Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about bike lanes

Sign and stencil at the northeast corner of Halted/Archer, looking north. The sidewalk railing has been reinstalled closer to the curb to provide more room on the sidewalk for biking. Photo: Twitter user @babygluckling.

CDOT replaced Halsted bike lane with sidewalk route. Many advocates aren’t lovin’ it.

By John Greenfield | Feb 16, 2022 | No Comments

There were many negative reactions to the news, including from Better Streets Chicago, which organized a protest over the bike lane removal. The city says more modifications are in the works.

Omaha's only protected bike lane, a pilot project on a 1.5-mile stretch of Harney Street, was installed last summer. Image: Google Maps

People for Bikes is wrong: Chicago isn’t a worse bike city than Jacksonville or Omaha

By John Greenfield | Jan 27, 2022 | No Comments

Yes, Chicago got screwed by People for Bikes' flawed rating system. But we still have lots of work to do need to make cycling as safe, enjoyable, and normalized as it is in truly great cycling cities.

Looking south on Halsted below an Orange Line and Metra viaduct just south of the river. The existing bike lane has been scraped out to make room for a left turn lane for truckers. Photo: Matthew Maule

Bike lane removal for Amazon turn lane prioritizes driver convenience over cyclist safety

By John Greenfield | Dec 20, 2021 | No Comments

This bikeway downgrade, which will make bike riders less safe, makes a mockery of the city's stated Vision Zero goal of eliminating all serious and fatal crashes.

There are lots of lots, like this one at the Frosty Penguin, along Busse Highway on the stretch where IDOT wants to strip parking. Image: Google Maps

IDOT wants to strip parking for bike lanes. Merchants push back. Both sides are wrong.

By John Greenfield | Oct 19, 2021 | No Comments

IDOT wants to strip parking on a short stretch of Busse Highway in Park Ridge to make way for bike lanes. Residents are pushing back. But a 4-to-3 conversion would be a better strategy.

Sharrows were installed on the bridge late Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Josh Koonce

No, the new Montrose bridge over Kennedy doesn’t have bike lanes, isn’t getting them

By John Greenfield | Aug 25, 2021 | No Comments

In reality, people riding bikes on the new Montrose bridge aren't getting their own dedicated lane at all, let alone a protected one.

The 5900 block of Sheridan Road in Edgewater. North of Lake Shore Drive, Sheridan is a four-lane traffic sewer. Image: Google Maps

How do you solve a problem like Sheridan Road?

By Courtney Cobbs | Jun 17, 2021 | No Comments

If we're going to convert lanes on Sheridan to make room for sustainable transportation, bus lanes are the most pressing need.

The new Bike Lane Uprising app makes it easier than ever to report bikeway obstructions

By John Greenfield | Oct 29, 2020 | No Comments

This week Bike Lane Uprising released a smartphone app, available for Android and iOS devices, for filing bikeway blockage reports.

Announced 2020 planned new Chicago bikeway, including non-protected bike lanes (orange), protected lanes (green), and Slow Streets (purple). Map: John Greenfield via Google Maps

Map: Here are some of the 25-30 miles of new bikeways slated for 2020 installation

By John Greenfield | Jun 19, 2020 | No Comments

What's more, about 15 miles are slated for the South Side, which has a much lower density of bike lanes than the North Side.

An Open Streets car-free event on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park in 2013. Photo: John Greenfield

Let’s respond to coronavirus and climate change with car-free streets, bus and bike lanes

By Courtney Cobbs | Mar 25, 2020 | No Comments

Creating more car-free streets for safe transportation and recreation during the current pandemic crisis would also address the longterm challenge of climate change.

Motorists illegally drive in downtown Loop Link bus lanes. Photo: Kevin Zolkiewicz

Lightfoot’s crackdown on bus and bike lane violations is a step in the right direction

By John Greenfield | Feb 19, 2020 | No Comments

A new ordinance would allow parking aides to photo violations of bus and bike lanes and mail the tickets, even scofflaws try to escape the fine by driving away.

Cyclists detour around a construction site in Wicker Park. Photo: John Greenfield

311 is a joke? No, but some bike lane blockage reports are going unaddressed

By Courtney Cobbs | Dec 18, 2019 | No Comments

According to Bike Lane Uprising, a site that documents bikeway obstructions, 311 requests about bike lanes are getting closed before they actually get resolved.

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