CHICAGO — The city installed more than 50 miles of bike-friendly routes in 2023, the first part of a larger plan announced last year to build 150 additional miles of bike thoroughfares, officials said.
The Chicago Department of Transportation released its Chicago Cycling Strategy in March, laying out plans to hit the 150-mile goal “in the next couple of years.” City-designated bikeways include protected bike lanes, neighborhood greenways and other routes with painted bike markings.
The department installed about 55 miles of bikeways in 2023, including some currently under construction, Complete Streets manager David Smith told alderpeople Wednesday during a meeting of the City Council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety.
That includes 27 miles of either new or “upgraded” protected bike lanes, meaning concrete barriers were added to streets with unprotected lanes, according to numbers presented Wednesday. A map of Chicago’s existing bike network can be found here.
The progress comes as bicycling and transportation advocates urge city leaders to establish a fully connected — and protected — “bike grid” to give riders safe pathways to travel all over the city.
Transportation officials pledged to install concrete barriers along all existing protected bike lanes by the end of 2023. Acting transportation commissioner Tom Carney told alderpeople in fall budget hearings the department would complete “95 percent” of the protected bike lanes upgrades by the end of the year, and the remaining locations will be finished by spring 2024.
Bike advocates, city officials and policymakers have said the city’s disjointed bike grid creates dangerous conditions that result in bicyclists being injured or killed.
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Smith said last year’s construction is a step toward accomplishing the department’s broader vision for safe bicycling in neighborhoods and across the city.
“2023 really was an exciting year, and I think sets the tone and the stage for how we move forward in the years to come,” he told alderpeople. “When we design our streets and adopt policies that prioritize those most vulnerable, we improve the safety and accessibility for everybody using the street.”
Smith didn’t have an exact number for how many miles of bike lanes the city hopes to build in 2024, but he said what was constructed in 2023 can be seen as a model for what the city could achieve this year.
Wednesday’s update was received positively by most members of the traffic committee, although some alderpeople differed on how and where the city should be adding bike lanes. Many bicycling advocates have criticized the influence alderpeople exert over bike lane installation through aldermanic prerogative and menu money spending.
That point was echoed by Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) on Wednesday, who said transportation officials at City Hall should be the ones making decisions about the citywide bike network.
“I don’t believe Michigan Avenue was established as a street because people asked every neighborhood community if you want to have a street going through your neighborhood, right?” he said. “Top down from the executive branch, they decided to develop a full street infrastructure to connect people, and so I think similarly, when you think about bike infrastructure, it should be that same approach.”
But Ald. David Moore (17th) said local input from neighbors and their elected representatives is important to make sure communities receive support for their most-needed infrastructure projects, whether they be bike lanes or something else.
“Communities have to dictate what they want in their communities,” he said. “I do support bike lanes, especially when there’s a large need for it. But in situations where we’re spending infrastructure dollars and there are so many communities who are vocalizing their concerns because they can’t even walk down the street because it’s so bad, and we’re spending infrastructure dollars on [bike lanes], that’s the last thing they want.”
Other alderpeople commended the transportation department for their bike lane expansion plans, while some, like Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th), asked for better coordination and communication about specific projects in their wards.
In 2023, the city’s expanded bike lane network included Complete Streets projects on Augusta Boulevard in Ukrainian Village, Belmont and Kedzie avenues in Avondale and other thoroughfares.
Similar projects on Milwaukee Avenue in Bucktown and Grand Avenue in West Town are under construction, and feature reduced speed limits, shorter crosswalks and upgraded bus stops. Smith on Wednesday said CDOT installed around 40 bus boarding islands last year.
All Complete Streets projects can be tracked on the city’s website.
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