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Protected bike lane for Elston Ave - Carry forward Project from Cycle 4
Elston Avenue is a main diagonal artery that bicyclists take everyday to get to work. It provides easy access for residents to bike to neighborhoods like Logan Quare, Wicker Park, Irving Park, etc..
Converting Elston's bike lanes in both directiosn into protected one-way bike lanes will save lives and encourage more people to use the bike lanes. The vast majority of Chicago's bicycle crow does not use these lanes, because it is just too dangerous to bike on them today.
It would mean, we move the bike lanes right next to the sidewalk and move the car parking into the street. Today, it is set up in the opposite manner.
This has already been done on Milwaukee Avenue - another diagonal street that a lot of bikers use - https://chicagocompletestreets.org/streets/bikeways/barrier-protected-bike-lanes/
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Conversation with Robert Szczesniak
I don't think research has been conclusive. ATA and groups are citing old studies or results about how cyclists/pedestrians feel instead of evidence of reduced collisions.
Jan Heine, editor-in-chief of Bicycle Quarterly, wrote, “Any barrier that separates the cyclist visually from other traffic effectively hides the cyclist. This is counterproductive to safety. Moving cyclists out of the roadway altogether, on separate bike paths, is even more dangerous, because drivers don’t look for (or cannot see) cyclists off to the side.” He continued, “On streets with frequent intersections, separate paths only make cycling less safe. I wish those who advocate for them would look at the data and stop asking for facilities that will cause more accidents.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianafurchtgott-roth/2022/09/08/bike-lanes-dont-make-cycling-safe/?sh=72122f7b4ca8
A 2019 study of Denver found separated lanes increase collisions.
Also, Effective Cycling by John Forester is an great resource.
I just want to point out that the above is an editorial piece written by a employee of the Heritage Foundation, and is not a conclusive peer reviewed study. For one of those I would point to this one published in the Journal of Transportation & Health: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214140518301488?via%3Dihub
It took data from 12 large US cities over a 13 year period, and showed "the evidence suggests that high-bicycling-mode-share cities are not only safer for bicyclists but for all road users". This is a much more legitimate source to look at when making policy decisions.
Thank you for finding a credible source, Benjamin.
You are just quoting from the headline, can you post the full article?
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