Hello, Streetsblog Readers. As I warned last Wednesday, what with other writing, editing, and fundraising tasks on my plate at the moment, as well as the large quantity of bikeway installed this year, Bike Lane Week is likely going to take me more than seven days. Rename it "Bike Lane Month" if you want – it's still going to be a great ride.
To recap, I've mapped out Chicago Department of Transportation cycling facilities that have been "installed" this year, or are presently "underway," according to CDOT's Planned Bike Projects spreadsheet. There's also a list of 18 "upcoming" projects for in 2025. Think of them as something you can look forward to as a bright spot after a car-centric administration takes over the White House a little over month from now.
But I digress. Visiting every new Chicago bikeway that Streetsblog hasn't already covered this year is a somewhat Sisyphean task. But I don't have to ride each entire corridor, just get a sense of what each route is like. But I chipped away at this project a little bit on Sunday afternoon, checking out a few new facilities in the Lincoln Square, Irving Park, and Albany Park community areas.
A few routes I rode on recently. Image: Google Maps
Here's a brief rundown of what I saw the other day. I took all the photos, except where noted.
Neighborhood greenway (NG) connector in Lincoln Square("underway")
The current project is just a very short stretch connecting the two existing segments of NG on Leavitt (2200 W.) north of Diversey (2800 N.). The stretch from Berwyn (5300 N.) to Montrose (4400 N.) ends at a cul-de-sac just south of the Sulzer Library. To proceed south, you previously had to hop a curb and take the sidewalk to the Montrose/Leavitt/Lincoln intersection and cross Montrose, and vice-versa. CDOT is currently building a short raised bike lane and ramp you'll be use to ride between the cul-de-sac and the intersection. Image: Google MapsWhat it currently looks like heading south on Leavitt, past diagonal parking south of the library, towards the cul-de-sac north of Montrose.The future location of a ramp that will connect the cul-de-sac (black, currently being repaved) and the raised bike lane, looking southeast towards Welles Park.The future raised bike lane location, looking south towards the intersection.The ramp connecting the future raised bike lane with the intersection, and the stretch of NG on Leavitt that south of Montrose, looking south.Looking north towards the future raised bike lane and the library.Looking east towards the future raised bike lane.
NGs on Berteau and Cullom in the Irving Parkcommunity
As highlighted before in my Mellow Chicago Bike Map, Berteau (4200 N.) and Cullom (4300 N.) were already good side street routes, westbound and eastbound respectively, between California (2800 W., next to the Horner Park green space) and Elston (diagonal, about 3900 W. there.) The new designated Neighborhood Greenways on these streets, including pavement markings and occasional traffic calming, will generally help make them a little safer, and spread the word about these routes. Here's the start of the Berteau Greenway, just west of California.Here's the westbound Berteau NG approaching Newton Bateman Elementary school at Richmond (2930 W.) with a couple of new curb extensions to shorten the pedestrian crossing distance and calm traffic. One minor criticism I have about the route design is that here, a green "sharrow" (bike-and-chevron shared-lane symbol) directs westbound riders to detour to the right, north, on Richmond. But, assuming the schoolyard gate is open, it actually works fine to just keep riding west past the playground to pick up Berteau on the other side. (Please ride cautiously there, and consider walking your bike if kids are present) If the gate is locked you can use the alley directly north of the school building. This probably sounds confusing, so check out the map below to see what I'm talking about.If you're riding west on Berteau, the new street markings direct you to head north on Richmond for a standard Chicago block, ride west on Cullom for half a block (green line), and then head south again on Sacramento (3000 W.) back to Berteau, about a third of a mile out of your way. It's faster to continue west across the schoolyard (blue), or if that's not an option, use the alley (purple.) The orange line is the eastbound Cullom NG.Cullom west of Richmond, looking west. Aside from making your trip longer, the detour for westbound riders involves a sketchy situation on Cullom. Contraflow ("wrong-way") bike lanes generally work fine in Chicago, but contraflow sharrows, used here presumably because the street was deemed too narrow for a westbound bike lane, seem a little dubious. Rather than dealing with oncoming oncoming drivers in tight quarters, I'd strongly suggest using the schoolyard or the alley.Berteau and Sacramento, looking south. After heading south again from Cullom, just west of the schoolyard, left, a sharrow directs you to proceed west on Berteau again.If you want to ride a clockwise loop from Horner Park to Elston and back, when you arrive at the diagonal street from Berteau, make a soft right and ride two blocks northwest in a non-protected bike lane to Harding (3930 W.) Then turn right, north, and then immediately make another right, east, on Cullom. From there, it's smooth sailing to Horner Park, except for one thing. While there are are stoplights or four-way stop signs at almost all main street intersections along Berteau and Cullom, neither exist at Cullom's crossing of Kimball (3400 W.), a busy north-south roadway, so use caution when crossing. In the future, CDOT should make that intersection a four-way stop, just like Berteau/Kimball.
NG on Central Park in Irving Park and Albany Park
One more thing I checked out on this relatively short ride was the north-south NG with a contraflow bike lane,on Central Park (3600 W.), shown here at Belle Plaine (4100 N.), looking south. On the few blocks I rode, this route seemed pretty bikeable. Thanks to the new bike lane, you can now bicycle or scoot in either direction 1.4 miles between Elston (3930 N. there) and Carmen (5030 N.)At Carmen, you'll encounter the eastern terminus of snippets of multi-use paths along the North Branch of the Chicago River. That trailhead is shown here looking southwest from Carmen and Central Park. Image: Google MapsFrom Carmen/Central Park (red pin), if you don't mind occasional stretches of main streets like Foster (5200 N.), you can pick your way via to riverside paths to the southern terminus of the North Shore Branch Trail at Foster and Kostner (4400 W.) (If you want to stay off main streets, take Central Park to Argyle [5000 N.] to Kostner to the trailhead.) From there, if you're feeling ambitious, you can ride the scenic NBT for about 20 miles north to the Chicago Botanic Garden in suburban Glencoe. Image: Google Maps
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In addition to editing Streetsblog Chicago, John writes about transportation and other topics for additional local publications. A Chicagoan since 1989, he enjoys exploring the city on foot, bike, bus, and 'L' train.
