(Above) A bicycle lane on West Kinzie Street near Blommer Chocolate Company west of the north branch of the Chicago River. (Photo obtained from Active Transportation Alliance. Click on images to view larger versions.)

20-Apr-15 – The Chicago organization trying to make bicycling “safe, convenient, and fun” is not yielding to a plan to close a popular bicycle lane on West Kinzie Street in River North.

Active Transportation Alliance has started an online campaign to persuade the Chicago City Council to oppose an order introduced by 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly to close the lane from Dearborn Street west to the north branch of the Chicago River.

The order was introduced on April 15 and referred to a committee for discussion.

“The removal of the Kinzie protected bike lane would be a setback for Chicago,” wrote Jim Merrel (left) on the ATA website on Friday, “putting more people at risk of injury while doing nothing to alleviate congestion or move people more efficiently around downtown.”

Merrel, who is campaign director for the alliance, says protected bike lanes reduce risk of injury to people riding bikes by 89 percent.

“Removing the first protected bike lane in the city just four short years after it was installed will be a national embarrassment and set us back in our efforts to make our city more livable and economically vibrant.”

Reilly says removing the lane would be temporary and part of an agreement with Hines, which is building three mixed-use towers on Wolf Point one block south of Kinzie Street. Hines would pay for temporary bike lanes on Illinois Street, two blocks north of Kinzie, and Grand Avenue, three blocks north, along with Wells Street. This would get the Kinzie bike lane out of the way of construction on Wolf Point.

(Above) Path (in red) of a continuous protected bicycle lane along West Kinzie Street from North Dearborn Street to the north branch of the Chicago River. Wolf Point is being developed in the lower left corner.

Reilly says he filed the order because Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld was considering ignoring the agreement with Hines, which was signed by the previous CDOT commissioner, Gabe Klein.

Active Transportation Alliance, however, does not want the Kinzie bike lane moved to Grand. Says Merrel, “The fact is that with or without a protected bike lane, people will continue to bike on Kinzie because this route provides one of the only lower-traffic connections to downtown over the river. That’s why the protected bike lane was put there in the first place.”

A spokesperson for CDOT says they, too, have concerns about removing the Kinzie lane.

“The protected bike lane is in place to reduce conflicts and the risk of accidents between bicyclists, motor vehicles, and pedestrians,” says Mike Claffey, director of public affairs. “We have been in discussions with the alderman about these concerns and will continue to work with him on this issue.”

If anything, ATA’s Merrel says the Kinzie bike line should be improved, not closed.

“The city has made some safety improvements to the lane in recent years but others have been put on hold due to the stalemate between Alderman Reilly and [CDOT]. An additional bike lane on Grand Avenue would be very welcome, but not at the cost of removing the protected bike lane on Kinzie.”