(Note that in January 2012, it was announced that in Chicago, these bikeways will be called "neighborhood greenways".)
In our recent post about different types of bikeways, we touched on the idea of “bicycle boulevards” and today we’re going to elaborate on that concept so that you’re ready to participate in the upcoming bicycle boulevards planning session on November 20, 2011. (Full details at bottom of this post.)
In our recent post about different types of bikeways, we touched on the idea of “bicycle boulevards” and today we’re going to elaborate on that concept so that you’re ready to participate in the upcoming bicycle boulevards planning session on November 20, 2011. (Full details at bottom of this post.)
Bicyclists ride on Lincoln Park West at Webster on the morning of the Chicago Marathon, when traffic volumes are low. (Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park) |
Bike Walk Lincoln Park is working to put together an overall plan for suggested bicycle infrastructure improvements in Lincoln Park, to submit to the CDOT team putting together Chicago’s Streets For Cycling plan. Part of the city’s plan and our recommendations will be installing bicycle boulevards. (These will be in addition to, and not instead of the protected bike lanes that will also be installed.)
Anyone who is interested in participating in the “Lincoln Park Bicycle Boulevards Plan and Ride” is welcome. Just read this post and click on the links for detailed information. Think about which streets in Lincoln Park that you feel might be appropriate as bicycle boulevards.
Then join us (co-chairs Michael Reynolds and Michelle Stenzel) on Sunday, November 20 for the planning session. We’ll meet at CityGrounds coffee bar at 8:30 am for coffee and a half-hour review of the concept of bike boulevards. Then we’ll mount our bikes and ride the streets, taking pictures and mental notes about aspects that might work or not, for each stretch. Michael and Michelle (and anyone else who wants to help!) will compile the information into some kind of useable form, and we’ll be on our way to making sure that Lincoln Park becomes a more bike-friendly neighborhood.
A bike boulevard in Portland, Oregon. Notice the baby enjoying the ride. (Picture seen on MiaBirk.com) |
OK, so what is a bicycle boulevard? It’s a quiet street with low traffic volumes that is made even more bike-friendly by using methods to minimize the number of cars, reduce their speed, and make bicyclists more visible. The goal is to make the street so welcoming for bicyclists that everyone feels safe riding on them.
These are not necessarily meant to be long commuting routes, and they won’t take the place of bike lanes like Lincoln Avenue. They are meant as quiet neighborhood routes that mothers can use to ride with their children on their own bikes to get to school or to a park, or that senior citizens -- or any-aged citizen -- can ride to go to the grocery store, or library.
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, and since many North American cities are in various stage of introducing bike boulevards, we’ll just borrow, with thanks, their educational materials. Sometimes a video is worth a thousand words, so first watch this video about Berkeley’s bike boulevards, from Streetfilms. It’s eight minutes long.
Now look at this page from Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (their equivalent of Chicago’s Active Transportation Alliance), specifically click on the elements in the “Toolkit” labelled “Auto Speed Reduction”, “Auto Traffic Reduction”, etc to read about elements used in creating bike boulevards.
Giant bike symbols on Berkeley's bike boulevards send the message that bikes belong. (Picture seen on DavidBaker+Partners.com) |
As you see from those sources, a bicycle boulevard doesn’t CONTAIN a bike lane, the street IS the bike lane. Auto drivers are expected to drive at reduced speeds (ideally 15 mph, in our opinion) and will be encouraged to do so through the use of speed humps, bump outs and mini traffic circles. They’ll be expecting the presence of cyclist due to the presence of signs remind them that it’s a bicycle boulevard. Berkeley has giant bicycle stencils on the street that reinforce the message that bicyclists are allowed to use the full width of the lane.
In order to reduce car traffic and discourage drivers from using the street as a short cut, there are occasionally diverters that make cars turn, while allowing bikes and pedestrians through. The diagram below shows a very elaborate diverter on a bike boulevard that makes a slight jog, but many diverters are made simply by strategic placement of bollards.
