Best streets for biking in Chicago
A familiar internal debate: Elston Ave., Milwaukee, or... something else?
For many Chicago cyclists, the diagonal streets: Lincoln, Milwaukee, Elston, are the preferred routes, simply because they shave distance off of the commute (remember Pythagoras?). While generally faster and more efficient, these streets also tend to be favored by motorists trying to avoid highway congestion, and they are punctuated by complicated, and decidedly cyclist-unfriendly, three-way intersections where they happen to intersect two other major streets running on the grid pattern. These are also the streets where delivery vehicles, idling trucks, and even an occasional police car may be blocking the bike lane, forcing you to swing around into traffic.
The problem you run into in Chicago when you choose smaller streets, at least on the north and north-west side of the city, is that most of them dead end at either I90/94, or the Chicago River, various train lines, or some combination of all three. There is a handful of "happy medium" streets that offer a good compromise. Here are some of our favorites:
Sacramento. A nice little spur from Elston to Milwaukee, in case you've gotten sick of one and are a ready for the other. Sacramento gets you conveniently under the highway at a point where there is only one little-known ramp for cars. (If you're going further south than Milwaukee, you have to make some choices around Humboldt Park, as Sacramento abruptly turns into a boulevard with heavy car traffic.)
Bryn Mawr. A great street for getting to the lakefront from the north-west side of the city. But it dead-ends at Rosehill Cemetery! Pssst... just go right through the cemetery (you didn't hear it here). Very few cars, nice scenery, quiet, and you'll come out right around Ravenswood. I hear they plow, too.
Kostner. A good way to sneak from Old Irving to Gompers Park (where you can now pick up the North Branch Trail extension which will take you all the way to Dundee Rd). Like Sacramento, it gets you under the highway in a fairly stress-free way.
Sunnyside. Residents of the NW side neighborhoods of Portage Park and Jefferson Park marvel at the boulevard-width of this calm, residential street. A positively luxurious way to get from Six Corners area to the vicinity of Wright College.
Avondale. This quiet diagonal along the Metra tracks is another NW side favorite. It’s not continuous, but it offers fast and easy shortcuts between Lawrence and Montrose, and Irving Park and Addison.
Long. A little narrower, but slower-moving street than Laramie, with signals at most major intersections. From Jefferson Park, it's a nice, straight shot south.
Granville. Good way to get from east to west Rogers Park. Traffic-calming round-abouts have been installed, and the street has traffic lights at most major crossings. If you're heading into the city, at Kedzie, ride two blocks south, and join the riverfront path that takes you underneath Lincoln Ave, and all the way to Lawrence.
Because of our location, we’re most familiar with routes on the North and Northwest side of the city. However, you can explore other good streets for cycling via Chicago Reader's Mellow Bike Map, which was compiled using rider input from all over the city.
As you begin to use your bike for transportation, it pays to explore these lower-stress options, even if it adds some minutes to your overall commute. It’s also a good idea to have a couple alternative go-to routes in your repertoire, in case of road construction, unusually heavy traffic, or just varying your routine to alleviate boredom.