Yesterday I discussed the brouhaha over a proposal to extend the two-way protected bike lane on Evanston's Chicago Avenue south about two miles to the city of Chicago border. A total of 62 merchants and "avid cyclists" signed two different letters opposing the new bikeway because it would involve converting 66 of the corridor's 250 car parking spaces – only about a quarter of them. However, more than 250 business people and residents have signed another letter from the Evanston Transit Alliance in favor of the initiative.
Meanwhile, on Milwaukee Avenue on Chicago's Northwest Side, converting most or all of the car parking spaces on one side of the street to make room for protected lanes has become commonplace, with no major issues.
Last July, the 1st Ward shared the glad tidings that the Chicago Department of Transportation would be extending the existing PBLs on Milwaukee in the Logan Square neighborhood 0.6 miles northwest. The new stretch would run from California Avenue (2800 W.) to the traffic circle at Logan Boulevard (2600 N.) and Kedzie Avenue (3200 W.)
Yesterday, CDOT announced that the new segment of Milwaukee protected lanes was ready to ride.
The Milwaukee PBL extension means there are protected lanes on the avenue all the way from North and Damen avenues (1600 N., 2000 W.) in the West Town community, to the traffic circle, a two-mile stretch. To accommodate the new bikeway segment, existing car parking spots on the southwest side of Milwaukee between California and Logan/Kedzie were converted. The same approach, although sometimes controversial, was also previously used successfully on the 1.4-mile segment of Milwaukee between North/Damen and California.
This afternoon I took a spin on the new stretch of parking-to-PBL conversion from Logan/Kedzie to California. As you can see from the video below, things went smoothly.
It was in the late afternoon, shortly before the evening rush really kicked in. And it was only 25F out, with a "real feel" of 16F due to windy conditions. But I still saw many bike riders during my time on the corridor, who generally seemed to be properly dressed for comfortable riding, like I was.
I'm guessing the density of bicycle and e-scooter riders increased significantly after 5 p.m., when more people started pedaling northwest from the Loop. In the near future, Streetsblog Chicago will discuss what Chicago should do to encourage more people to use sustainable transportation devices during the winter.
After all, with the right gear and know-how, it can be at least as convenient and comfortable to use bikes and scooters for short trips as other modes.
Check out the video of the new parking-to-PBL conversion on Milwaukee, or better yet check out the corridor on two wheels yourself. Let us know know what you think in the comments.
And below is a gallery of photos taken in the outbound, parking-protected bike lane, which has much more concrete infrastructure than the inbound lane, looking northwest.
For more information about CDOT's Complete Streets projects on Milwaukee Avenue, check out the Milwaukee Avenue Corridor website.
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