Milwaukee Avenue
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Eyes on the street: Taking a spin on the new-and-improved Milwaukee protected bike lanes in River West, with a few constructive criticisms
Last December, the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board blamed the diagonal Milwaukee Avenue bikeway for traffic jams created by car commuters fleeing Kennedy Expressway construction. "[On] many of the former alternate routes, such as... Milwaukee [the Chicago Department of Transportation has] reduced... vehicular capacity by adding bike lanes," they stated. "Those roads don’t offer any meaningful relief from a clogged expressway anymore."
October 1, 2025
Mapped: Here’s how to bike around the Kinzie to Chicago Ave. closure of the Milwaukee Avenue “Hipster Highway”
Milwaukee Avenue, the diagonal street that runs about 11 miles northwest-southeast between downtown and Superdawg Drive-In in the Norwood Park neighborhood, is Chicago's most important cycling street. It's got the highest ridership of any roadway in our city, and since it's the most direct route from the Loop to Wicker Park, Logan Square, and Avondale, some call it the "Hipster Highway."
April 4, 2025
How many people use Logan Square’s Milwaukee Avenue PBLs in 32F weather? Quite a few!
This post was written by John Greenfield, and features research by Sharon Hoyer.
December 15, 2024
Ald. La Spata and staff discussed Milwaukee PBLs extension, Vision Zero efforts, at 1st Ward meeting
They also talked about the local Participatory Budgeting election, and other efforts to create safer streets on the Near Northwest Side.
July 31, 2024
Eyes on the Street: Milwaukee Avenue protected lanes are taking shape in Bucktown
Streetsblog's Steven Vance checked out the latest developments on Milwaukee earlier this week.
October 27, 2023
Suit filed by Nick Parlingayan’s family faults Metra, city, contractors for fatal bike crash
On May 4, 2022, a driver fatally struck Nick Parlingayan, 22, on his bike near the intersection of Milwaukee and Kilbourn avenues in the Irving Park neighborhood, and leaving without aiding the barista. A wrongful death lawsuit, recently filed on behalf of Parlingayan’s family, argues that Metra and the city of Chicago, along with the driver, bear responsibility for the fatal crash.
February 22, 2023
“Pop-up” bus lanes on Chicago Ave. are now permanent, other upgrades planned citywide
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.
December 9, 2022
How could death of Sam Bell, 2nd cyclist killed on Milwaukee in 2022, have been prevented?
Redesigning intersections to make it harder for drivers to whip around corners, requiring skills testing for older motorists, and stiffer penalties for drivers who kill would help prevent such tragedies.
September 9, 2022
35th Ward upgrades include PBLs on Belmont, Kedzie, and protected intersection
Several other sustainable transportation and public space projects are on the horizon in the 35th Ward.
June 17, 2022
Map: Where drivers have fatally struck people biking on Chicago’s Milwaukee Avenue
Given it's status as our city's most popular cycling route, it's way past time for the city to turn the entire corridor into a bike-priority street.
May 6, 2022
