Category Archives: Chicago Bicycle Lanes

New York City Cuts Speed Limit. Should Chicago?

Date
Posted by

The New York Daily News reported this month that the New York City Council passed legislation that cut the speed limit to 25 mph. The change in speed limit was done in an effort to cut back on traffic fatalities in the city. City officials believe that the slower speed limit was decrease the chance of fatality by 50% compared to vehicles driving 30 mph. No scientific evidence or studies were provided in the article to back this claim.

“By lowering the speed limit, we send a message to drivers that they must not only drive slower, but safer on our streets,” said Transportation Committee chairman Ydanis Rodriguez. “For too long our roads have been a battleground between pedestrians and drivers, costing countless lives in preventable situations. This type of environment is unacceptable and will be tolerated no longer.”

Highways and parkways will still have higher limits, while school zones and other spots will still have lower speeds.

Should the Chicago mayor’s office and the City Council here consider a similar measure? Mayor Emanuel has stated over and over that he is committed to protecting pedestrians and bicyclists. He has taken steps by inserting speeder cameras and has opened protected bicycle lanes throughout the city. Emanuel has stated that the cameras were inserted for safety purposes only and are not a money grab for the city. Ok, then why not follow in New York’s footsteps and lower the speed limit. If safety is priority one for drivers and pedestrians, the I believe the mayor and City Council should strongly consider lowering the speed limits, at least in certain areas of the city.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Bicycling Magazine Ranks Chicago No. 2 Among Most Bicycle Friendly Cities

Date
Posted by

According to Bicycling Magazine, Chicago now ranks as the second best city in the United States for bicyclists. Chicago was previously ranked number 5 in 2012 and number 10 in 2010.

The magazine cited the city’s Navy Pier Flyover construction project, the recent hike in fines for dooring cyclists, and the plans for new protected bike lanes as a few of the reasons Chicago rose in the rankings. It also applauded the city for helping Chicagoans “re-discover” cycling.  Although the magazine did not cite the rise in bike sharing, credit must be given to the city for its’ partnership with the company Divvy. Divvy bikes are available throughout the city for short term rentals, which has definitely increased the interest in bicycling in Chicago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been taking a lot of heat for various issues such as the red light and speeder cameras, but credit must given for following through on his bicycling initiatives. He has made it a point to make the life for bicyclists much safer and has made bicycling much more accessible for everyone.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or Chicago traffic accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

 

Chicago Officials Announce First Barrier Protected Bike Lane

Date
Posted by

The fantastic Chicago website DNAinfo.com reported this week that Chicago transportation officials have begun plans for the first concrete barrier protected bicycle lane. The lane will be constructed on a stretch of Clybourn in the Old Town neighborhood. “This would be the first use of concrete physical separation,” said Nathan Roseberry, a senior engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation. “We are going to be using this project as a means to study elements of the design to see how they work, see how they can be improved.”

The first proposal would include barrier-protected lanes on both sides of the street from Halsted Street to Division Street.

A second proposal, presented as an alternative, would include barrier-protected lanes from Halsted to Larrabee, and then a striped bike lane from Larrabee to Division. That option would preserve parking spaces, but would get rid of the physical separation between cyclists and vehicle traffic.

Both options would take Clybourn down to one lane of traffic at all times and result in a loss of parking along the street.

This is continued progress for Mayor Emanuel and his quest to make Chicago the most bicycle friendly city in North America. The positive development for me is that this should prevent potential violent traffic accidents between bikes and automobiles. The isolated  bike lane will protect bicyclists from vehicle collisions and dooring accidents. I will be interested to see if the city plans on adding additional barriers to bike lanes in other parts of the city, including downtown.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bike accident or Chicago car accident, then call Chicago personal injury, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Chicago To Introduce Bicyclist Rest Stations Along Bike Lanes

Date
Posted by

I wrote a few weeks back about Chicago officials’ plans to press forward towards another 60 miles of bike lanes throughout the city. According to CBS News, the city is now planning to add new rest stations along portions of certain lanes. This is another step officials have taken to make Chicago a world-renowned bicycle friendly city. The rest stations was borrowed from similar contraptions used in the Coppenhagen. The stations contain a bars used as arm and foot rests. These little creations are called a “Curbees,” and will be placed at stop lights and  presumably only allowed for use at red lights. The first of these rest stations has already been placed at the busy intersection of Milwaukee and Ogden.

