Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Lakefront Trail

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 […]

Architect Urges Big-Picture, Design Thinking For North Lake Shore Drive

By Steven Vance | Jul 7, 2014 | 128 Comments

Local architect John Krause sees the reconstruction of North Lake Shore Drive, one of Chicago’s most scenic locations, as a chance to think big — not just about the road, but also about parks, transit, trails, the shoreline, and the future of the city alongside it. The Illinois Department of Transportation isn’t used to thinking […]

Small Steps for IDOT Add Up to Giant Leap for North Lake Shore Drive

By Charles Papanek | Jun 2, 2014 | 12 Comments

IDOT’s revisions to the newly updated North Lake Shore Drive “Purpose and Needs Statement,” an opening salvo that sets the tone for the long process of rebuilding the Drive, might not quite be on the same scale as landing on the moon. However, a few seemingly minor text edits signal a huge shift in how […]

The Lakefront Trail Really Is Open All Day, All Night

By Steven Vance | May 30, 2014 | 20 Comments

Have you ever been hassled by Chicago police officers while bicycling on the Lakefront Trail after parks officially close at 11 PM? You’re not alone. Sebastian Huydts, who bicycles for most of his transportation needs, has been stopped twice this year — most recently on May 13, at about 11:15 p.m. “They actually told me […]

Tell IDOT to Rehab LSD as a Complete Street, Not a Speedway

By Charles Papanek | Apr 14, 2014 | 72 Comments

On Thursday, the Illinois Department of Transportation kicked off the feedback process for the the North Lake Shore Drive rehabilitation’s future alternatives analysis, at the third meeting of the project’s task forces. During the previous two meetings, it seemed like IDOT would insist upon just another highway project, with minimal benefits for pedestrians, transit users […]

City Breaks Ground on the Long-Awaited Navy Pier Flyover

By John Greenfield | Mar 18, 2014 | 49 Comments

After more than a decade of planning, the Chicago Department of Transportation finally kicked off work on the Navy Pier Flyover, a $60 million project that will solve the problem of the dangerous bottleneck at the center of the 18.5-mile Lakefront Trail. “We at the city have discussed this, we have debated it, we have […]

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