Wells Street bike lane gets an upgrade!

Summer is officially underway with our first heat wave of the season, and more people are digging their bikes out of storage and hitting the streets. Here at Active Trans, we’re working harder than ever to make sure everyone’s ride is a good one.

There are lots of little things that make riding a bike in the city safer and easier, but we’re also thinking long term. Here are the big-ticket items we’re advocating for right now:

• Installing 100 miles of protected bike lanes by 2015, as well as other innovative bikeways such as buffered bike lanes and neighborhood greenways.
• Creating key biking corridors through Chicago’s North Side, South Side, West Side and downtown.
• Implementing the City of Chicago’s new Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 — a safe biking network that reaches every neighborhood.

These elements will help create a comprehensive bikeways network, with the potential to significantly reduce crashes for people biking, walking and driving, while increasing the number of people who choose to go by bike.

Thanks to your support, we’re making solid progress with even more good news to share this week. Here’s what’s happening right now:

Wells Street buffered and priority bike lane
Wells Street has long been a popular route for North Side commuters in and out of the loop, so we’re thrilled to see construction crews this week start installing a new buffered bike lane from Chicago Avenue to Wacker Drive. From Wacker Drive to Van Buren Street, through the Loop, it’ll become Chicago’s first bicycle priority lane. This new bikeway also connects with Kinzie Street, providing people with safer cycling options while illustrating what a more integrated network of bikeways will look like.

Other ongoing construction
City crews are still installing new protected bike lanes on Elston Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Jackson Boulevard and Lake Street. Be on the lookout for more green pavement and bollards on these streets.

We love watching the mileage totals grow every week, but we need to continue building support to ensure we hit the first 25 miles on the road to 100 miles of protected bike lanes and a slew of buffered bike lanes.

Help us spread the word — please share our Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign page with your friends via email or on Facebook or Twitter.