The Chainlink

CityLab Article on Curbee in Chicago

The Curbee Invites Cyclists to Rest at Red Lights

A Copenhagen urban-biking staple finds its way to Chicago.

Image One of the first cyclists to try Curbee in Chicago. (Steven Vance )

Cyclists in Chicago just got a sweet new treat called Curbee, a streetside footrest and handrail that will make waiting for the red light much more enticing. 

Designed and installed by Steven Vance and Ryan Lakes, both active members of Chicago’s cycling community, the Curbee now lives at the corner of Milwaukee and Ogden Avenue. 



Though it's definitely inspired by biker footrests in Copenhagen, the Curbee is designed a little differently. For example, where its Scandinavian counterpart features a circular steel tube, the Curbee uses a square tube in order to prevent vandalism via pipe cutters. And taking a note from Chicago bike racks—which Vance says have proven largely durable—the Curbee is mounted right on top of the sidewalk rather than buried within it. 

The finished product may look simple, but the actual process of getting the Curbee up and running was long and complicated. Initially conceived in March 2013, the rollout for this first Curbee took over a year. Just to get started, Vance and Lakes had to enlist the help of a slew of local organizations: The bicycle law firm FK Law  funded the project, the Pedal to the People bike repair service fabricated the Curbee, and local bike non-profit West Town Bikes sponsored the public-use permit required for any sort of "street furniture." And in order for the permit to be approved by the City Council, the Curbee also had to get the blessing of the Chicago Department of Transportation and the local alderman. When the permit was finally approved about a month ago, the Curbee was installed shortly after. 

Vance and Lakes, testing out Curbee. 

Interested in installing a Curbee in your city? The team behind Curbee is taking custom orders online. The cost for one Curbee will range between $600 and $1,200, depending on the length of the rail, the height of the curb, and additional color and design options. But before shelling out a grand for the steel, it’s critical to first understand how a Curbee addition will affect its surrounding area. For example, if you want to put one in a business district, talking to the business alliance there might uncover whether the location is really a suitable one. In a phone interview, Vance says they had monitored the current Curbee location to make sure there was little pedestrian traffic—and of course, no bus stops that it would block.

In the week following its installation, Vance and Lakes have been observing how people are interacting with the Curbee. For example, they've noticed that the Curbee’s function is not totally obvious to some cyclists at first. That’s why the pair is considering adding a graphic of a footprint on the footplate, so people can look down and think, Oh, my foot belongs there. In any case, Vance expects people to catch on quickly over the next few weeks as they watch one another figure out their way around the new amenity.

(h/t Streetsblog Chicago

All images courtesy of Steven Vance.  

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Too funny and, sadly, true. So more people on bikes leads to more people complaining about people on bikes, which leads to... ?

h' 1.0 said:

Thus far more people on bikes has mostly resulted in more cyclists complaining about each-other.
 
Eric R said:

Amenities for people on bikes can lead to more people on bikes, which can lead to more amenities for people on bikes... which could possibly increase funding for better bike infrastructure including more bike racks - which would put more people on bikes.

 I'll be gladly using these when the opportunity arises.

YARN-BOMBING!!!!!

Eric R said:

Too funny and, sadly, true. So more people on bikes leads to more people complaining about people on bikes, which leads to... ?

h' 1.0 said:

Thus far more people on bikes has mostly resulted in more cyclists complaining about each-other.
 
Eric R said:

Amenities for people on bikes can lead to more people on bikes, which can lead to more amenities for people on bikes... which could possibly increase funding for better bike infrastructure including more bike racks - which would put more people on bikes.

 I'll be gladly using these when the opportunity arises.

This we can ALL get behind!

h' 1.0 said:

YARN-BOMBING!!!!!

Eric R said:

Too funny and, sadly, true. So more people on bikes leads to more people complaining about people on bikes, which leads to... ?

h' 1.0 said:

Thus far more people on bikes has mostly resulted in more cyclists complaining about each-other.
 
Eric R said:

Amenities for people on bikes can lead to more people on bikes, which can lead to more amenities for people on bikes... which could possibly increase funding for better bike infrastructure including more bike racks - which would put more people on bikes.

 I'll be gladly using these when the opportunity arises.

How is it a *useless* amenity? Someone stops at a light, instead of putting his or her leg on the ground they can stay on their saddle. It is simple design that makes riding a bike a teeny tiny bit better.

Jennifer on the lake said:

But how is this a useful amenity? We've all gotten by pretty well without them so far, and I don't see that this one piece of metal will be the thing that finally convinces somebody to transportate.

Eric R said:

Amenities for people on bikes can lead to more people on bikes, which can lead to more amenities for people on bikes... which could possibly increase funding for better bike infrastructure including more bike racks - which would put more people on bikes.

 I'll be gladly using these when the opportunity arises.

If you're all the way over at the curb, wouldn't this potentially put you in danger of being hit by right turning cars? 

I think that these work well in parts of Europe because of the nature of the Bike Paths and the like.  I think in the US they would work in some places, but not all.  For example, I think they would likely be wonderful in the Washington DC center of the street bike lanes. In those cases, the cars are not turning right, they are turning left across incoming car traffic and thus pause to look.

They would work at some Chicago Protected Bike Lanes.  But for most of the Chicago intersections, I think it does add to the right hook issue -- particularly as they would also keep you from being "forward" as they must be far enough back not to block the Pedestrians.  

Have you ever been to this intersection?

Elizabeth M. said:

If you're all the way over at the curb, wouldn't this potentially put you in danger of being hit by right turning cars? 

It encourages cyclist to actually STOP at a red light. 


Jennifer on the lake said:

Why is this important?

Wait....that's not legal?

Jordan Evangelista said:

It encourages cyclist to actually STOP at a red light. 


Jennifer on the lake said:

Why is this important?

Wow, you must really hate progress or think that progress means improving only one feature of our bike infrastructure at a time. Also, this was funded by a private company, not your taxes, most bike racks are installed by CDOT.


Jennifer on the lake said:

If you happen to stop at this intersection and only this intersection. And your bike is so amazingly improperly adjusted that you can't reach the ground with your toes while still on the saddle. Which just absolutely ruins your day every time you stop there and only there.

I'm with whoever said we need more parking than nonsense like this. Lack of secure parking is a consistent reason people cite for not bicycling to a destination. "I don't want to get out of my saddle waaaaa!" is not.


Eric R said:

How is it a *useless* amenity? Someone stops at a light, instead of putting his or her leg on the ground they can stay on their saddle. It is simple design that makes riding a bike a teeny tiny bit better.

Jennifer on the lake said:

But how is this a useful amenity? We've all gotten by pretty well without them so far, and I don't see that this one piece of metal will be the thing that finally convinces somebody to transportate.

Eric R said:

Amenities for people on bikes can lead to more people on bikes, which can lead to more amenities for people on bikes... which could possibly increase funding for better bike infrastructure including more bike racks - which would put more people on bikes.

 I'll be gladly using these when the opportunity arises.

This is the stupidest Chainlink argument in a while.

It quickly turned into a real life "Even Stepvhen" from the Daily Show.


Jeff Schneider said:

+1

Eli said:

This is the stupidest Chainlink argument in a while.

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