New protected bike lanes announced - Elston, 18th

Our team at the MBAC meeting just let us know that Elston (Division to North) and 18th (Clinton to Clark) will be the next protected bike lanes by the end of this year!

Thanks, CDOT!

Ethan Spotts, Active Trans

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cameron 7.5 mi on July 10, 2012 at 6:34pm

At this point I'm going to say that Elston was better without a protected lane. I went through about 6:00 tonight and cars were parked all over instead a neat line along the curb like before. I started taking a picture but a crowd from the club at Division and Elston with the overpriced valet surrounded me and started yelling until I put the phone away.

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Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on July 10, 2012 at 8:12pm

I think Elston is an excellent PBL. Few intersection conflicts, a wide bike lane, and a nice buffer. Some parking issues still, but they didn't have the posts in yet last time I went through.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 11, 2012 at 6:09am

I rode over 18th St. on Sunday. Some of the plates were installed on both sides of the bridge. Yesterday I passed by on the train and saw crews continuing the installation.

h' said:

Thank you for this, Tony.

Tony Adams said:

Kathy plates getting installed on the westbound side of the 18th St Bridge this morning!

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Permalink Reply by Cameron 7.5 mi on July 11, 2012 at 11:34am

Later last night I rode the stretch north of Division that has the posts in and it was nice. The stretch south of Division where the bike lane and the parking lane switch sides is confusing and has resulted in people parking in both the bike lane and parking area. Hopefully there are plans to put some posts in to keep the bike lane clear. I also noticed a couple of limos standing between the curb and the parking area in front of ESTATE completely blocking the bike lane. The protected lane from Division to North is nice, but from Milwaukee to Division it needs some more work. Does anyone know what the final plan looks like?

John Wirtz said:

I think Elston is an excellent PBL. Few intersection conflicts, a wide bike lane, and a nice buffer. Some parking issues still, but they didn't have the posts in yet last time I went through.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams 6.6 mi on July 18, 2012 at 10:40pm

Got finished today! Yay!

This is a shot from this morning showing the completed eastbound side. There were CDOT workers putting the last of the westbound plates in as I rode by. By the time of my PM commute it was all done.

Anne Alt said:

I rode over 18th St. on Sunday. Some of the plates were installed on both sides of the bridge. Yesterday I passed by on the train and saw crews continuing the installation.

h' said:

Thank you for this, Tony.

Tony Adams said:

Kathy plates getting installed on the westbound side of the 18th St Bridge this morning!

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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on July 18, 2012 at 11:17pm

Hooray! Thanks for the update.

What other bridges have both protected lanes and plates at this point?

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Permalink Reply by Cameron 7.5 mi on July 19, 2012 at 8:38am

Kinzie is the only other one that I can think of.

h' said:

Hooray! Thanks for the update.

What other bridges have both protected lanes and plates at this point?

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams 6.6 mi on July 19, 2012 at 11:51am

This morning I noticed bollards on both sides of the bridge lanes. They must have gone in yesterday also.

h' said:

Hooray! Thanks for the update.

...

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen on July 19, 2012 at 6:10pm

There are now posts all the way to Milwaukee, which seems to have mostly discouraged the club-goers from parking in the bike lanes. It was pretty terrible along there for a while after the removal of parking in a lot of areas, especially late-ish on Friday and Saturday nights when I'd be riding home from work, but it has definitely improved over the last week or two.

Cameron Puetz said:

Later last night I rode the stretch north of Division that has the posts in and it was nice. The stretch south of Division where the bike lane and the parking lane switch sides is confusing and has resulted in people parking in both the bike lane and parking area. Hopefully there are plans to put some posts in to keep the bike lane clear. I also noticed a couple of limos standing between the curb and the parking area in front of ESTATE completely blocking the bike lane. The protected lane from Division to North is nice, but from Milwaukee to Division it needs some more work. Does anyone know what the final plan looks like?

John Wirtz said:

I think Elston is an excellent PBL. Few intersection conflicts, a wide bike lane, and a nice buffer. Some parking issues still, but they didn't have the posts in yet last time I went through.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Adams 6.6 mi on July 27, 2012 at 10:56am

Just sent this to the 25th Ward alderman:

Greetings,

I am very grateful for the protected bike lane on the 18th Street Bridge. Riding over that bridge provides a view of the 25th Ward and the City that is unparalleled and inspiring. The new plates on the metal section of the bridge are like icing on the cake.

However, intersection of 18th and Wentworth, at least for eastbound riders remains problematic. There are (at least) two issues which threaten the safety of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

1. A privacy screen hanging on the fenced in property on the south west corner of the intersection creates a somewhat blind corner. As a result, drivers often creep out into the bike lane to get a view of potentially crossing traffic. The privacy screen prevents drivers from seeing pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists until they are well into the intersection.

I'm not sure if the City can do anything about a fence on private property (assuming it is private property) but it would be great if the City could at least bring up the issue with the property owner. Or perhaps there is another solution to this problem?

2. There is room for two motor vehicles to cross or turn onto 18th from northbound Wentworth. This can create a very hazardous situation as the view from the further east vehicle may be entirely blocked by another vehicle to its left. I'm not sure if two northbound (or turning) vehicles at that intersection is the intended use, but it is happening and it is dangerous. This could be addressed by a bumped out curb or other traffic calming device which would only allow one northbound car or truck into the intersection at a time.

I appreciate all that you've done and continue to do to keep our City safe and healthy. I look forward to hearing from your office about these issues. If my concerns should have instead been directly directly to CDOT I'd also be grateful for any suggested contacts there.

thanks,

Tony Adams

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Permalink Reply by Daniel G on July 27, 2012 at 12:15pm

First time on Elston, impressed. Done with Milwaukee. Screw the cabs, screw getting doored, screw anyone whose rides don't feel complete without daily near-death experiences. Cover the city with these lanes and watch the 1% trips-by-bicycle figure start to move.

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Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on July 27, 2012 at 4:40pm

Would be interested to hear whether yo get a response.

I've found Vince at the 25th to be great to deal with. He was forerly with streets/san and now he's on the office staff; he really knows the ward and he follows through.

Tony Adams said:

Just sent this to the 25th Ward alderman:

Greetings,

I am very grateful for the protected bike lane on the 18th Street Bridge. Riding over that bridge provides a view of the 25th Ward and the City that is unparalleled and inspiring. The new plates on the metal section of the bridge are like icing on the cake.

However, intersection of 18th and Wentworth, at least for eastbound riders remains problematic. There are (at least) two issues which threaten the safety of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

1. A privacy screen hanging on the fenced in property on the south west corner of the intersection creates a somewhat blind corner. As a result, drivers often creep out into the bike lane to get a view of potentially crossing traffic. The privacy screen prevents drivers from seeing pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists until they are well into the intersection.

I'm not sure if the City can do anything about a fence on private property (assuming it is private property) but it would be great if the City could at least bring up the issue with the property owner. Or perhaps there is another solution to this problem?
2. There is room for two motor vehicles to cross or turn onto 18th from northbound Wentworth. This can create a very hazardous situation as the view from the further east vehicle may be entirely blocked by another vehicle to its left. I'm not sure if two northbound (or turning) vehicles at that intersection is the intended use, but it is happening and it is dangerous. This could be addressed by a bumped out curb or other traffic calming device which would only allow one northbound car or truck into the intersection at a time.

I appreciate all that you've done and continue to do to keep our City safe and healthy. I look forward to hearing from your office about these issues. If my concerns should have instead been directly directly to CDOT I'd also be grateful for any suggested contacts there.

thanks,

Tony Adams