Submitted by Jan Smith on Sun, 06/08/2008 - 9:13pm.
Where are good safe spots to ride? Preferably to get over to the lakefront. I don't really trust drivers not to run over me on the main roads in town, so I'm looking for other pleasant rides that aren't so dangerous.
Submitted by Scooter Rating (not verified) on Thu, 07/31/2008 - 8:49am.
They need more bike lanes in Evanston, that's for sure. But who will fund them? The politicians are too busy funding things that they themselves have use for, but what about the citizens?
Submitted by DLS (not verified) on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 11:11am.
Anyone feeling pretty disappointed in the new bike routes? They seem to have no logical route to go anywhere. For example, say you want to bike up Dodge to ETHS. As soon as you hit the busiest area (the Dempster St shopping area), bam! the bike route disappears--and that's just where you need the protected space. Try going north on Asbury. Again, just as you hit the terrifying s-curve at Dempster--bike lane disappears.
Then, the issue of bike racks--actually, no bike racks. I defy anyone to find a bike rack space at either the library or Rotary Center by 11 am. Last week, at 4:30 at Rotary there was not even a single street sign on the block that didn't have a bike tied to it. When are we going to get adequate parking? People are already using bikes as viable transportation, but the facilities aren't there. It's time to stop treating bicycling as a toy or a diverting fitness activity--it's serious transportation.
Reply:
More bike racks are scheduled to be installed downtown ... but I hear it likely won't happen until fall.
-- Bill Smith
Submitted by Bike Lady (not verified) on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 8:56pm.
Bike Parking along the Davis Metra stop is also hilarious! Every parking meter, every sign pole, I've even seen bikes locked to garbage cans.
But, If I worked close to Rotary, I'd park in the enclosed bike space in the Sherman Ave. garage. Your bike is out of the weather, and there's a security cameras as well. It means you have to walk a block, but heck, you get to walk past Argo Tea!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 06/28/2008 - 9:07pm.
I drive in Evanston rarely (It's small enough to train or walk almost every where i go), but I've ALMOST hit bicycllists probably about once every two weeks because they do not obey red lights or stopsigns. Anyone know why this is the case? Do police ticket for this?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 06/26/2008 - 4:19pm.
One simple rule is to stay off the primary streets and use side streets that run parallel. For example, go down Hinman rather than Chicago Ave and Lincoln rather than Central. Following this rule eliminates most of the danger when riding around Evanston.
Submitted by christian (not verified) on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 6:18pm.
In my opinion they should really allow cycling against one way streets on designated bike lanes, especially in church and Davis. The bike lanes they have there now are pretty useless, as the streets are broad enough anyway -> move them to the other side!
Submitted by Christian Soto (not verified) on Sat, 06/28/2008 - 8:53am.
Cycling against traffic in designated lanes actually works and is implemented in numerous cities already. But consider the issues first.
To state that the lanes on Davis Street are useless is not accurate. Your use of the lane(s) may not represent the opinions of the whole. Bicycle and motor vehicle traffic are both heavy during business hours. Prior to the lanes being painted vehicles pretty much had their way with the street. Double parking on the north side, hugging the parked cars on the same side as they sped past, etc. These are all but a few examples of unnecessary hazards to the average cyclist faced on a daily basis.
Now the clearly marked lanes offer cyclists a visible border where they can safely travel. Motorists recognize this and no longer view cyclists as an obstruction impeding the way on their street.
Because parking, for the most part, is parallel it makes it easy for a motorist to spot a cyclist approaching from the east or west. But when you decide to move the bike lane to the south side of the street where there is diagonal parking as is the case between Maple and Oak you then have a recipe for disaster.
As it is, motorists have a miserable time pulling out of the diagonal parking spots without being plowed into from behind. If a motorist has to focus that much of their attention to that part of the road there is little hope of expecting them to focus much attention to a cyclist approaching from the opposite one. Add turns to the scenario as there is between Benson and Sherman and you now have a blind turn to face as a cyclist. With two sections of Davis rendered inadequate for this type of bicycle lane it is safe to say that the whole street is also unsuitable. What's the point of having an interrupted lane of travel.
Bicycling lanes that allow cyclists to ride against traffic is a great idea. But it requires quite a bit of forethought to ensure the safety of both it's users and those that have to drive near it. A broad street alone dose not warrant the implementation of an oncoming bicycle traffic lane.
The solution would be to work with city planners to help understand what the goals are. A larger issue at hand is why bike lanes end abruptly interrupting safe travel routes without any coherent connection to the next one? Or why in certain areas the roads marked with bike lanes are so poorly paved? A bike lane that forces a cyclist into traffic to avoid its potholes is a useless one, indeed.
