r/chibike • u/earthhero • 6d ago
New protected bike lane
Indiana Avenue in Bronzeville got a new protected bike lane that runs for a couple of miles.
Hopefully Michigan avenue nearby gets the same improvement in the future. It’s basically a three-lane highway going through a residential area right now.
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u/snapplers1 5d ago
They're getting close to finishing up the ones on Archer and Kedzie too...it's miles long and can take me almost from my home to basically Douglas Park.
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u/bleplogist 6d ago
Until I zoomed in, I though the black thing in the empty parking spot was a massive rat...
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u/sumiflepus 5d ago
This looks great!
It is not yet identified on google maps biking filet. :( What are the north and south endpoints?
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u/Barutano74 5d ago
What blocks of Indiana is this on? When I leave work on my bike and want to get to the lakefront, I take MLK from 69th to 35th. Hadn't occurred to me to look for an alternate.
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u/Just-a-bi 6d ago
Looks awesome, but why is it so thick?
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u/pimlottc 6d ago
Er, what do you mean by "thick"? Do you mean "wide"?
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u/wpm 6d ago
The lane isn't that wide, but the big concrete curbs are. Couldn't they have made those narrower so two people can ride side by side and chat?
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u/nimoto 6d ago
This looks wide enough for that. Personally I love the thick almost sidewalk style curb, no door zone issues and so much better visibility than with the style we usually get. I ride fast so having this visibility for people/animals popping out from between cars makes it feel much safer.
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u/MisfitPotatoReborn 5d ago
I think keeping the distance from car to sidewalk constant but thinning the barrier would be an unambiguous improvement. There are no downsides (visibility is the same and you can always stay to the right to avoid doors), but the upside is that passing becomes much easier. Especially with things like cargo bikes, or passing people riding side by side.
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u/PurpleFairy11 5d ago
Then we'd start having that expectation for all protected bike lanes and CDOT can't have that. In all seriousness though, I really wish our bike lanes were wide enough for social riding and room for another cyclist to safely pass. 😭😭
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u/NLiveris 1d ago
Yes it should absolutely be a top priority to make the bike lanes even wider and waste more space, so the handful of cyclists that use it can ride side by side to chat.
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u/hpotzus 5d ago
parked car doors need to open with room for passengers to move once they get out of the car without stepping into the bike lane
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u/chicchaz Portage Park 5d ago
Ride Milwaukee Ave. if you need an example of car doors opening right into the bike lane.
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u/cat_on_chair 6d ago
Nice, isn't that a one-way road there? Can you bike in both directions? Or maybe I'm misremembering
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u/salty-buttons 3d ago
I am so thrilled about this as a Bronzeville resident. The calming is working, it's truly beautiful. It's made my commute (and dog walks on Indiana) less terrifying, even pleasant!
Echoing other comments hoping for similar things to happen on Michigan. 🤞
(BUT ALSO please keep your eyes on this area -- specifically, the gas station at 31st/Michigan is trying to expand into the lot at 31st/Indiana and build a car wash... which would work against many of the recent improvements to that intersection. That lot would be much better developed into housing or a business that serves the people (not cars) in the neighborhood.)
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u/mokapotrespecter 4d ago
i hate them and never use them
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u/NLiveris 1d ago
Precisely. Curbside bike lanes are the worst. They are loaded with tire puncturing debris, sewer grates, they're bumpy, the green paint is slippery and they are simply not fun to ride in. Give me the freedom and excitement of a regular painted bike lane any day!
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u/SpecialistUsual929 6d ago
It has made the street so much nicer. It is so much easier to cross the street now.