On Sunday, as part of Streetsblog Chicago's Bike Lane Week 2024, I checked out a little project to create a more seamless transition between two segments of the Leavitt Street (2200 W.) Neighborhood Greenway side street bike route. North of the North Branch of the Chicago River, the route runs about three miles between Diversey Parkway (2800 N.) and Berwyn Avenue (5300 N.)
It's generally a nice, low-stress, two-way cycling and scooter rank. But the fly in the ointment has been the spot where Leavitt crosses Montrose Avenue (4400 N.) and Lincoln Avenue (a diagonal street) in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.
At this essentially six-way intersection, there's a cul-de-sac on Leavitt north of Montrose, just south of the Sulzer Library. Greenway users were forced use the sidewalk and hop a curb to travel between the north and south portions of the greenway.
When I dropped by on Sunday, I was pleased to see that the sidewalk on the northeast corner had been extended northeast to make room for a raised bike lane that would allow for a smoother transition. But it wasn't quite ready to ride, because asphalt at the intersection and in the cul-de-sac had been torn up for repaving.
After I tweeted about the project this morning, I immediately got a text from a staff member from the local 47th Ward, represented by sustainable transportation-friendly Ald. Matt Martin. "[When you visited on Sunday,] you missed it by just a day or two!" the staffer said. "The Leavitt/Lincoln cul-de-sac got repaved Monday and it's rideable now (but not yet striped.)"
Does this all sound really confusing? Check out these northbound and southbound and videos I shot this afternoon and you'll see what I'm talking about.
The routes will also become a lot more obvious after the Chicago Department of Transportation paints the raised bike lane green and adds additional street markings to shepherd bike riders between the two segments of the Leavitt greenway. I assume that will happen this spring, when it gets warm enough to pour thermoplastic, but maybe CDOT will surpise us.
But now that you know roughly how to use the new raised bike lane, feel free to (carefully) give it a spin. Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Did you appreciate this post? Streetsblog Chicago is currently fundraising to help cover our 2025-26 budget. If you appreciate our reporting and advocacy on local sustainable transportation issues, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here. Thank you!
