Thursday, September 29, 2011

New Bike Lane on 18th Street?



The active transportation alliance blog recently had a post highlighting Alderman Danny Solis' second annual bike ride for the 25th Ward. Besides highlighting the event, Transportation Commissions (and South Loop resident), Gabe Klein had an announcement:


Even more exciting than the bike ride itself was the announcement that Ald. Solis and the Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein made at the start of the event: The 25th Ward is getting a .55-mile long protected bike lanes on 18th St. from Clinton Street to Clark Street.

The lanes will facilitate a safe route for residents to get to the 18th Street./Halsted Arts District, downtown and the Lakefront Trail. The announcement touched on some of the benefits of the bike lanes, namely that they will allow for safe bike riding over the 18th Street bridge.

Although it's a small stretch, it's a move in the right direction. Hopefully the Sloop gets more of these "protected bike lanes" soon.


This news coincides with the post we had on Tuesday, about the new norther portion of Ping Tom Park opening. Looks like this area is getting some much needed attention!


(Hat tip: MotoSoloRow!)

19 comments:

Collin said...

Awesome!!! It will now make it much easier to head West when touring the city on two wheels!

Jeff (the other Jeff) said...

Why would anyone want to ride a bike in the street anyway, isnt that what sidewalks are for? The city is being overun by bike jockeys if you ask me....starts with the mayor and works its way down the ladder.

Anonymous said...

How they will pull this off, I have no idea. That east-bound stretch is hugely congested during rush hour because 2 lanes come to one (then quickly return to 2) under the rail bridge near 18th and Clark. Unless they plan to add a lane there, this is a recipe for disaster (or at least greater congestion).

Anonymous said...

You're right "other Jeff", what the Sloop needs is more cars. I implore all bike riders in the Sloop to get a car so the city stops with these silly initiatives to make the Sloop more pedestrian friendly. I also cant stand people who walk in the Sloop, if people would stop walking and buy cars we could rip out those ugly sidewalks and widen the roads...

/s

Jeff ( the other white meat) said...

Anon 11:24

Stop being a girl. i run this blog and what I say is golden.

If we spent more time getting Lollapalooza kicked out of town and less on bike lanes we would have a city more acustomed to my needs/desires.... and we all know that what I desire is best because I am the brightest star in the sky.

Go Obama!

Anonymous said...

So sloopin will block comments with un-pc language but let obvious trolls right through.

Just another blog going to shit thanks to idiotic moderation practices. Too bad there's no real alternative for this part of town.

MarkChicago said...

I heard the bike lane will be paved with solar panels.

Maybe they should finish some projects (i.e. Congress, Wabash re-pave) before starting any new ones?

Aaron said...

@ Jeff

"isn't that what sidewalks are for"

Umm...no. It's illegal to bike on the sidewalks.

I think the city is overrun by idiots in cars, who make my life much more dangerous and make the city much less appealing to live/work/walk around in.

Anonymous said...

They also need to finish a legitimate safe Bike path from 18th & Indiana to the lake front path at 18th & calumet. Currently people have to jump the curb and ride on the sidewalk.

Anonymous said...

...It's illegal to bike on Chicago sidewalks. Duh.

Protected bike lanes on 18th - similar to the lanes on Kinzie - is EXACTLY what the sloop needs! Simply painting stripes on the road is not enough anymore, bikers are getting killed.

This will provide safer access the no-man's land of East Pilsen, it will corral racing cars into a single lane from State to Canal which will help the many dumbo drivers, and it will enroll more people to opt out of driving.

With the heavy traffic on 18th (avoiding clogged Roosevelt - which needs protected bike lanes too), this is a real blessing!

wendigo said...

The trolling around here is getting ridiculous. Why even bother to read the comments anymore?

Hope the site owner does something about it.

wendigo said...

Also my daily morning routine of having chocolate chip pancakes at Eleven City Diner is being disrupted by chicken wings in the street by Jewel! Im scheduling a meeting with ald. Fioretti, this is getting serious!

Anonymous said...

Like Fioretti cares about the South Loop

Anonymous said...

Well Fioretti will have to care about us in the South Loop when they finish remapping Chicago's wards and he loses the Western parts of the 2nd ward.

Anonymous said...

What a terrible idea! This is going to cause a ridiculous amount of congestion on 18th Street and explains why the street was backed up to Wabash already yesterday. Wait until the Bears game this Sunday - what a nightmare.

Anonymous said...

This new "bike path" which is really just an original car lane now turned into a bike path has turned 18th street into a nightmare. Whoever had this idea should be pummeled with grapefruits. It's like closing down a lane of state street to make an additional bike lane. Some people don't know how to use their brain.

Anonymous said...

The city needs to create a bit more space at the corner of 18th and Clark. If you are on 18th heading EAST there is an back-up of cars as the right lane is too narrow for anyone other than maybe a motorcyle to take a right turn. They just need to create some more space. Now heading WEST, I currently do not see an issue, but maybe someone else does.

BRENDAN said...

much like the black and latino caucus the liberal bike riders of this city have rahms back and have forced CITY STREETS into a carnival of bike riders.....most of whom blow through stop signs and are wearing iPod headphones.

I remember a day when streets were for cars and trucks.

Steven said...

It's really a great news! It'll will definitely lessen the traffic. Now we have a better way to head West through these new bike lanes. liverpool used car deals