Design of North Western Avenue Protected Bike Lane
Team Members Heading link
- Jeremy Borjas
- Neftali Fonseca
- Cintia Garcia
Advisors: Dr. Jie Lin; Ryan Duffy, PE
Project Description Heading link
On a daily basis, numerous Chicagoans use bikes for recreational purposes and to run errands. Bike facilities allow individuals to travel from one destination to another in a safe manner. For some, bike infrastructure is a form of reliable and affordable transportation. For others it creates accidents, crime, and gentrification.
Many roads in the city do not have a bike lane. North Western Avenue is a street located in Chicago near the neighborhoods of Ukrainian Village and Wicker Park. Currently, there is no dedicated bike lane attached to it. North Western Avenue hosts the end of bike lanes on West Armitage Avenue and West Augusta Boulevard intersections, as well as an entrance/exit ramp of the Bloomington trail; this gives it the potential to connect various bike routes.
It is proposed that a protected bike lane be installed from West Armitage Avenue to West North Avenue. This proposed bike lane will help increase rider safety based on analysis from prior studies. AASHTO standards were followed, in order to design an adequate bike lane. The design was drafted by using Google Maps, MicroStation, and GIS. The design was then modified by inputting changes based on various site visits. The expected results for the proposed bike lane were to decrease injuries of cyclists, increase the number of riders, decrease CO2 levels, and increase income of businesses in the area of interest. The results emphasize how creating protected bike lanes for the commuting public increases public safety, provides economic benefit for riders, and provides a positive environmental impact by decreasing CO2 levels.