First sight of complete streets near me

"A Cook County project to rebuild 108th Avenue from 163rd Place to 179th Street in Orland Park will begin Monday, and detours will be in place starting Friday, according to the village.

The project is slated for completion in early October. While most of the county road will be rebuilt, some newer sections will only be resurfaced.

The two-lane road will not be widened but wider paved shoulders — wide enough to accommodate bicycle traffic — will be installed, the village said...."

From http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/13014545-418/road-work-to-start-on-108th-avenue.html 

emphasis mine

Nice ride to Joliet last Sunday

This last Sunday I joined Folks on Spokes for a ride along the Old Plank Trail out to Joliet.

I rode from home on my way to the meeting spot. Someone had placed lettuce on the path every 20 feet. So I had to be on the watch for rabbits. In total I saw dozens dart off the trail as I approached.

I met up with the other riders around 9am Sunday at what we like to call "Old Target". The Target parking lot on the West side of Cicero right off of Old Plank Trail. We decided to break into two groups. One fast and one medium.

It was a nice morning and had a wonderful chat as I rode next to another FOS member as we made our way from Matteson to Joliet along the trail. The medium group caught up with the fast group and stopped in Joliet and had a delicious lunch of a turkey salad on crossant and salad at "Joliet Restaurant". From what I understand the name being somewhat a controversy in the club because, while the window says Joliet Restaurant, the sign above the place says "Hotel Plaza". I'm pretty convinced that the plaza is the name of the building, not the cafe.

After leaving our lunch stop we meandered through Joliet downtown. The rider I with having two flats in 500 feet of each other. After the first tube replacement, then a patch, we made our way East. I cut off near my home in Mokena and said my goodbyes. I ended up making it home with close to 40 miles for the day.

Grid Chicago on getting around in the suburbs

Grid Chicago has posted a nice roundup of ways cyclists must sometimes get around in certain suburbs.

First suburb snow ride.

Winter has come to Chicago.

The ride into work today was fine, no snow of course. It was starting to come down when I got into the city and rode through downtown from the Metra station.

I stayed in the city late today for a nerd meeting. So my plan was to catch the 11:15pm train down to home. Riding back through the loop was easy. The roads were covered with snow, but it was slush and not slick.

Mokena, in the suburbs, was a different story. The roads were covered and very slick. Mostly from the few cars passing over them. I took my regular route down back roads past the cemetery, pristine snow there and easy to ride through.

Coming down 195th street a cop pulled up beside me and asked if I was ok. I think after I told him I was coming from the train his fears that I was a drunk were swayed, and he told me goodnight. He was a really nice guy.

He's to seeing what the plows do tonight.

Cruise the Creek

A while ago I participated in Cruise the Creek. A great bicycle ride and festival near my home. The day was a little brisk, but nice. The ride was short by my standards, but unknowingly full of adventure.

My home was on the opposite side of the forest preserve where the ride started. So I had to make my way against traffic to the beginning. This was a bit of a challenge considering the number of small children on the trail, but I made it.

First off. after starting the ride I ran across the couple pictured. They had earlier been down to the local grocery store raising money to fight breast cancer. They had moved up to the Mokena Food and Wine festival, which the ride passed.

Next we made our way though the forest preserve. The rolling hills and deep woods made me feel at home as it reminded me of where I grew up in West Virginia.

We came out of the woods to Frankfort Township's community building. There I talked with someone from the Forrest Preserve and found that the building is LEED certified and has a green roof.

Frankfort Township Center

Soon after this began the adventure. The police who were directing the bike traffic across Wolf road sent us in the wrong direction. Instead of ending up back on the path, we went down a sidewalk along Route 30 until it ended at a subdivision. There we were directed by some of the residents that we could cross their yard and follow a dirt path through the woods to the Hickory Creek Bike Path.

The "path" through the woods

After trudging through the woods, across the creek and through a field we made it back. After this the ride wasn't any more eventful.

After the ride I enjoyed the carnival. There were Smores, food trucks, and pumpkin carving. The highlight was a BMX tricks show.

All in all it was a fun day.

Balloon Biker and Indiana Dunes

A friend of mine has started her trek across the United States. Her first post was about the camping trip I accompanied her on to Indiana Dunes.

Where would you put bicycle lanes in the suburbs?

A discussion was started today over at The Chainlink asking, "Where should protected bike lanes get installed in the suburbs?"

I weighed in myself. In my opinion, if cycling is ever to be a viable day to day utility for people in the suburbs, decision makers must identify the connector streets. The roads that people must use. In Mokena, this is Route 30, Saint Francis road, Wolf, and a few others. Once these are identified, then a lane or separated path can be built.

Many roads in the suburbs are fine for cycling on, but if that 10% of the route is dangerous, then someone will just take their car.

If I had business on the other side of interstate 80, I have little or no safe options to cross the interstate. If just one of the roads crossing it had a shoulder, the issue would be moot.

If you build the infrastructure, what has been shown again and again.

Go on over and tell us your opinion.