New Painted Bike Lanes, Curb Extensions Installed To Make Milwaukee Avenue Safer For Cyclists, Pedestrians

October 28, 2019
LOGAN SQUARE — A stretch of Logan Square’s Milwaukee Avenue now has painted bike lanes and new curb extensions thanks to a city effort to make one of the city’s busiest bike routes more safe.
The green painted bike lanes and curb extensions, sometimes referred to as pedestrian bump-outs, were added to Milwaukee Avenue between Sacramento and California avenues last week.
The project took crews about a week to complete, according to Susan Hofer, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Neighbors on social media largely cheered the project, saying the upgrades were “much-needed.”
“Always happy to see updates that make my bike commute safer. Of course further up Milwaukee is still filled with potholes and you can hardly see the bike lane,” neighbor Micaela Preskill said. Preskill bikes Milwaukee Avenue three or four times a week to get to her job Downtown.
Dave Scheidt, who lives at Milwaukee and California avenues, called the upgrades “great.”
“[I] cross that street every day and I think having clearly marked bike lanes and is helpful for everyone. It’s so dangerous over there traffic-wise so it’s better than nothing,” Scheidt said.
But some neighbors said the infrastructure upgrades aren’t enough to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe. They said the city should consider barriers and more education around cyclist safety, among other things.
“I appreciate the effort from the city but as others have stated the paint alone is useless without enforcement. Would love to have seen bike lanes protected between parking and the sidewalk,” one neighbor wrote on Twitter.
Another wrote: “Looks great! But like so many bike lanes I’m assuming many drivers will still park and drive on it regardless. Flexible bollards are quickly destroyed and rarely replaced. I wish paint like this went along with signage letting drivers know it’s illegal to obstruct the bike lanes.”
Hofer said the Logan Square project is part of a larger plan to improve safety along Milwaukee Avenue, one of the busiest roads for cyclists in the city.
“We’re looking for new opportunities along Milwaukee for next year,” she said.
The Logan Square project was estimated to cost $75,000.
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