Chicago Bike Lanes To Get Concrete Curbs

“The Chicago Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it will be installing new concrete curbs for all protected bike lanes by the end of 2023,” according to an article by the ABC7 Chicago Digital Team.

“Public safety is not only about our emergency response departments, it's also about creating infrastructure that makes the public way safer for all,” the article quotes Mayor Lori Lightfoot as saying. The city plans to add 10 miles of new lanes by the end of 2022 and update 15 miles of existing bike lanes to give riders more protection. “CDOT will use a combination of traditional concrete curbs and pre-cast curbs,” which the agency calls  “the standard for new protected bike lanes.”

An article in Block Club Chicago by Kelly Bauer and Izzy Stroobandt points out that the move is “a significant victory for bicycle advocates, who have long said Chicago’s bike lanes need better protections. The announcement comes amid a brutal year that has seen drivers kill multiple bicyclists as they rode in bike lanes, among them a 3-year-old who was killed earlier this month as she was on her mom’s bike.” But some bike advocates believe concrete curbs won’t be enough to prevent people in cars from driving or parking in bike lanes, calling for more robust protective measures such as concrete bollards.