Editor’s note: Here is the remainder of letters from Tribune readers sharing thoughts on Chicago’s bike lanes.
Chicago needs a citywide connected network of bike lanes and safe pedestrian crossings, and we won’t get one as long as every mile of it depends on a single alderman’s mood.
Right now, aldermanic prerogative means each of the city’s 50 wards decides on its own whether to build, expand or block this infrastructure. Wealthier, whiter North Side wards have seen bike lane upgrades. Much of the South and West sides remains a dangerous void, with arterial streets that have no safe way to cross by foot or bike.
This matters for two reasons.
First, arterial infrastructure doesn’t just serve the people who live in that neighborhood. It serves commuters, delivery workers, students and visitors crossing the whole city, whether they’re walking or biking. A bike lane or a safer crosswalk on Western Avenue or Archer Avenue is citywide infrastructure, not a neighborhood amenity, and treating it as one alderman’s call guarantees a patchwork network that fails everyone trying to get across town safely.
Second, ward-by-ward control has turned bike lanes into a political weapon. As lanes finally arrive, slowly, in long-underinvested communities, opportunistic challengers are using them as a wedge issue against sitting aldermen. In the 12th Ward, a candidate is campaigning against bike infrastructure to chip away at a popular progressive incumbent. Much of this opposition leans on small business owners worried about losing a handful of parking spots.
I understand the anxiety, but it’s a shame to see local businesses pitted against pedestrian and cyclist safety, especially when a local study shows they help local businesses thrive.
Also, the climate dimension is more urgent by the day. At a moment when President Donald Trump’s administration is actively rolling back sustainability, cities have to pick up the slack. A real network for pedestrians and cyclists is one of the cheapest, fastest ways Chicago can cut emissions and car dependency, but only if we build it as a system rather than 50 disconnected fragments.
Past reform efforts made headway on permits and licensing but stalled on zoning. I don’t expect this council to give up power over street infrastructure either. That’s exactly why this needs saying: A real network requires a citywide plan, not 50 separate referendums on whether any alderman feels like building it.
Chicago can’t walk or bike its way into the future one ward at a time.
— Tony Adams, Chicago
Making it harder for drivers
Making all roads accessible for cyclists ends up causing problems for drivers. To make bike lanes, the city of Chicago might remove right turn lanes in congested areas, change busy four-lane roads to stop-and-go two-lane roads, add traffic islands that may make things worse and take away street parking from neighborhoods that need it. Bike lanes may make it easier for riders, but they can also make it harder for drivers.
On Montrose Avenue at Horner Park, a ride-through traffic island was created for cyclists to cross the street. But the opening in the island creates the illusion of a continuous road (rather than a bike path through Horner Park). If a driver attempts to drive through the opening in the island, they may end up with extensive damage to the front and undercarriage of their car. The city should change this design. Close the island opening and have cyclists dismount and walk through the pedestrian crossing about 4 feet away.
As a driver, I’m as careful as possible knowing bikes may be on the road — especially if I have to turn left or right. But bicyclists should assume drivers do not see them (because we often do not). It would be terrific if they could always wear a helmet and a yellow safety vest, attach a tall flag to their bike and add lights. Take out the ear buds, and stay off the cellphone. Ride single file. Respect stop signs and don’t blow through them.
This will help keep everyone safe.
— Sarah Klose, Chicago
Transportation options a win
Bike lanes can make a meaningful difference for reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities. They help reduce conflict between cyclists and moving vehicles and can significantly reduce the risk of dooring if properly designed. They can make trips by bike faster and less stressful, encouraging more people to ride.
According to statistics compiled by the Chicago Department of Transportation, the number of bike crash fatalities was reduced by 30% between 2021 and 2024. Serious injuries were reduced 18.5% during that period. The city added 100 miles of bike infrastructure between 2022 and 2025. CDOT added 12 miles of barrier-protected bike lanes in 2025, bringing the total to nearly 70 miles across the city.
Years ago, bike lanes were added on Vincennes Avenue, greatly reducing the level of bad driver behavior (lane weaving and passing on the right, for example), along with crashes and injuries. The effectiveness of restriping alone varies by location. In many areas, barrier protection is needed.
Each year, the number of people riding bikes for transportation in Chicago increases. In many business districts across the city, bike lanes and Complete Streets projects have made it easier and safer for people biking and walking to access businesses without using cars. If many customers can safely access businesses without getting into cars, those businesses can serve more customers with less parking, which reduces costs for businesses. It also helps businesses without off-street parking.
Riding a bike to work can also be an affordable commute option for employees at local businesses. If employees can get around without cars or with reduced use of cars, this lowers their cost of living, which can improve their quality of life.
Every tool we can use to give residents and visitors more transportation options that are safe and affordable is a win for the city.
— Anne Alt, Chicago
Fewer bikes means more cars
I absolutely support bike lanes, and I feel like more is better. As a bicycle commuter on most days, during three of our four seasons, I find that it’s getting increasingly dangerous to share the road with motorists. Many drive carelessly, some recklessly, and they don’t obey the rules of the road.
I find that many motorists fail to stop at stop signs as required. The police are too busy to enforce the rules. When I approach an intersection where I have the right of way, I need to slow down if a car appears to my right to avoid getting hit in case the driver runs the stop sign. By the way, when I’m driving and I make a full stop at a sign, I sometimes get honked at.
When I’m on the bike, I get honked at almost daily. Some of these drivers swear at me. It sometimes seems like I bring out the road rage in people. This is a scary situation.
Some people oppose bike lanes, because they reduce available parking spaces. I think there should be unlimited parking for senior citizens and those who are disabled. Everyone else should use public transportation. In Chicago, there are the CTA trains and buses. There are also commuter trains from suburban areas. That is public transportation galore.
Do people realize that if bike lanes were to be removed and we were to choose to drive, traffic congestion would be worse than it already is? There may be more parking spaces, but there will also be more competition for those spaces.
— Martin Celnick, Springfield
Why is safety up for debate?
Bike lanes do indeed inspire a lot of passion. My thoughts are: Do people support bike lanes? Or do they think it’s OK for their fellow Chicagoans to be seriously injured or killed just trying to get around our city?
No one debates seat belts. No one debates whether elevators should be inspected. When it comes to biking and pedestrian safety, why is there anything up for debate?
— Laura Wimbiscus, Chicago
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