Submitted by Christian (not verified) on Sun, 08/24/2008 - 2:03pm.
thanks for your reply, did not read it in a while unfortunately. Of course, it was an exaggeration to say that the bike lanes are useless. But I do not feel a lot safer since the bike lanes have been introduced: Many cars ignore them e.g to use them as short term parking, and in winter the are not cleared from snow. Cycling against traffic would make a real differencel, however, particularily on Church street. Coming from north there is now other way to reach the area between Metra and Ridge - a place where many students live - than to make the detour on Davis (or riding illegaly e.g. on Ridge) . However even a very short bike lane that starts at the Borders and ends at ridge (or even better two block west where church stops being one-way) would be extremely useful.
Submitted by Candace Hill on Tue, 06/10/2008 - 9:49am.
There has never been a better time to ride your bike in Evanston, but you are best to stay off the same routes you use with your car. Select bike routes are marked all through the city with signs pointing the best and safest ways to go. Check in at a local bike shop to see if these are marked on a recent map.
Our family uses:
Asbury for north/south, usually lots of room on the streets,
Maple for north/south, a very nice route that runs nearly the entire city along with Elmwood south of Main Street.
Judson is a great north/south route, NU to South Blvd, with brand new very smooth blacktop and relaxed residential traffic.
And, if you really want to travel swift and fast, the sidewalks on the east side of Ridge work really well. No pedestrian traffic and cars crossing east/west of Ridge must stop and yield. Especially late at night, this is a great way to get home safely.
In South Evanston, Lee street takes you straight to the beach. You can take kids down the sidewalk on South Blvd.
The neighborhoods directly south of Oakton (east and west) have lovely calm streets for biking. Most people don't know about the "secret" gate from James Park to the street behind Target. This is the safest way to get to the Skokie sculpture park paths with kids. It's much safer to approach the Target/Jewel from behind rather than from Howard.
With kids, the sidewalks on Main Street west of Ridge are good, not very many pedestrians. We also use Dodge sidewalks for the same reason, they are very wide and safe with children on bikes. Be ready for surprises between Main and Dempster and Dempster and Church. There's lots of odd turns, street ends, corners with steps, busy intersections, and industrial areas. This is a real fun part of Evanston to explore on a bike, with some darling neighborhoods, but you can find yourself at a very busy corner with nowhere to go.
If you have never done so, the canal bike path in Evanston, (the east side), is a real fun ride. From the south, you get on at Main St., just before the bridge. There's even a little parking lot here. You will bike through parks you didn't know Evanston had. It gets a little fussy to cross at Dempster and then you have to use the alley go around King Lab, and then very busy at Church and Emerson. No crosswalks or light so not for little ones on trikes. BUT, the reward is a really nice path and ending at Twiggs Park. You can cross the canal at Bridge street at the Ecology Center, and then up to Central to snack at Great Harvest Bread Company, a worthy goal for any bike ride. Or, you can keep on the path into Twigs and cross Green Bay to Noyes to go downtown via Maple.
I've learned the hard way that in Downtown Evanston using the streets, exactly as if you were a car, is the best way to go. You can't ride your bike on the sidewalks, and the one-ways can get you into trouble. I just put my little old lady self right there in the middle of the lane and make the cars deal with me.
Working in downtown Evanston, I've seen a huge increase in the number of bikes on the streets and parked at the train stations. I keep looking for all the new bike racks that the Chicago Bike Federation were going to install? Why so late? The best place to lock your bike these days is at the Maple Ave. Garage, right under the nose of the security guards. Any thief will be caught on the security camera. Also the new Sherman Ave. garage has a nice parking facility.
We should organize an EvanstonNow bike tour! Bill, how about it.
Submitted by Evanston RLA on Mon, 06/09/2008 - 2:23pm.
I've found that Lincoln Ave is a good East/West road through Evanston. It's wide, doesn't have too many cars and doesn't have too many stop signs. You can ride it all the way to the lakefront through NU's campus too.
I agree about the main roads though. Even with the new bike lanes, riding on Davis or Church to go East/West can be a little dicey at times. Too many cars driving around looking for parking spaces instead of looking at the road!
Submitted by Jim Mizell on Tue, 06/10/2008 - 6:55pm.
Has anyone been nailed by one of "Evanston's finest' for riding your bike on the sidewalk, counter to oneway street traffic. I have many 'a time!
My takeaway....... Save some $ on gas, get some exercise pedaling during your errands. But, be prepared to go thru the maze, while wasting a lot of time. Be prepared with some lame explanation, when you're nailed.
Of course, you could walk, run or jog ?
