Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Lakefront Trail

A cyclist rides on the revetment by the Adler Planetarium last week. Photo: John Greenfield

Not Lichen It: Injured Cyclist Wants Park District to Address the Lakefront Algae Problem

By John Greenfield | Sep 14, 2017 | 4 Comments

Stephanie Reid slipped on the green stuff and broke her arm while riding. Now she wants to keep others from suffering the same fate -- or worse.

Photo: Patrick L. Pyszka, city of Chicago

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Eyes on the Street: Lakefront Trail Separation Is Finished Between 31st and 41st

By John Greenfield | Jul 7, 2017 | 5 Comments

This morning city and park district officials cut the ribbon on the first completed section of the Lakefront Trail separation project between 31st and 41st Street. This provides a preview of what trail separation will look like on the rest of the trail between 71st and Ardmore – where there’s sufficient space to create different […]

A new stretch of trail for cyclists, just south of the 35th Street bridge. Photo: John Greenfield

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Eyes on the Street: Lakefront Trail Separation From 31st to 41st

By John Greenfield | Apr 28, 2017 | 11 Comments

I took a spin to the South Side to check out the in-progress trail separation project between 31st and 41st, which broke ground last August and is almost done.

During the lakefront expansion project at Fullerton, a temporary paved path was built next to Lake Shore Drive. Trail separation might look something like this, but with pedestrians on one of the paths and cyclists on the other. Photo: Michelle Stenzel, Bike Walk Lincoln Park

Hedge Fund Billionaire Ken Griffin Donates $12M for Lakefront Trail Separation

By John Greenfield | Dec 21, 2016 | 25 Comments

Residents have previously identified the creation of separate paths for pedestrians and bike riders on the 18.5-mile trail as a top priority for improving the lakefront.

Unsafe Construction Zones and Trashed Bike Lanes Are Endangering Cyclists

By John Greenfield | Aug 29, 2016 | 6 Comments

[Last year the Chicago Reader launched a weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership allows Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We syndicate a portion of the column after it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the […]

An Epidemic of Bike Crashes; Bad Trail Design May Have Caused One of Them

By John Greenfield | Jun 24, 2016 | 7 Comments

It’s been an awful two weeks for bike collisions in northeast Illinois. On Tuesday of last week, a 29-year-old woman was struck and injured on her bicycle at Jackson and Homan, by a police officer who witnesses say ran a red light without using lights or sirens. That Wednesday bike courier Blaine Klingenberg was fatally […]

How Can We Fix the Most Treacherous Part of the Lakefront Trail?

By John Greenfield | Feb 23, 2016 | 23 Comments

[The Chicago Reader recently launched a weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership allows Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We syndicate a portion of the column after it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the streets […]

Take a Virtual Ride on the New Section of the Lakefront Trail at Fullerton

By John Greenfield | Dec 21, 2015 | 12 Comments

A new section of the Lakefront Trail north of Fullerton has been open since November, but the second half of the path south of the street debuted last week. The path sits on 5.8 acres of brand-new parkland that was created via infill as part of the $31.5 million Chicago Department of Transportation and Chicago […]

Fullerton Project Will Provide Acres of New Parkland, Partial Trail Separation

By John Greenfield | Jul 31, 2015 | 4 Comments

Last October, a study was released as part of the North Lake Shore Drive redesign process that found Chicagoans ranked the creation of separate paths for walking and biking on the Lakefront Trail as their top priority for improving the shoreline. That same month, the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Park District kicked […]

#1 North Lake Shore Drive Request: Separate Bike, Pedestrian Trails

By Steven Vance | Oct 16, 2014 | 61 Comments

This week, the Redefine the Drive study team listed the most requested improvements (PDF) that Chicagoans want to see as part of the reconstruction of North Lake Shore Drive. By far the most popular is also among the easiest and least expensive ways to improve safety: creating separate paths for bicyclists and pedestrians on the overcrowded Lakefront Trail. […]

Streeterville Residents Redefine Their Own Bit of Lake Shore Drive

By Steven Vance | Jul 10, 2014 | 21 Comments

John Krause isn’t the only north lakefront resident who realizes that the Illinois Department of Transportation’s “Redefine The Drive” reconstruction of North Lake Shore Drive is a chance to reinvent how the city meets the shore and the street. In a bid to add more green space in Streeterville, a high-rise downtown neighborhood with with just […]

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