Intro to Streetsblog Chicago’s Bike (and e-scooter) Lane Fest 2024

Howdy, Streetsblog Chicago readers! We couldn’t ask for a better day to kick off this publication’s now-annual Bike Lane Fest series than this lovely mid-December day with weather in the upper 40s Farenheit. (Let’s not think too hard about whether climate change is playing a role.)

As I did last year, this month I’ll be riding my bike and/or trains all over our fair city, checking out the Chicago Department of Transportation’s 2024 Bike Projects that SBC hasn’t already covered this year, documenting what I see. It’s probably going to take more than one week this time, since I’ve got a lot on my plate at the moment. (Hopefully I’ll see some of you at Tuesday night’s hearing on Evanston’s controversial proposed Chicago Avenue protected bike lane extension – details here.)

And, like last year, it appears that CDOT staffers and contractors labored hard this year, implementing many miles of new and upgraded bikeways. So I’ve got my work cut out for me too!

I’d like to give a big thanks to the Ward Wise group at Chi Hack Night, especially member Sean MacMullan, for preparing a map of CDOT’s planned projects back in June 2024.

Today I created the bakery-fresh map below, showing completed projects that I’ll be visiting, based on recent updates to CDOT’s Planned Bikeways Installations Tracker spreadsheet. Click the “View larger map” rectangular icon at the upper right to see a larger version, including the sidebar, which includes the color code, plus options to view “installed” or “underway” bike facilities, plus city, ward, and community area boundaries. (You can view CDOT’s official Existing Bike Network Map, updated in November 2024, here, but it doesn’t tell you which bikeways were / are being installed this year.)

So tomorrow I’ll be all set to start exploring all the new bikeways I haven’t rolled on yet this year, and fortunately more lovely late-fall weather is predicted. But don’t worry, I’ve got all the gear I need to stay comfy when the weather gets cold again at the end of the week. I hope you’ll enjoy coming along on the (virtual) ride!

In the meantime, feel free to peruse SBC’s previous Bike Lane Week 2023 entries:

Check out Day One: Mid-South Side here.

Check out Day Two: Far Southwest Side here.

Check out Day Three: Near Southwest and Near South Side here.

Check out Day Four: Mid-North Side here.

Check out Day Five: Near Northwest Side, Far West Side, Near West Side, Near North Side here.

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