The Chainlink

I look forward to improvements on the Lakefront Path but detours must be provided while construction is underway.  This is unacceptable:

(Southbound just south of E Waldron Drive)

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My husband said today that he was able to bypass the seawall by using the tunnels under McCormick. Heading south, they spit you out at Ft Dearborn Drive.

It's probably much safer overall, and he says it's much faster.

I had no idea that the tunnel was accessible to bikes! I'm definitely going to try this. Since they closed the section just north of the 31st beach, it has become more difficult to use the seawalls.

Thanks for the heads up.

Confirmed, I did it this a.m. Pretty wonderful. Only one car.

Yeah, me too. I did it heading north and south. Pretty fantastic.

The only caveat is that the tunnel is technically one way traffic (northbound), so one is going the wrong way when heading south. I think though if you have lights on when in the tunnel, you shouldn't run into issues with auto drivers.

The southbound tunnel just wraps around the other sides of the building, so it's possible always to ride with the traffic... should there be any.

Thanks for posting about this. I took the tunnels under McCormick on Friday and it's super cool to skip the seawall there. I'm looking forward to using the tunnels to escape from the cold on winter commutes too. It's usually about right around McCormick on my morning commutes when my toes are so cold I'm thinking "WHY WHY AM I OUT HERE IN THE COLD!" Tucking under McCormick for a minute or two to get out of the wind and warm up sounds like a plan that'll make things just a bit more pleasant.

I saw someone coming south through the parking lot at 31st street beach who looked like maybe they had done that.  Would your husband be able to give us more details about how to follow that route?  I tried looking for a way to cut through, heading south at McCormick, and I couldn't find one. I know there is a route that goes through because we ran through it once on a running race (yes, the official course)  but I think it would be the "wrong way" for traffic.  I didn't try to do that on my bike. If others have, it would be good to know what they encountered.  Thanks!

Not sure if all these new bike lane adjustments are gonna work out alright... Got a little disoriented on my commute home the other evening.

lol

Heads up. The extent of closed trail has extended south even further. Now access to the 31st st beach and the adjacent underpass are shut off. This effectively eliminates the sea wall as a detour. 

This means that the detour through McCormick is the only viable nearby detour. 

Here is the extent of current closure:

Blocking off that underpass is especially frustrating and seemingly pointless. At the southern end of the 31st St parking lot, I crossed the trail to go around that concession stand (had to walk on the sandy part). Crossing the trail brought me quite close to the equipment. I now see I might be able to continue down Ft Dearborn Drive... maybe. They need signs. 

Also, when I was returning home around 8 p.m. Monday night, the southern end of the northbound McCormick tunnel had a gate across it. I snuck my bike under and haven't been arrested yet. Northern end was unblocked.

I'm worried that some morning or evening I'm just not going to be able to complete my commute.

Totally agree that underpass closure is pointless. 

Here is the detour that worked for me to deal with it. 

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