The Chainlink

I rode Dearborn today...anyone else?

I just missed the press conference and just hung out at lunch to see how it would all work. It seemed easy enough, so I took Dearborn as my starting route home to Roscoe Village. Normally I hit Franklin to Orleans then north to Lincoln.

I have to say, it was pretty easy and relatively safe. The ambassadors were helpful with the the auto traffic. The walkers were easy enough to avoid. I had to chuckle at two riders riding side by side in the lane.

What I didn't see was any oncoming traffic; southbound riders. I am guessing that will come in time or at other times during the day.

Way to go Mayor RE! This is really making a statement.

Who else rode the new path?

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Permalink Reply by JimmyD on January 16, 2013 at 4:23pm

Ha! I can't wait to use this line tonight, as I often encounter peds standing in the bike lane! 

Chi Lowe 12.5+ mi said:

I've taken to calling out, in a TV announcer voice: "He folks, this is a BIKE ROAD.  You wouldn't stand in the CAR ROAD, so why are you standing in the BIKE ROAD?"

Permalink Reply by David Barish on January 16, 2013 at 4:55pm

I like the announcer voice. Usually, I ring a bell. If I am in a surly mood or just want to make sure I am heard I have a good blood curdling shriek.  They always move. Nobody wants to get in the way of the crazy guy. I try to save it for "if you don't move now somebody might die" kind of moments but occasionally employ it for "you asked for this" kind of moments.  Sometimes I ride past giggling and sometimes I feel remorse.

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on January 16, 2013 at 5:10pm

I always wanted a small but loud mp3 player/final word type device that would let me select a bunch of sounds (ship collision siren, foghorn, church bells) to use on the lake front trail at the puch of a button.  Dearborn would benefit just as much.  That's a kickstarter program I could get behind.

Permalink Reply by Derek on January 16, 2013 at 5:16pm

I saw / heard the guy riding in front of me use one of those compressed air horns as he approached a horde of people standing in the bike lane @ Lake.  I literally laughed out loud as they jumped and scrambled back onto the sidewalk.

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on January 16, 2013 at 7:04pm
I would love to "love" this new setup.
I.just.cannot.
No plates on bridge.
No solution for iced lanes.
F**king peds chilling in the lanes.
Etc.
Question for die-hard advocates: Will it really get better? I want it to work, but...
Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 16, 2013 at 7:18pm

It has never been done before in Chicago--it is really a pretty drastic change.  It is winter and the traffic is relatively low.  The city says they are going to improve the pavement problems, and they will get plates, I am sure.  (Just when and why it is taking so long is a valid question.)  It has only been open for a month.

I ride it every day and I am seeing incremental improvements.  To expect that this lane was going to open and it was going to be magically perfect is unrealistic.  Society does not adapt quickly to drastic change.  I believe that it is going to work.  But don't ever expect to fly up and down Dearborn in this lane.  It is not intended for that and it will never happen.  For some folks, it is not the right thing.  That is okay.  You know, "different strokes . . . ."

Permalink Reply by Michelle Grim on January 16, 2013 at 7:43pm

I actually crashed on this route just last sunday.  Has anyone noticed that they set up this wonderful bike lane but abandon us on the bridge?  no cover, just metal.  I fish tailed as long as I could before hitting the ground...not cool.  does anyone know how we can get the word out about this?  It's so unfortunate because the rest of the bike lane is very nice and easy to use...but this is a huge oversight in my mind...

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 16, 2013 at 8:53pm
Maybe you can get Bill Curtis to record a PSA for your mp3 player. :-)


Tricolor said:

I always wanted a small but loud mp3 player/final word type device that would let me select a bunch of sounds (ship collision siren, foghorn, church bells) to use on the lake front trail at the puch of a button.  Dearborn would benefit just as much.  That's a kickstarter program I could get behind.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 17, 2013 at 6:28am

This has turned into a pretty long thread, but just back a page or two you will see that this has been discussed.  Reader's Digest version:  Plates are coming.

Michelle Grim said:

I actually crashed on this route just last sunday.  Has anyone noticed that they set up this wonderful bike lane but abandon us on the bridge?  no cover, just metal.  I fish tailed as long as I could before hitting the ground...not cool.  does anyone know how we can get the word out about this?  It's so unfortunate because the rest of the bike lane is very nice and easy to use...but this is a huge oversight in my mind...

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on January 17, 2013 at 8:02am

I'm still a fan of the protected bike lane. There are absolutely problems with it, but these can and I'm confident will be solved in spring, once construction season begins. In addition to filling in potholes and improving drainage, I'd suggest they increase visibility of the bike lane at alleys and curb cuts like at that hotel between the river and Kinzie with more paint, different colors, or something. The PBL is rough and there's ice, but compared to having no lane at all and just riding among the cars on Dearborn in the Loop like I'd been doing for years before this, it's still an improvement. And, they could have waited until May or June 2013 to get it all perfect before rolling it out, but in August 2012, the mayor said the lane would materialize by the end of the year, and so points awarded for keeping his word. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've only seen one occasion ever where a motor vehicle user was parked IN the PBL since it officially opened. And errant pedestrians don't bother me. That is a problem that will be around forever, basically. I'd rather be mixing it up on Dearborn with people on foot than people driving 18-wheel Coca Cola delivery trucks any time.

 

Now let me mention the bike box at Dearborn and Washington (the box is on Washington to assist bicyclists who are turning east onto eastbound Washington). I've never once used the box in spite of turning eastbound on Washington at that intersection dozens of times now, and that's because if I arrive on Dearborn from the north at any time during a red light for southbound bike traffic, it's inefficient to wait for the green, get on the box, and wait an entire 'nother cycle for the green to go east. It's more efficient to hop off the bike, walk the bike with the peds across Dearborn, wait briefly for the green, and then hop on the bike to cross Washington and keep going. Has anyone else noticed this? Do you use those bike boxes?

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on January 17, 2013 at 8:17am

Tomorrow will be my first time riding Dearborn.  Yes I said it....  Will post my thoughts (hopefully all positive) here.

Permalink Reply by Julie M. on January 17, 2013 at 8:27am

I'd agree, I'm a fan of the lane even with the issues so far and I think they'll improve as more cyclists start riding it.  In the morning I've taken to walking my bike in the lane across the bridge (I'm an early commuter so haven't had any conflicts with other cyclists doing this)  

Heads up though between Monroe and Adams, as there are often big trucks entering and exiting that alley, this morning I had to stop and wait (and yell) for one to notice me that was trying to leave the alley, since he was clearly not looking for southbound traffic.  

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