Wheels are in motion for new Evanston bike infrastructure, albeit slowly

News at a recent meeting on the Evanston Bike Plan included a current completion target of mid-to-late 2029 for the long-awaited Chicago Avenue protected lane extension.

5:50 PM CST on January 29, 2026

Justin Haugens rides an ebike on Mulford Street in Evanston, on the way to Tuesday’s bike plan meeting. Photo: Austin Busch

*This post is sponsored by Keating Law Offices.*

By Austin Busch

The City of Evanston is updating its Bicycle Plan, last revised in 2014. City staff and aldermen from the 3rd, 8th and 9th wards held a meeting about the project on Tuesday night at the James Park Fieldhouse, with another meeting to be held next Tuesday at the Robert Crown Center.

The 2014 plan updated an earlier 2003 effort, and came with a raft of notable projects. The Church and Davis Street protected bike lanes were completed in 2012 and 2013 respectively, and the City was reviewing proposals for Sheridan Road / Chicago Avenue and Dodge Avenue. Divvy bike-share was introduced in 2016. In 2015, the North Shore city's sustainable transportation efforts got national attention when Politico lauded it as "The Suburb That Tried to Kill the Car."

Residents check out renderings of the Sheridan Road improvements proposed under the 2014 bike plan update, presented by staff including now CDOT Assistant Commissioner and former Complete Streets Director David Smith in a blue polo. Photo: *Melissa Manak*

That mid-aughts network has since matured, and the City is reviewing three new major projects. The plan update will incorporate new data, including Illinois Department of Transportation crash data and updated bicycle counts at numerous intersections collected by volunteers last October. Updated data will be used to evaluate corridors based on criteria for safety, comfort, connectivity, equity, implementation, and impacts. The update will also include a gaps and barriers analysis, such as the Sheridan Road bend at South Boulevard. Lastly, the update will also review City policies, including likely updates to currently-ambiguous e-scooter policies.

*Two people riding an e-scooter observe a person using roller skis on Benson Avenue in Evanston. The Bike Plan Update will consider policies around other micromobility devices. Photo: Austin Busch*

"ETA is excited to see Evanston advance its commitment to safe cycling for all ages and abilities," said Evanston Transit Alliance Communications Chair Robert Keding. "The already-planned improvements along Church St and Chicago Ave are critical for protecting vulnerable road users and reducing car dependence. We're excited for the new Bike Plan update to build off these projects and look at other important corridors like Main Street and Lincoln Street, for a truly comprehensive and connected network."

*Meeting attendees on Tuesday discuss the Evanston bike map on display following the Bike Plan Update presentation. Photo: Austin Busch*

The community is encouraged to share feedback for the Bike Plan Update online at https://communityremarks.com/evanston/, which has already accumulated over 200 comments.

A second public meeting will be held at the Robert Crown Center, 1801 Main St., next Tuesday, February 3, at 7 p.m., with a virtual option via Google Meet. City staff is also planning a separate meeting for Evanston Township High School students at a later date.

More To Divvy Up

*A screenshot of* *Divvy’s current map* *in Evanston, with 12 docked stations and some floating electric Divvy bikes.*

Evanston city council voted to approve an expansion of the Divvy bikeshare system from the current 14 docking stations to 28-31 stations. Site selection is underway. The expansion is set to cost $310,826, offset by a $155,000 Invest in Cook grant from the county, with the remainder coming from the city.

In 20215, Divvy saw 30,547 trips in Evanston, where Divvy and Lime e-scooters do not operate. The new stations would more than double the current station density to roughly 4 stations per square mile.

The long road to Chicago Avenue

*Where the protected bike lane ends: The current southern terminus of the Chicago Avenue PBL at Davis Street. Photo: Robert Keding*

Assistant City Engineer Chris Sous provided updates on multiple ongoing projects during the presentation and Q & A, with the project along the southern portion of Chicago Avenue at the top of many attendees minds.

Phase I engineering for the project was approved in Fall 2020. Sous reaffirmed the intention to construct a two-way protected bike lane on the east side of Chicago Avenue, citing limitations on the west due to the rail viaduct. Sous also addressed parking concerns on the block adjacent to the South Boulevard CTA station, noting that every townhome abutting that stretch had two off-street parking spaces, and resident concerns around guest parking would be met with side street permit parking.

*The Courts of Evanston townhomes, where residents pushed back against curbside parking spot conversions on Chicago Avenue at a previous community meeting have car parking galore. Image: Google Maps*

Sous provided an update on the project’s nearest completion date, with mid-to-late 2029 the current target. Design work is planned to wrap up in 2028, the earliest budget year the City can obligate the project's funding from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Funding programming.

*The existing Chicago Avenue PBL connects with the protected lane at Sheridan Road, shown, a few blocks north of Davis Street. Photo: John Greenfield*

The current two-way protected bike lane that connects this project's northern end to Wilmette via Sheridan Road was completed in Spring 2018, after it was deferred for two years following design work in 2014. Tragically, in 2016, Northwestern University student Chuyuan Qiu was fatally injured while biking along the corridor in a collision with a concrete truck driver, before construction began on the protected bikeway.

One attendee at the meeting asked if the City could do anything on the stretch of Chicago Avenue south of South Boulevard in the meantime, stating: "I've always wondered why something can't be done about that now. I consider it my suicide attempt every time I try it at night."

*The southbound mixed-traffic and bike lanes outside Calvary Cemetery on Chicago Avenue in Evanston in 2025. Photo: Austin Busch*

This section contains a paint-only bike lane in each direction, stretching 1,400 feet between the west entrance of Calvary Cemetery and Howard Street, Evanston's border with Chicago. This road section section also grows to two southbound mixed-traffic lanes, compared to the single lane layout north of South Boulevard.

Sous explained that the City had to pick a specific geographic scope for each project in advance, in order to progress through design phases with IDOT, and that to re-stripe a section of it now would take additional study and separate funding sources.

(Note: Chicago Avenue in Evanston is under municipal jurisdiction, according to IDOT's own jurisdiction map.)

Updates on other projects

*The bike rack just before the meeting on Tuesday night at the James Park Fieldhouse. Photo: Austin Busch*

On Monday, Evanston City Council approved Phase II design engineering services for a project connecting the North Shore Channel Trail with Dodge Avenue along Church Street. Initial design work on the project began in Summer 2020. Sous said construction is expected to begin following a fall 2027 letting for a 2028 completion. He cited the ongoing Church Street project as an example of unforeseen delays on projects. "There's a lot of land acquisition that has to do with the channel," he explained. "Things like IDOT actually delayed us. The project was initiated in 2021, and it was not until 2025 that we actually got the approval from IDOT."

A grant opportunity will be considered at a February City Council meeting to study the feasibility of bike facilities along Sheridan Road from its border with Rogers Park to a Chicago Avenue connection.

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– John Greenfield, editor