Rush North Shore Medical Center, in collaboration with the Cancer Wellness Center hosts a free cancer support program, "Laughter Yoga" on Thursday, September 18, at 11:00 a.m., 9701 N. Knox, Skokie.
A new exhibit of contemporary photos of ancient Native American rock art of the southwestern U.S. is on display through Oct. 5 at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central St. in Evanston.
To help community members with their fall cleanup efforts, the City of Evanston's Streets and Sanitation Division offer four days of free bulk garbage collections.
The City of Evanston receives approximately $2 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds annually to address housing and economic development needs of low- and moderate-income residents and make capital improvements in the CDBG Target Areas.
They need more bike lanes in Evanston
They need more bike lanes in Evanston, that's for sure. But who will fund them? The politicians are too busy funding things that they themselves have use for, but what about the citizens?
Bikes in Evanston
Anyone feeling pretty disappointed in the new bike routes? They seem to have no logical route to go anywhere. For example, say you want to bike up Dodge to ETHS. As soon as you hit the busiest area (the Dempster St shopping area), bam! the bike route disappears--and that's just where you need the protected space. Try going north on Asbury. Again, just as you hit the terrifying s-curve at Dempster--bike lane disappears.
Then, the issue of bike racks--actually, no bike racks. I defy anyone to find a bike rack space at either the library or Rotary Center by 11 am. Last week, at 4:30 at Rotary there was not even a single street sign on the block that didn't have a bike tied to it. When are we going to get adequate parking? People are already using bikes as viable transportation, but the facilities aren't there. It's time to stop treating bicycling as a toy or a diverting fitness activity--it's serious transportation.
Reply:
More bike racks are scheduled to be installed downtown ... but I hear it likely won't happen until fall.
-- Bill Smith
Garage Parking
Bike Parking along the Davis Metra stop is also hilarious! Every parking meter, every sign pole, I've even seen bikes locked to garbage cans.
But, If I worked close to Rotary, I'd park in the enclosed bike space in the Sherman Ave. garage. Your bike is out of the weather, and there's a security cameras as well. It means you have to walk a block, but heck, you get to walk past Argo Tea!
Bike route or not, biking on
Bike route or not, biking on dodge or asbury is, IMO, asking for trouble. There are more than enough side streets in that area with far less traffic.
I drive in Evanston rarely
I drive in Evanston rarely (It's small enough to train or walk almost every where i go), but I've ALMOST hit bicycllists probably about once every two weeks because they do not obey red lights or stopsigns. Anyone know why this is the case? Do police ticket for this?
One simple rule is to stay
One simple rule is to stay off the primary streets and use side streets that run parallel. For example, go down Hinman rather than Chicago Ave and Lincoln rather than Central. Following this rule eliminates most of the danger when riding around Evanston.
one-way
In my opinion they should really allow cycling against one way streets on designated bike lanes, especially in church and Davis. The bike lanes they have there now are pretty useless, as the streets are broad enough anyway -> move them to the other side!
Cycling against traffic in
Cycling against traffic in designated lanes actually works and is implemented in numerous cities already. But consider the issues first.
To state that the lanes on Davis Street are useless is not accurate. Your use of the lane(s) may not represent the opinions of the whole. Bicycle and motor vehicle traffic are both heavy during business hours. Prior to the lanes being painted vehicles pretty much had their way with the street. Double parking on the north side, hugging the parked cars on the same side as they sped past, etc. These are all but a few examples of unnecessary hazards to the average cyclist faced on a daily basis.
Now the clearly marked lanes offer cyclists a visible border where they can safely travel. Motorists recognize this and no longer view cyclists as an obstruction impeding the way on their street.
Because parking, for the most part, is parallel it makes it easy for a motorist to spot a cyclist approaching from the east or west. But when you decide to move the bike lane to the south side of the street where there is diagonal parking as is the case between Maple and Oak you then have a recipe for disaster.
As it is, motorists have a miserable time pulling out of the diagonal parking spots without being plowed into from behind. If a motorist has to focus that much of their attention to that part of the road there is little hope of expecting them to focus much attention to a cyclist approaching from the opposite one. Add turns to the scenario as there is between Benson and Sherman and you now have a blind turn to face as a cyclist. With two sections of Davis rendered inadequate for this type of bicycle lane it is safe to say that the whole street is also unsuitable. What's the point of having an interrupted lane of travel.
Bicycling lanes that allow cyclists to ride against traffic is a great idea. But it requires quite a bit of forethought to ensure the safety of both it's users and those that have to drive near it. A broad street alone dose not warrant the implementation of an oncoming bicycle traffic lane.