There is no doubt that Mayor Emanuel and his staff have continued where former Mayor Daley left off in making Chicago a bicycle friendly city. Hopefully bicyclists will take advantage of these stops and will lead to safer roads for both motorists and bicyclists.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bike accident or Chicago car accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

Chicago Presses Forward Towards Goal Of More Bike Lanes

Date
Posted by

Chicago officials
continue to press forward towards their goal of 100 miles of bicycle lanes
throughout the city. Currently, Chicago has about 50 miles of bicycle lanes
throughout the city. There are designated lanes, which are blocked by a
separate parking lane, on stretches of Dearborn in the downtown loop and on
Milwaukee Avenue. The city spent about
$2.7 million last year designing and building bike lanes, at a cost averaging
$67,000 per mile, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
There are plans in the works for an additional 40 miles of bike lanes to be
implemented within the next year. Chicago has set a goal of increasing the
citywide bicycle commute-to-work rate to 5 percent, up from about 1.6 percent
currently, or about 26,300 average daily bicycling trips, according to U.S.
census and other data.

The Chicago
Tribune had an interesting
article over the weekend that discussed some of the concerns from bicyclists
have about where the designated bike lanes will be installed. Specifically, on
Lake Street, which is narrow, often littered and covers multiple bridges. 

The question remains as
to whether bicyclists and motorists will be safe from each other once these
additional bike lanes are added. I think the lanes that are protected by the
additional parking lane are very effective as it adds a distinct barrier
between the two. In other words, motorists and pedestrians know that those
lanes are for bicyclists only and hopefully provide awareness and respect towards
the bicyclists. I will be interested to see statistics for bicycle accidents
once all of the new lanes have been added for a period of time.

If you or someone you
love has been injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or Chicago car crash, then
call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076. 

Chicago Believes Traffic Lights For Bicyclists Are Working

Date
Posted by

I have written in weeks past about
designated bike lanes on Dearborn in downtown Chicago, and the Chicago
Tribune reported recently, the city believes that these designated
lanes along with bicycle specific traffic lights, have kept bicyclists safe and
obeying the rules of the road. The
bicycle-specific traffic signals on Dearborn are part of a federally funded
experiment involving the two-way bike lanes, which are protected from moving
vehicle traffic by plastic posts and a parking lane over much of the 1.15-mile
route between Kinzie and Polk streets.  Monitoring by the Chicago Department of Transportation shows
that cyclists stopping for red lights has improved by 161 percent since
cyclist-specific traffic signals, which glow with the image of a bike on the
lens, were installed on Dearborn in December. “Cyclists will really
abide by a signal if they have one,” Chicago Transportation Commissioner
Gabe Klein believes.  

“Enforcement
hasn’t been necessary because people for the most part are obeying the
laws,” said Cmdr. Al Nagode of the Chicago Police Department’s district that includes the Loop. “We’ve had a handful of
citations that we’ve written both to drivers of vehicles and to some bikes when
we see something egregious.”

The
Police Department has no reports of traffic accidents between cyclists and vehicles or
cyclists and pedestrians since the two-way bike lanes were installed, Nagode
said.

“I’m
sure there have been some close shaves here and there,” Klein said.
“Cyclists need to pay attention. You cannot drift into the other lane. I
think it will take time for people to get used to the new traffic pattern, but
so far it has gone pretty well.”

This
report is good news for Chicago cyclists and drivers. There are often
complaints from both types of commuters about the other. Although the sample
size (6 months) is still small, it would be safe to say that these bicycle
specific lanes and traffic lights are working. The goal here is to make the
road safe for everyone – – bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians. It will be
interesting to see if the city expands the bicycle only lanes to other major
roads throughout the city.

If
you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or Chicago car accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney
Aaron Bryant for a free legal consultation at 312-588-3384. 

IDOT Puts A Halt To Chicago’s Bicycle Lane Expansion

Date
Posted by

I have written in the
past about Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plans to expand protected bike lanes throughout
Chicago. These protected lanes have taken shape the last few months,
specifically on a stretch of Dearborn Avenue that goes through the downtown
loop.  Emanuel’s plan calls for up to 60 protected bike lanes by 2015.

According to a report
from the Chicago Tribune, this expansion may not happen so quickly.
The newspaper reported that the Illinois Department of Transportation
(“IDOT”), which has jurisdiction over many of the streets proposed in
the plan, wants to put a hold on the expansion until further studies have been
completed. “We don’t want to make
decisions on a scattershot basis. Our traffic engineers want to see more data
on the impact of protected bike lanes,” IDOT spokesman Mike Claffey
said.”We are also concerned about losing traffic lanes,” Claffey said,
noting that protected bike lanes require more space than traditional bike
lanes.

