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Going against the flow: Chicago cyclist grudgingly supports Edgwater bike lane

I have a confession. If you’re a cyclist, you are probably not going to like it. I hate the Dearborn bike lane. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Dearborn bike lane is a two-way, protected bike lane that runs along Dearborn Street, which is a one-way, northbound street in the Loop and River North.

The bike lane—in the city’s central business district—is narrow and crowded, and biking it can be slow. And the southbound, or contraflow, portion is awkward. Pedestrians add to the stress by brazenly walking into the bike lane without so much as a glance, standing in it and waiting for the walk signal as if it were an extension of the sidewalk or, worse yet, treating it as merely another sidewalk, walking down it, unaware of the presence of bicycle traffic.

It’s fine, though. I can make the decision just not to ride on Dearborn. I’m a confident rider who isn’t intimidated by the proposition of riding my bike on any street in the Loop in the middle of rush-hour traffic or on any of the other busy and crowded thoroughfares in the city for that matter. But when I talk to other cyclists, ranging from the dedicated to the casual, the Dearborn bike lane is exactly what they want, even its contraflow southbound lane.

I felt my cynicism creep up again when I saw the proposed plans for a bike lane on Glenwood Avenue in Edgewater. If you are not familiar, Glenwood Avenue is a one-way northbound street with the proposed project centering on a southbound, contraflow bike lane stretching from Ridge to Carmen avenues.

Glenwood sees a low amount of vehicle traffic but a high amount of cyclist traffic, mostly because cyclists view Glenwood as a north-south traveling option safer than nearby Clark Street or Broadway. Currently, about half of all the bicycle trips made on the one-way street are against the flow of traffic, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation, which is spearheading the project.

Despite the low amount of traffic, Glenwood sees a disproportionately high number of crashes involving cyclists. From 2009 to 2013 there were six crashes involving cyclists that resulted in injuries to the cyclist, half of whom were children younger than 18, according to CDOT. The city’s proposed contraflow bike lane—including pavement markings and other signs—is aimed at reducing this number.

My initial reaction when reading about the proposed contraflow lane was mostly negative. Isn’t this just endorsing incorrectly riding on the roads? Isn’t it creating more animosity between the cycling community and those who don’t want them on the street? I cringe thinking of the way I’ll have to deal with other cyclists on Glenwood should I ever find myself on it, the same way I cringe when I think about the Dearborn bike lane—though there are some differences. Despite my misgivings, the reality is that after contraflow bike lanes were installed on similar streets in the city, those streets became safer to ride, with a reduction in the number of accidents involving cyclists on those streets. For instance, on Ardmore Avenue, a street with a contraflow bike lane, from 2009 to 2013 there were only three bike-involved crashes reported and none resulted in serious injury to the cyclists, according to CDOT. And that is what this is really about: creating safer streets and encouraging cyclists to ride in a more predictable manner.

Regardless of my personal thoughts on riding in contraflow bike lanes, the proposed bike lane on Glenwood is exactly the type of infrastructure the city should be pursuing. Having a contraflow bike lane on Glenwood will encourage cyclists to ride in a predictable manner, and predictable means safer. As an advocate for cycling, I want to advocate for cycling infrastructure that will encourage more and safer riding. I want infrastructure that will encourage casual riders to ride more and convince those who don’t ride to give it a try. Make sure you let Alderman. Harry Osterman (48th) know that you support this development.

A cyclist, RedEye special contributor Andrzej Brzoznowski is a Chicago attorney representing bicyclists and pedestrians injured in crashes.