Elston Bike Lanes

Photo by John Greenfield Courtesy of Chicago Streetsblog

"Contested Elston Bike Lanes Are Finally Here, But Divvy Station Might Leave"

It’s been a long time coming, but buffered bike lanes have finally materialized on Elston between North and Webster. With this new segment, just about all of the nine-mile-long diagonal street has the lanes.

As an alternative to upgrading the Elston lanes, the North Branch Works lobbied CDOT to build a roundabout bicycle detour proposal designed by a local architecture firm, dubbed “A New Bike Route.” Fortunately, the department held its ground, pointing out there was already heavy bike traffic on Elston, and more than a quarter of injury crashes on the street involved cyclists.

On the other hand, Holzer says the council would like to relocate a Divvy station that was recently installed next to this stretch, at the southwest corner of Wabansia and Elston. The station was formerly located at Hirsch and Leavitt in Wicker Park, but it was moved in November, after vandals caused more than $8,000 in damage to the equipment, DNA reported. The new location is a block west of west of the Hideout music venue, a popular destination for cyclists.

Full story on Chicago Streetsblog