The Lake Street "Protected" lane makes about as much sense as

... the Jackson protected lane doesn't.

Great to see this coming together last weekend.

Name the intersections.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on June 14, 2012 at 8:35pm

I'm not enthused about the Lake Street bike lane either.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 14, 2012 at 9:39pm

Unlike most of the major routes chosen, this one doesn't seem to be finding any middle ground. People either love it or hate it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on June 14, 2012 at 10:12pm

Why not? This is a godsend for Oak Park area commuters who work downtown.

Steven Vance said:

I'm not enthused about the Lake Street bike lane either.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jared on June 14, 2012 at 10:33pm

I thought Washington or was it Warren had lanes and obviously no rail structure overhead. Wouldn't want to ride underneath the L if I had a choice.

h' said:

Why not? This is a godsend for Oak Park area commuters who work downtown.

Steven Vance said:

I'm not enthused about the Lake Street bike lane either.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on June 14, 2012 at 10:38pm

Why not? Seems to me a majority of Oak Park commuters already prefer Lake.

Jared said:

I thought Washington or was it Warren had lanes and obviously no rail structure overhead. Wouldn't want to ride underneath the L if I had a choice.

h' said:

Why not? This is a godsend for Oak Park area commuters who work downtown.

Steven Vance said:

I'm not enthused about the Lake Street bike lane either.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel G on June 14, 2012 at 10:53pm

I know the westsidecommuters use Lake, but I really have no idea why besides speed. Washington is lovely and Lake can get real hairy, fast.

h' said:

Why not? Seems to me a majority of Oak Park commuters already prefer Lake.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on June 14, 2012 at 10:54pm

Hairy in what way? I've definitely heard of more assaults on Washington than Lake.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel G on June 14, 2012 at 11:01pm

Well, I ride that part of town at about 7-8 in the morning so that's not a safety issue I have much experience with. The one time I took Lake in from OP, it was totally covered in glass in possibly the least desirable blocks in the city to get a flat tire on. I was given inches of space by anyone on the right side of the pylons in the Garfield Park sections. And metal pylons are just a bad thing to have in or near the road if you're going to wipe out. Washington/Warren is much calmer, all residential, and people seem to respect the bike lane. It's a nice ride, to be honest. I just can't see anyone saying the same thing about Lake.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on June 14, 2012 at 11:04pm

But doesn't the presence of a protected/buffered lane address exactly those deficiencies?

(except for the glass, of course)

Daniel G said:

Well, I ride that part of town at about 7-8 in the morning so that's not a safety issue I have much experience with. The one time I took Lake in from OP, it was totally covered in glass in possibly the least desirable blocks in the city to get a flat tire on. I was given inches of space by anyone on the right side of the pylons in the Garfield Park sections. And metal pylons are just a bad thing to have in or near the road if you're going to wipe out. Washington/Warren is much calmer, all residential, and people seem to respect the bike lane. It's a nice ride, to be honest. I just can't see anyone saying the same thing about Lake.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Daniel G on June 14, 2012 at 11:07pm

TBH, I really don't like the pylons. But I will give Lake another try when they finish the lane. It may be preferable to Washington at night.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on June 15, 2012 at 5:29am

Has there been complaints about too much marking going through the intersections for the bike lanes? It seems to me they have pulled WAY back on the dashed lines through the intersections in your photos compared to many earlier examples. Since it's going to wear away in short order I don't see why they would use less of it when it's going to start disappearing the moment it is laid down.

Or is it like the bollards on Kinzie where folks thought it was an "eye-sore" so they are cutting back. I'm sure driver's sense of aesthetics is MUCH more important than any silly bicyclist's safety. I guess as long as we have our magic hats on it's all OK.