Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Time to extend the Lakefront Bike Path is Now.

Sometimes change comes all at once in a big project. Other times it's small steps. The big project answer to Edgewater's traffic problems is the extension of LakeShore drive north. But there are small step improvements that could be done in the short term at anytime.

I will discuss those traffic solutuions at a later date but for the moment let me say that one of those solutions involves pedestrian underpasses along Sheridan road between Hollywood and Devon. The most natural points for those underpasses are at Berger Park at Granville and Thorndale Beach and Parks at Thorndale.

It's especially a natural now that Thorndale has a park on both sides of Sheridan. Which brings me to my real topic of discussion, bike path extension and not the big project, the in the lake version.

Now while the lake is down and the connection between Thorndale beach and Ardmore beach (sorry, I don't go for naming beaches after people) is wide is the time to move some rocks a build a paved extension of the Bike path to Thorndale.

There's another reason. Remember when they had Sheridan torn up for sewer work. Well they changed Thorndale to be both directions between Broadway and Sheridan and they eliminated parking east of Winthrop. That is now the point where the bike path should be leaving the lake to move to Kenmore and Winthrop, not narrow one way Ardmore.

Add the underpass with room for bikes and viola' we have make a significant, even if not the big project, improvement, for both bikers and pedestrians.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funny thing, does anyone read these comments? I was thinking of extending the bike path to Thorndale today, Nov. 10, 2007, and I'm the first person to respond in 2 plus years.

Forget about some underpass for now, too may $$$. Let's just extend the asphalt paving and paint some bike path lines on Thorndale. An underpass would probably impact on water, sewer, electric, telephone and cable TV lines buried underground.

Let anything more extensive get in the mix and nothing will ever happen. Let's take this one step at a time. An overpass or underpass could be added sometime in the future... or not.

Jeff Wegerson said...

Hi,
Thanks for the comment. Absolutely we should do the small easy steps right away. It's best of course, when those small easy steps fit a larger plan. But yea, when are we ever going to see the drive extended.

However, we may be close to changing Sheridan (and Broadway) to three lanes, two traffic and one turning lane in the middle. That would be a big change.

I don't post here much anymore. See me at PrairieStateBlue.com as wegerje.

How did you even turn this post up anyway?