A picture is worth 1,000 words! Now, along with the brand new yellow lines, the University is adding some arrows and silhouettes of bicyclists — long overdue but much appreciated.
In reaction to the new paint, a commenter on Reddit stated, “These paths needs to be sandblasted out of their misery and never spoken of again. They’re extremely dangerous.” Maybe a bit harsh but they then follow-up with some very good commentary. You can read it all here.
The University has bought some paint! On my ride to campus today I was amazed to see a few sections of bike paths with some brand new yellow center and white yield lines. Pictured is the notorious intersection at Armory and Wright but I also saw new paint on the two-way stretch just south of Foellinger Hall and behind Busey-Evans Hall. I hope this is the start of a complete re-paint project. Maybe the east-west stretch cutting through the center of the quad will be next…
I saw a ton of commuters out today — but none on the bike paths south of the Quad… they were all on the sidewalk. The walks had been carefully plowed but the bike paths were still covered in snow. You can’t see it in this picture but there was even a pile of snow across the path where little bit that had been cleared was piled.
(see Mathews - sidewalk vs bike lane for location)
Word must be getting out that people want to see some progress on bicycle infrastructure on campus. The University has posted an on-line Campus Bicycle Feedback Form. From the page: “Thank you for sharing feedback about your experiences biking on campus. Every submission is received by Facilities & Services and will be taken into consideration as we plan future improvements and continue our efforts to make the campus more bicycle friendly.” Let’s hope we see some follow-up to submissions.
(you can find the form here)
Half Bike Path, Half Bush! This awesome bit of infrastructure can be found on Sixth Street by the Library. Follow that badly faded yellow line… straight into the bush. Certainly this one is an easy fix — no concrete, no paint, no heavy lifting. Let’s hope it gets fixed soon. But really, it should never have gotten this way in the first place — it certainly doesn’t hang over the sidewalk on the other side.
(see Sixth Street by Library for location)
Good and bad news. The good news is that the fencing that was blocking the northbound bike lane on Mathews is now gone. The bad news is there is (and has been since the fence came down) a giant pile of brush across the bike path. Once again, you are forced into the street, heading the wrong way, to hook up with the path on the other side of the street. Hopefully this will get cleaned up soon — but why is it piled there in the first place?
UPDATE: Behold the power of tumblr — the shrubbery pile has been cleared and bicyclists are one again free to travel north and south on the full-length of the Mathews Avenue bike path. Granted, you’ll still have to criss-cross the street a few times in as many blocks but at least it’s navigable again.
(see Mathews southbound for location)
Here’s the bike path leading to the east side of the Campus Recreation Center East (CRCE). Behind the bushes at the end is one of two sets of bike racks… and that’s where the path ends. Yet another case of new construction being placed on top of old infrastructure with no concern for how to upgrade the bike path system at the same time.
(see Campus Recreation Center East for location)
This path appears to be another victim of new construction without new bicycle infrastructure. It’s hard to tell, but one has to assume at one time the path must have extended farther than the 350’ it extends now (it starts at the sidewalk on the bottom of the photo and stops at the parking lot on the top). Beside really serving no purpose, it’s one of those super skinny paths like on the south side of the quad — just a bad path all-around.
(see Six-pack — south bike path for location)
Most of the bike paths on campus have deteriorated in some way — quite a few to the point of being dangerous. Here’s one such spot on the path by the Agriculture and Burnsides Research Laboratories just off Pennsylvania Avenue. To a pedestrian or driver, this kind of pavement might not seem so bad, cyclists know just how dangerous it can be. Perhaps while dumping cold-fill on the streets they could spare a little for spots like this on the bike paths.
(see South campus path for location)
In kind of an ironic twist of things, here’s some paint on a bike path that actually causes confusion. When Lincoln Hall was being renovated, they put the fencing around the building all the way out to the bike path on Wright Street effectively turning the bike path into the temporary sidewalk. So, they re-routed the bike path into the street by painting new directions on the pavement. Now, the Lincoln Hall renovation is done (and beautifully, I might add) but the paint is still there directing cyclists into the street — the wrong way! I’m never happy, am I? There’s always too little or too much paint on the paths for my liking!
(see Wright Street - temporary bike lane for location)
In October, 2011, the University of Illinois was awarded Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly University status by the League of American Bicyclists. I'm wondering why...
Do you have a favorite University of Illinois Bicycle Infrastructure Fail? Send it my way.
