CDOT begins work on protected bike lanes along a ‘high crash’ corridor in Logan Square

Protected bike lanes will be added along Milwaukee Avenue between Western and California avenues. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Work got under way Monday for new protected bike lanes along a “high crash” stretch of Milwaukee Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood.

The lanes are going in on Milwaukee between Western and California avenues, part of a project known as “Vision Zero,” which has the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2026.

Weather permitting, the work on the bike lanes is expected to take about two weeks, with limited parking available on Milwaukee during that time, city officials said.

Northbound and southbound bike lanes will be created to separate people biking from automobile traffic and bump outs that will improve the visibility of pedestrians.

CDOT is planning additional improvements along Milwaukee, including two new crosswalks, 35 bike racks and, in 2021, a “bus boarding island” at Milwaukee and Maplewood, officials said.

Two-thirds of all injury crashes on Milwaukee during a five-year period involved pedestrians and people riding bicycles, according to the city.

To learn more about the plans, go to www.the1stward.com/pb1.

City contractors with RoadSafe Traffic Systems begin work on new bike lanes on North Milwaukee Avenue near North California Avenue in Logan Square.