This
sudden move by IDOT has drawn the ire of many bicycle and transportation
experts. “With about 60 traffic crashes every day in Chicago that
result in injuries and fatalities, why would IDOT put the brakes on a proven
traffic safety strategy?” said Ron Burke, executive director of the Active
Transportation Alliance, which promotes greater use of alternative
transportation.  “Chicagoans want safer streets, and studies show
that protected bike lanes create more order on the streets and
reduce injuries involving bikes, pedestrians and cars,” Burke said.

This seems to me as an
odd move by IDOT. I wonder if there were red flags in their office about an
uptick in car accidents in the areas where the bike lines exist. Or if there
were possibly complaints coming in from drivers. Either way it does not make
sense that they would slow this down. The number of bicycle riders around the
city – – specifically those who commute to work — increases every year. The
lanes installed by the city provide a safe haven for bicyclists as they ride
around the city. Unless the state and IDOT can show there has been a sharp
increase in bicycle accidents in the last year and a half, then their decision
to slow this program down makes no sense. 

If you or someone you
love has been injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or Chicago car accident,
then call Chicago personal injury lawyer, Aaron Bryant, for a free legalconsultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at
www.blgchicago.com. 

Chicago Completes First Protected Bike Lane

Date
Posted by

NBC Chicago reported today that the Chicago Department of Transportation completed its’ first fully protected bike lane on a stretch of Kinzie Avenue in the River North neighborhood. The half-mile lane on Kinzie stretches from Milwaukee Avenue to Wells Street.  The lane completely separates cyclist traffic from vehicle traffic.

The bicyclist lane is the first step by the Rham Emanuel administration, who pledged to make Chicago a state of the art bicycling city. The plan aims to make roads safer for bicyclists and hopefully clear up some of the congested traffic we see day in and day out in Chicago. 

Typically, cycle tracks are separated from vehicles by planter boxes or construction barriers, however for this pilot project, flexible posts were used instead.The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) originally received a $3.2 million federal grant to build a test track on Stony Island Avenue between 69th and 77th streets, but the project was dropped due to low cyclist traffic.The next phase of protected lanes are expected to be added to Jackson Street between Halsted Street and Damen Avenue.

Click here to watch the press conference from today’s announcement.
 
If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or Chicago car accident, then call Chicago car accident attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com.

Chicago Completes First Protected Bike Lane

Date
Posted by

NBC Chicago reported today that the Chicago Department of Transportation completed its’ first fully protected bike lane on a stretch of Kinzie Avenue in the River North neighborhood. The half-mile lane on Kinzie stretches from Milwaukee Avenue to Wells Street.  The lane completely separates cyclist traffic from vehicle traffic.

The bicyclist lane is the first step by the Rham Emanuel administration, who pledged to make Chicago a state of the art bicycling city. The plan aims to make roads safer for bicyclists and hopefully clear up some of the congested traffic we see day in and day out in Chicago. 

Typically, cycle tracks are separated from vehicles by planter boxes or construction barriers, however for this pilot project, flexible posts were used instead.The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) originally received a $3.2 million federal grant to build a test track on Stony Island Avenue between 69th and 77th streets, but the project was dropped due to low cyclist traffic.The next phase of protected lanes are expected to be added to Jackson Street between Halsted Street and Damen Avenue.

Click here to watch the press conference from today’s announcement.
 
If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or Chicago car accident, then call Chicago car accident attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com.

Mayor Emanuel Announces Chicago’s First Protected Bike Lane

Date
Posted by

I have written in the past about former Mayor Daley’s steps to make Chicago a more bike-friendly city.  It appears that Mayor Emanuel is picking up where Daley left off as he announced that a stretch of Kinzie Avenue in River North will contain the first protected bike lane.  The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the lane designated lane is located closest to the curb, flanked by a roughly four foot-wide “buffer lane” and a row of parking. This results in 12 feet between bicyclists and the flow of vehicular traffic.

“I am proud that we are gonna have the first protected bike lane in Chicago with many more miles to come. I’m glad that Chicago will go from basically being in the middle of the pack as it relates to bike lanes to leading the pack. Planners [from around the country] will come to our city and see what the future holds: an integrated approach to transportation where biking is an essential ingredient.”

City leaders view this expansion as not only a promotion for bicyclists but also a way make city streets safer for everyone.  Newly appointed Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein said the “holistic approach” to transportation that he favors is about “much more” than just protected bike lanes. “It’s about balancing our right-of-way for the safety of all users,” he said. “When we add bike lanes like this, we make it safer for pedestrians. We actually make it safer for motorists, and we slow motorists down.”

I will be following closely to see when and where the city will designate additional ‘bike-only’ lanes. It will be interesting to see if this leads to less bicycle – motor vehicle accidents, including dooring accidents.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a Chicago bicycle accident or a Chicago vehicle accident, then contact Chicago car accident attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free consultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at www.blgchicago.com.