Let’s say you’re at Addison Road and the Chicago River and also you wish to bike to Wrigleyville. Granted, that’s a really particular state of affairs, however bear with me right here. Perhaps you’re coming from the 312 RiverRun, the off-street path hall town is growing alongside the river.

The 2020 version of the Chicago Division of Transportation’s Chicago Bike Map advises you to experience on Addison, a signed bike route. (Observe that the brand new version of the map exhibits signed routes as dashed traces quite than the strong ones used for bike lanes — it’s good that the map makes that distinction.)  However personally, I’d by no means take Addison to make this journey. It’s a two-lane road, however a busy one with no bike lanes and a bus route.

The Chicago Reader’s Mellow Chicago Bike Map, which I selected the routes for, exhibits a a lot lower-stress eastbound various. From Addison (3600 N.) east of the river, head north on Talman Avenue (2630 W.) passing by the Chicago Fireplace soccer discipline, after which east on Bradley Place (3730 N.) Then take the sidewalk at Campbell Avenue (2500 W.) half a block north to Grace (3800 N.) From there you possibly can take Grace, a really chill aspect road, as far east as Broadway and Halsted Road (800 W.), with stoplights or four-way cease indicators facilitating secure crossing of all the key road crossings.

This route additionally labored as a authorized westbound itinerary between Ashland Avenue (1600 W.) and the river besides for the one-block, one-way eastbound stretch of Grace between Lincoln (1900 W.) and Damen (2000 W.) avenues. However because it stood, westbound bike riders have been deterred the “Do Not Enter” indicators at Grace/Lincoln.

Nevertheless, yesterday town cleverly mounted that drawback by putting in a contraflow bike lane on that stretch. An article by Jake Wittich in Block Club hipped me to the improve. Presumably this concept was championed by native alderman Matt Martin, who has overseen several good livable streets interventions within the forty seventh Ward since he took workplace final 12 months.

🚲New contraflow bike lane alert🚲

Crews laborious at work putting in a brand new contraflow bicycle lane on Grace between Lincoln and Damen.

This lane, along with new bike visitors indicators, will make it safer for cyclists utilizing Grace in each instructions. pic.twitter.com/TJMoqKbpiq

— Alderman Matt Martin (@AldMattMartin) October 6, 2020

With the straightforward act of striping 660 toes of inexperienced paint and posting just a few indicators, Martin and CDOT have basically created a brand new “Neighborhood Greenway” bike precedence route. It additionally could be good to advertise this useful, tranquil hall with wayfinding indicators and bike-and-chevron “sharrow” markings on the pavement.

And if town actually needed to go for the gold, they may add a pair extra brief stretches of contraflow lane on the one-way eastbound phase of Grace between Ashland and Southport Avenue (1400 W.), and the one-way westbound phase between Broadway/Halsted and Interior Lake Shore Drive. That will basically create a brand new roughly three-mile, two-way family-friendly bike route all the way in which from the 312 RiverRun to the Lakefront Path, about three miles.

Granted, there’s already a neighborhood greenway half a mile south of Grace on Roscoe Avenue (3400 N., westbound) and Faculty Road (3300 N., eastbound.) However this might be so low cost and straightforward, why the heck not?