Anne Alt

While the the district is getting almost no bike lanes as part of the Chicago cycling Strategy, this month it got some new pedestrian infrastructure.

"Let's keep making noise," said fallen cyclist Kevin Clark's cousin. "I know that at a certain point they'll listen to us, and we will get this done."

A "regional rail" scheme, with more frequent service during non-rush hours, would make the network more useful non-white collar workers, as well as non-work commutes.

Ofo officials argue that the "lock-to" rule is also counterproductive. Meanwhile, a Beverly resident says distribution of all of the dockless bikes has been inequitable.

The Chicago Department of Transportation will close 115th Street just east of Western Avenue to motor vehicle through traffic, creating a cul-de-sac to reduce neighborhood traffic after a Chicago Park District ice hockey rink and gymnastics center opens. The closure for cars could improve this important bike route, but only if it maintains street connectivity for bicycling, which doesn't seem to be the case in previous designs and project renderings. 

Our extended New Bikeways Week wraps up today with a look at the 2.65-mile stretch of new protected and buffered lanes that the Chicago Department of Transportation recently installed on Vincennes Avenue from 84th Street to 103rd Street. Vincennes, a diagonal road leading downtown from the Far Southwest Side, is designated as a bike-priority Spoke Route in the city’s Streets for Cycling 2020 Plan. In general, the agency has installed buffered lanes with curbside car parking on the west side of Vincennes, and curbside bike lanes, with striped buffers and flexible posts to discourage motorists from driving in them, on the east side.

Guest contributor Lisa Phillips trained as a journalist and then urban planner, while becoming an almost-daily bicyclist. She has worked at the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Department of Transportation, and has volunteered with Cycling Sisters and Bike Winter.

Reader Anne Alt sends in these photos showing the dismal walking conditions at alley crossings and street intersections in the Loop. She reports that the alley crossings in her photos have turned into ice ponds: