Part 3 of SBC’s Bike (and Scooter) Lane Fest 2024: Portage Park, Irving Park, North Center, Avondale, Logan Square, Hermosa, Humboldt Park
Check out Part 1: Uptown, Lincoln Square, West Ridge, Rogers Park, Edgewater here
Check out Part 2: Lincoln Square, Irving Park, and Albany Park here.
Check out Part 4: West Side here.
Check out Part 5: South Side here.
Hi there, Streetsblog readers. I hope you’ve been enjoying the holiday season. To those of you who continue to bike and/or ride e-scooters during the brisk weather (and as you’ll see in this post, there are plenty of you), I hope you have been doing some enjoyable commutes and recreational rides.
Remember the rule for winter cycling, “You can’t have fun if you’re cold,” and be sure to wear warm, moisture-resistant layers (clothing that includes wool or synthetics > 100-percent cotton). If possible, bring extra clothing along (another light top layer, gloves, head covering etc.), so you can adjust your warmth level as needed.
Once again, I made the above map of bikeways that the Chicago Department of Transportation has “installed” this year, or are currently “underway,” per CDOT’s Planned Bike Projects spreadsheet.
I’m working my way counter-clockwise around the city, gradually checking out every new bike lane, protected bike lane (PBL), and Neighborhood Greenway (NG) side street route. I’m not pedaling the entire length of all these facilities, but rather trying to gauge what they’re generally like.
This post includes stuff I saw last Wednesday and Saturday in Portage Park, Irving Park, North Center, Avondale, Logan Square, Hermosa, and Humboldt Park. On the latter day, it was around 23F, but I still say plenty of people riding bikes and scooters. Below is a quick summary of what I observed. All photos and video are by yours truly.
NG on Long Avenue in the Portage Park community
As shown in the above video, the Chicago Department of Transportation recently installed speed humps, paint-and-post curb extensions, and “sharrows” – bike-and-chevron symbols – from Irving Park Road (4000 N.) to Grace. “CDOT recently completed a resurfacing project on Long Avenue south of Grace, and in 2025, will add sinusoidal bike-friendly speed humps, updated pavement markings, and new signage to create a low-stress connection to Chopin Park [3500 N.],” said agency spokesperson Erica Schroeder. “We’re continuing to work closely with the 30th Ward on other potential traffic calming measures in the area.”
NG on Kilbourn Avenue in the Irving Park community
Non-protected bike lane on Damen Avenue in North Center
Non-protected (so far) bike lanes on California Avenue in Logan Square and Avondale
New protected bike lanes on Belmont west of Kimball Avenue in Avondale (“underway”)
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Non-protected bike lanes on Milwaukee in Avondale
Non-protected bike lanes on Central Park Avenue in Avondale
Protected lanes on Wrightwood in Logan Square and Hermosa
New protected bike lanes on Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square (click here to read about them)
Protected bike lanes on Division Street in Humboldt Park
New curb protection on Cortland Avenue in Logan Square
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