.) protected bike lane, located one block east of Clark, is one of Chicago's most popular bikeways. The Chicago Department of Transportation recently extended it 0.7 miles north as a northbound-only bike route from Kinzie Avenue (400 N.) to Walton Street (930 N.)
A minor issue is that, since there are no nearby southbound protected bike lanes, wrong-way riding is common on this northbound-only stretch of Dearborn. That's not a major problem, because this segment is reasonably wide, but it's not ideal.
Fortunately, last September CDOT confirmed to Streetsblog that a similar parking-protected bike lane, with pedestrian islands at intersections, was planned for Clark, which would provide a lower-stress southbound alternative. (Sustainable transportation advocate Michelle Stenzel had previously alerted Streetsblog that there were notes about the project on the City's ChiStreetWork website.)
Last month, another Streetsblog reader sent us photos of pedestrian islands starting to take shape on the east side of Clark in on the Near North Side. They have a similar layout as the ones on Dearborn with a bike lane-sized gap between the island and the "mainland".
"That is indeed part of the Clark PBL project," CDOT spokesperson Erica Schroder said. "Work is currently underway to install a southbound concrete-protected bike lane on Clark Street, from Oak Street [1000 N.] to Grand Avenue."
That answered the question of how the Clark protected lane would have functioned between Grand and Kinzie if that stretch had been pedestrianized this summer for Extended Outdoor Dining. Again, unfortunately the EOD is not slated to be car-free this year. Since there's plenty of room on three-lane southbound Clark on that segment nowadays, even with the curb lanes occupied by restaurant seating, it would be good if CDOT at least painted non-protected bike lanes there.
"This lane complements the recently installed northbound protected lane on Dearborn Street, contributing to Chicago’s expanding network of protected bike lanes downtown and across the city," Schroeder added. "The project also includes curb extensions to create shorter pedestrian crossings and increase visibility for people crossing Clark Street."
So as is always the case with protected bike lanes, this project will benefit people on bicycles, on foot, and in motor vehicle, since the islands will visually narrow the streets, calming traffic and helping to prevent car-car crashes.
We're looking forward to CDOT finishing the curb extensions, moving the parking lane to the right of the bike lane, and perhaps adding some green paint to make the new bikeway obvious to drivers so they don't park in it. Hopefully it won't be long until the Clark Street protected bike lane is ready to ride.
Update Wednesday 6/5/24, 11:45 AM: CDOT spokesperson Erica Schroeder provided the following explanation of what's going at Chicago Avenue and Clark Street, the second-to-last photo in this post. "At Clark/Chicago, CDOT is implementing a curbside protected bike lane and a new bicycle traffic signal. The bicycle signal will provide a dedicated signal phase for people walking and biking, allowing them to cross the intersection separately from left-turning motorists. The work you see at the intersection is associated with the new traffic signal equipment and protected bike lane. Bus stops will remain on the west side of Clark."
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