Wait, carcentric Los Angeles is putting bike boulevards in, and Chicago doesn't have any yet?!? (Rendering of LA traffic diverter by Aaron Kuehn seen on Ciclavia.wordpress.com) |
Here’s an important thing to remember for Lincoln Park: Even if a side street is one way for car traffic, it can be made into a two-way boulevard for bicyclists. On street parking remains in place and is considered a positive because it narrows the street and calms traffic. Since bicyclists ride in the center of the lane, they are out of the "door zone".
In order to make sure bicyclists can move along at a steady pace without many interruptions, stop signs are “turned” in their favor, which means that intersections of two side streets that were previously four-way stops, become two-way stops, with the bike boulevard traffic no longer required to stop.
If the bike boulevard crosses a major street, there are signals placed to make sure the bike traffic can cross safely and expeditiously.
Signage is placed to help bicyclists stay on the route and to calculate distances. We love that they often don’t just tell the bicyclist that a destination is a certain distance, but also the time it will take to get there.
Portland Bicycle Boulevards sign. "Milwaukie" is a town in Oregon, not a misprint. (Image seen on NewUrbanNetwork.com) |
We think bicycle boulevards will be a terrific addition to Chicago's bikeways network, because they'll encourage people who would never consider riding in the city because even on-street bike lanes like the ones on Armitage or Lincoln don’t feel safe enough.
If you’re one of those people, you’re in good company: An enormous number of people in Chicago fall into the category of “interested but too scared” to bike, and we don’t blame you. Where’s the link to the survey backing up our claim of “enormous numbers of scared people”, you ask? We don’t have one, but if our statement weren’t true, we would see thousands of people on the streets of Lincoln Park on their bikes every day, and only a few hundred in their cars, instead of the other way around. But we’ll get there...with your help.
Maybe Lill Street near Jonquil Park would be a good bike boulevard? (Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park) |
So join us on November 20. Mark your calendar. We’ll send you an e-mail invite if you’re on the e-mail list (contact us at bikewalklincolnpark@gmail.com to join the list). We’re looking forward to planning with you.
Lincoln Park Bicycle Boulevards Plan and Ride
Sunday, November 20, 2011
8:30 am to 11:00 am (?)
Start at CityGrounds Coffee Bar, upstairs
507 W. Dickens (just west of Lincoln, next to Four Farthings)
RSVP appreciated for planning purposes: Michelle/Michael at bikewalklincolnpark@gmail.com
When you talk about the T20 World Cup, the most influencing factor when it comes to judging the player’s current form and player selection. Ever since the inception of IPL, the tournament has produced a number of players that not only played for the national team but also went on to become successful https://www.koobit.com/kids-carnival-day-e3460.
ReplyDeleteWithin the context of the basketball world, Portland is commonly referred to as “Rip City”. Many longtime Trail Blazer fans know the origin of the term (not all), but younger fans, newer fans, and fans of other teams may not be aware of the history. For those who are unaware and those who would like a refresher, here is how Portland became “Rip City” here.
ReplyDeleteApachis offers more advanced design tools , which means there is a slightly steeper learning curve. Generally, apachis isn’t as intuitive , and it can take longer to make changes to your website. However, if you have basic tech skills and know your way around a computer, you’ll pick up apachis quite quickly and you’ll love the different template styles available, which make it nearly impossible to go wrong https://apachis.com/best-web-hosting-for-beginners-low-cost-web-hosting/.
ReplyDeleteFor old-school crafters, embroidering often means of spending hours needling colorful floss through a hooped piece of fabric. And though the traditional embroidering method may be relaxing, it may be worth investing in an multi needle embroidery machine to give your hands a break.
ReplyDeleteWe offer a new type of fat reduction and body Caliente Contouring service. Using acupuncture needles and a heat source, we can melt problematic or lingering fat away from chins, waists, arms, legs, and more. No surgery, no downtime. Natural looking results.
