Chicago Avenue

Yesterday I discussed the brouhaha over a proposal to extend the two-way protected bike lane on Evanston's Chicago Avenue south about two miles to the city of Chicago border. A total of 62 merchants and "avid cyclists" signed two different letters opposing the new bikeway because it would involve converting 66 of the corridor's 250 car parking spaces – only about a quarter of them. However, more than 250 business people and residents have signed another letter from the Evanston Transit Alliance in favor of the initiative.

Update 12/2/24, 1:15 PM: Evanston's Chicago Avenue Corridor Project, including the protected bike lane extension proposal, will be discussed at a community meeting on Tuesday 12/10, 7-9 p.m. at Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main St. in Evanston.

The new design includes recently installed bus lanes, raised bike lanes, and a relatively bike-friendly Chicago/Halsted intersection.

ATA and other advocates criticized plans to improve bus and bike access as half-measures, while saying a wider Chicago Avenue bridge would induce driving without helping sustainable modes.

CDOT, CTA, and 1st Ward alder Daniel La Spata announced that work has been completed to make permanent the temporary bus lanes on Chicago Avenue.

The second public meeting for potential multi-modal changes on Chicago Avenue in Evanston included renderings of proposed changes.

The changes could make it easier to get across Chicago's neighbor to the north without a car.

Customers seem to love the smoother, quieter ride on the new buses, so much so that some of them said they'd be willing to pay a higher fare to help electrify the whole fleet.

If they can lay the ground work for more, and more robust, busways on corridors across the city, that can only be a good thing.