The solution would be to work with city planners to help understand what the goals are. A larger issue at hand is why bike lanes end abruptly interrupting safe travel routes without any coherent connection to the next one? Or why in certain areas the roads marked with bike lanes are so poorly paved? A bike lane that forces a cyclist into traffic to avoid its potholes is a useless one, indeed.
thanks for your reply, did
thanks for your reply, did not read it in a while unfortunately. Of course, it was an exaggeration to say that the bike lanes are useless. But I do not feel a lot safer since the bike lanes have been introduced: Many cars ignore them e.g to use them as short term parking, and in winter the are not cleared from snow. Cycling against traffic would make a real differencel, however, particularily on Church street. Coming from north there is now other way to reach the area between Metra and Ridge - a place where many students live - than to make the detour on Davis (or riding illegaly e.g. on Ridge) . However even a very short bike lane that starts at the Borders and ends at ridge (or even better two block west where church stops being one-way) would be extremely useful.
Evanston Bike Routes
There has never been a better time to ride your bike in Evanston, but you are best to stay off the same routes you use with your car. Select bike routes are marked all through the city with signs pointing the best and safest ways to go. Check in at a local bike shop to see if these are marked on a recent map.
Our family uses:
Asbury for north/south, usually lots of room on the streets,
Maple for north/south, a very nice route that runs nearly the entire city along with Elmwood south of Main Street.
Judson is a great north/south route, NU to South Blvd, with brand new very smooth blacktop and relaxed residential traffic.
And, if you really want to travel swift and fast, the sidewalks on the east side of Ridge work really well. No pedestrian traffic and cars crossing east/west of Ridge must stop and yield. Especially late at night, this is a great way to get home safely.
In South Evanston, Lee street takes you straight to the beach. You can take kids down the sidewalk on South Blvd.
The neighborhoods directly south of Oakton (east and west) have lovely calm streets for biking. Most people don't know about the "secret" gate from James Park to the street behind Target. This is the safest way to get to the Skokie sculpture park paths with kids. It's much safer to approach the Target/Jewel from behind rather than from Howard.
With kids, the sidewalks on Main Street west of Ridge are good, not very many pedestrians. We also use Dodge sidewalks for the same reason, they are very wide and safe with children on bikes. Be ready for surprises between Main and Dempster and Dempster and Church. There's lots of odd turns, street ends, corners with steps, busy intersections, and industrial areas. This is a real fun part of Evanston to explore on a bike, with some darling neighborhoods, but you can find yourself at a very busy corner with nowhere to go.
If you have never done so, the canal bike path in Evanston, (the east side), is a real fun ride. From the south, you get on at Main St., just before the bridge. There's even a little parking lot here. You will bike through parks you didn't know Evanston had. It gets a little fussy to cross at Dempster and then you have to use the alley go around King Lab, and then very busy at Church and Emerson. No crosswalks or light so not for little ones on trikes. BUT, the reward is a really nice path and ending at Twiggs Park. You can cross the canal at Bridge street at the Ecology Center, and then up to Central to snack at Great Harvest Bread Company, a worthy goal for any bike ride. Or, you can keep on the path into Twigs and cross Green Bay to Noyes to go downtown via Maple.
I've learned the hard way that in Downtown Evanston using the streets, exactly as if you were a car, is the best way to go. You can't ride your bike on the sidewalks, and the one-ways can get you into trouble. I just put my little old lady self right there in the middle of the lane and make the cars deal with me.
Working in downtown Evanston, I've seen a huge increase in the number of bikes on the streets and parked at the train stations. I keep looking for all the new bike racks that the Chicago Bike Federation were going to install? Why so late? The best place to lock your bike these days is at the Maple Ave. Garage, right under the nose of the security guards. Any thief will be caught on the security camera. Also the new Sherman Ave. garage has a nice parking facility.
We should organize an EvanstonNow bike tour! Bill, how about it.
Sincerely, the Bike Lady
Re: Bike Riding in Evanston
I've found that Lincoln Ave is a good East/West road through Evanston. It's wide, doesn't have too many cars and doesn't have too many stop signs. You can ride it all the way to the lakefront through NU's campus too.
I agree about the main roads though. Even with the new bike lanes, riding on Davis or Church to go East/West can be a little dicey at times. Too many cars driving around looking for parking spaces instead of looking at the road!
Downtown one way strrets a bike maze !!
Has anyone been nailed by one of "Evanston's finest' for riding your bike on the sidewalk, counter to oneway street traffic. I have many 'a time!
My takeaway....... Save some $ on gas, get some exercise pedaling during your errands. But, be prepared to go thru the maze, while wasting a lot of time. Be prepared with some lame explanation, when you're nailed.
Of course, you could walk, run or jog ?
Anyone else experienced this ?
Post new comment