| November
2006 |
|
Trails 'Cast Spell' over 'Burbs Suburbs Seek Help with Bicycle Facilities New Policy Steers Chicago Streets Toward Completion 'Rack 'Em!' Bike Parking Expands, Evolves in Chicago Bikes Kept a Rollin' All Year Long on Metra Donors are the Force Behind Good Biking |
Burnishing Lakefront ‘Jewel’
When I first started riding on the Lakefront Trail in the summer of 2000 I was warned about the glass. “It could be a great place to ride,” I was told, “if only it was better maintained.” Being a regular Lakefront Trail commuter and rider, I soon experienced some of the shortfalls of our “jewel by the lake,” and helped create an effort by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation to not only respond to immediate Trail needs but also to be proactive in improving the Trail.
Since 2000, CBF has developed relationships with the Chicago Park District that have allowed us to make a significant impact on this 18-mile bikeway. Riders no longer expect to dodge glass, give up on riding the Trail in the winter, or negotiate construction detours to who-knows-where. CBF works with the Park District, the Chicago Department of Transportation, Department of the Environment, Army Corps of Engineers, Water Department, Streets and Sanitation and a variety of contractors to insure that construction projects along the Lakefront impact the Trail in the most positive way possible. If a construction project touches the Trail we work to make sure that improvements are incorporated whenever possible. Examples of this are areas such as Diversey Parkway to Fullerton Avenue and the S. Lake Shore Drive reconstruction projects. CBF has so much become a partner in matters concerning the Lakefront Trail that we are often consulted in the early stages of planning for improvements, by not only the Park District but by other agencies as well. They actually call us. About one-third of CBF’s 6,000 members live within 3 miles of the Trail and we rely on them to spot and report problems. Although the Park District is better now at performing routine maintenance, it is not always immediately aware of problems. Members can e-mail TrashOnTheTrail@biketraffic.org when they see glass, sand or other debris and CBF notifies Trail maintenance of the issue. The Park District is generally quick to respond. CBF’s impact on the Lakefront Trail extends to trail design, detour policy, planning and implementation, trail routing, maintenance concerns, lighting, drainage, snow removal (the Trail is now sometimes cleared even before some parking lots), water fountain issues, signage, maps, snow fence placement (both in the summer and in the winter) and construction projects. A common complaint about the Lakefront Trail is that there are too many users. Although CBF cannot stop tourists and organized runs and walks from using the Trail, we have developed a Lakefront Trail page that lists all permitted activities on the Trail for each weekend. Information on this page helps cyclists plan ahead to avoid instances when, for example, the Trail is flooded with thousands of runners on a Sunday morning. The Trail is a jewel of the Lakefront in Chicago. CBF not only has helped to polish this jewel but has also been a partner in making it what it is today and what it will be tomorrow. Randy Warren is program director of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
|
