Bike lanes: Shared, conventional, buffered and protected

by Michelle Stenzel

We're going to be discussing potential locations of bike lanes in the next few weeks to help gather community opinions about where people would like to see major bike lane improvements on Chicago's north side. The CDOT Streets for Cycling 2020 project team is asking each Community Advisory Group (open to all, e-mail me at Michelle at KairiesStenzel dot com to join the North Side Community Advisory Group) to identify which streets we would like them to consider for upgrades in bicycling infrastructure.

The types of lanes that are considered "upgrades" are nicely laid out in the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, but since viewing that involves paging through lots of data, I'm making it easy for you by highlighting some basics. All images below are taken from the NACTO guide.

Neighborhood greenway survey results, and on to protected bike lanes!

By Michelle Stenzel

Thank you to everyone who took the survey about potential routes for neighborhood greenways on the north side. Based on the votes and comments on 16 routes, below are the top ten that have been submitted to the CDOT Streets for Cycling 2020 project team to be considered initially. We also submitted the other six for consideration at a future time, since each route got some measure of support, and we couldn’t bear leaving them on the cutting room floor.

Dickens Street near Oz Park is kind of already a neighborhood greenway. (Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park)

As you peruse the list, keep in mind that these are only recommendations for good routes to be considered, as determined by community members. Inclusion on this list does not mean that the street in question will in fact become a neighborhood greenway!