Chicago: Dearborn Street a test track for Loop's first protected bike lanes

[font size="1"]Protected bike lane on Kinzie[/font]

Dearborn a test track for Loop's first protected bike lanes
December 13, 2012|By Jon Hilkevitch, Chicago Tribune reporter


Chicago's campaign to broker an orderly coexistence, if not complete harmony, among motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians will begin to face its biggest test so far Friday.

That's when two-way protected bike lanes — outfitted with traffic signals for bike riders to obey — will open in the heart of the central business district, on Dearborn Street between Kinzie and Polk streets, the Chicago Department of Transportation said.

The $450,000 project covering about 12 blocks is a high-profile component of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to make Chicago one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world and to socially re-engineer how city dwellers choose to commute to work or just get around in a heavily congested urban area.

The mayor has vowed to install 100 miles of protected bike lanes in neighborhoods across the city by May 2015. The Chicago Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 calls for completion of a 645-mile network of bike lanes in eight years. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-12-13/news/ct-met-dearborn-bike-lanes1214-20121214_1_bike-lanes-traffic-signals-left-turn-lanes