ReplyDeleteWe offer a winning combination of contemporary, international technology and effective personal care.We provide patients and their families with high-standard medical care. You can now avail different types of diagnostics tests all under one roof. We are equipped with a team of highly professional and qualified doctors, technicians and other staff with years of experience check here.
ReplyDeleteStart with our picks for the Best Sublimation Printer For T-Shirts below. These are the ones we recommend based on our testing and in-depth printer reviews.Our printer reviews cover more than just the standard print/scan/copy combination units that are so popular on store shelves.
ReplyDeleteWriting a paper is hard when there’s a storm of thoughts in your head and the deadline is looming closer. That’s why we’re here to relieve your stress and write papers for you. Our trained academic paper writers are ready to pen a paper from scratch, plagiarism-free, and strictly on deadline paperswriting.services.
ReplyDeletefreepaperwriter research paper writer is a custom paper writing service that makes student life easier. We help students make their busy days hassle-free and get time for way more fun. Use our service to meet any deadline and write any type of paper. We write samples of works from scratch only and double-check each paper with premium anti-plagiarism software. Want proof? Get a plagiarism report upon request.
ReplyDeleteLooking for a high-quality Parts Of Spinning Reel before your next big expedition? FishUSA has a fantastic assortment of spin reels for sale. Offering a wide range of versatility, our fishing spinning reels go perfectly with our spinning rods to provide any angler with a world-class fishing experience.
ReplyDeletecable installation refers to the practice of bringing in an outside company or individual to perform specific parts of a contract or project. In most cases, a company subcontracts another business to perform a task that cannot be handled internally. We deliver on our promise of assessment, installation and repair of security and electrical systems.
ReplyDeleteMonolith Moving Company provides traditional full-service offerings, such as packing and unpacking and loading and unloading moving help. It also provides special handling for large or valuable items like pianos, fine arts and antiques.
ReplyDeleteSitting in a place and having control of your device is an easy option. Sometimes, the TV may not function properly. In that case, you can use the universal remote codes to connect any remote to your TV. If your Philips TV remote is not working, you can pair any of the universal remotes using the remote codes. Let’s see what the universal remote codes are available for Philips Smart TV and how to use them visit us.
ReplyDeleteIn today’s world, it is very difficult to find the best assignment help websites that can give quality assignments. People often complain that they cannot find reliable psychology assignment help websites that can deliver quality assignments.
ReplyDeleteThere is a plane coat associated with Gale Anne Hurd's faction exemplary film The Terminator. It was given as a gift in the wake of shooting to her creation colleague and has a letter from Pacific Western Productions saying thanks to them for their persistent effort, it is an extraordinarily uncommon and huge relic from this persuasive sci-fi film.
ReplyDeleteHere we get Instagram Modified version which is safe and easy to use here
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was a great touch and focus related to bicycle tour. At first I would love to praise of the first one picture that made me crazy for its natural beauty. The road shaped by the tree with yellow leave- oh - that was enchanting! Love your sweet presentation and tour details though I was eager to dive into the contents related to biker wallet chain. Thanks for everything you did here for us.
ReplyDeleteI have learned huge knowledge from here. I am waiting for your updates
ReplyDeleteRegards: body wave wig
In the event that you recently trudged up the slope at 6mph, however can handle a similar slope at 12mph with an electric bike, you will see 33% less vehicles, and they will pass you at 18mph as opposed to 24mph. Or possibly, we imagine that is right. Macfox-2
ReplyDeleteYou there, this is really good post here. Thanks for taking the time to post such valuable information. Quality content is what always gets the visitors coming. CINDERELLA SOLUTION
ReplyDeleteblog comments service
Thanks for the post here
ReplyDeleteMagnavox
Biking to work is a great way to start the day with a clear mind. electric commuter bike
ReplyDelete