Last winter, South Dearborn in the Loop was reconfigured to make way for the first two-way bike lane in Chicago.
One of the parking lanes was moved away from the curb to create a protected space for the two-way passage of bikes. To control the bike traffic, special stoplights for bicyclists were installed. Except for one lane of cyclists traveling south (at the far right in this picture), the rest of the traffic, whether cars or bicycles, is traveling north.
The system is now ending its first busy season. As far as I can tell it’s gone okay, though I have seldom seen many bikers using the route.
The abundance of signals can be confusing. Lights for bikers may be green when those for cars are red, so everyone has to look carefully at the lights to be sure of following the right ones.
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echo says
Tons of cyclists use this bike lane–it’s one of the favorites (and even has it’s own twitter handle!)! I constantly hear people saying how much they love it, and want more across the city! I’ve only used it once since I live so far away, but it was pretty nice!
Celia says
Cool; I was hoping someone would write in who knew more about it. Do you happen to know the twitter handle?
echo says
Sure do! @dearbornbikeln
Celia says
Thank you, echo! I’m sure readers will want to check it out.
Harley says
I find that bike lane just totally confusing ! The few times I have driven through that area I try to use extra, extra caution.
Celia says
It definitely takes some getting used to, especially if you are a motorist or pedestrian. In the northbound direction of travel, it’s not unusual for the stoplights on the left and right sides of the street to be different colors, as they govern the different types of thru-traffic and left-turners.