User:Lpangelrob/U.S. Bicycle Routes Proposal for Northern Illinois

Introduction
The concept of a national system of bicycle routes is both an interesting and useful way for bicyclists of all areas to explore the U.S. For those bicyclists who has ever wanted bike paths separated from any and all vehicular traffic, it's the next best thing.

The problem with the system is that there are all of two routes -- Route 1 and Route 76. Since a system that covers all of two regions of the country is not very national, this page (and similar pages, whether in MS Word format, HTML, or Wiki) is a brainstorm of ideas for ways to expand the system. They are proposals, not fact, but as there are no existing routes, any proposal delivered now is a concrete step towards actual U.S. Bike Route designations in the future.

Assumptions
This proposal makes the following assumptions:

Authority

 * AASHTO is the deciding authority. AASHTO ultimately decides which U.S. Bicycle Routes to designate. However, they defer this designation to the state Departments of Transportation, similar to existing U.S. Routes.
 * Intergovernmental agreements are the building blocks of the U.S. Bicycle Route system. Intergovernmental agreements between forest preserve districts, city governments, state governments and townships are all required for presentation to the state Department of Transportation. This is a necessary time-consuming process, but a greater understanding by all parties can expedite the process.

Basis of need

 * There are already a few national routes designated. The non-profit organization Adventure Cycling Association has already set up a network of national routes, but only one (the TransAmerica Bike Trail) is numbered. The Atlantic Coast route runs pretty close.
 * No national route currently runs through all of northern Illinois. Of the national routes that the Adventure Cycling Association has recommended, not one traverses the Chicagoland area, or for that matter, anywhere north of Interstate 80. The Chicagoland area, and city proper, are in general proponents of bicycle usage (especially Chicago's mayor, Richard M. Daley), so it's interesting that this decision was made somewhere along the line. The more people a U.S. Bicycle Route can serve, the more people will use it.

Route designation
It also makes the following assumptions about the routes themselves:


 * Comparable systems &mdash; number of routes. The number of routes should be comparable to the number of U.S. Routes already existent in the state.
 * Comparable systems &mdash; spacing of routes. The distance between U.S. Bike Routes should be appropriate for a regional bicyclist.
 * Avoid multiplexes. Multiplexes are confusing to bicyclists and should be avoided.
 * Avoid alternate routes. 3-di (ex. U.S. Bicycle Route 120) bicycle routes, spurs and loops should be avoided. See next point...
 * Recognize value vs. impact of routes. While it is a point of AASHTO not to plot bicycle routes through a town because of business concerns, effect from tourism or route-based lobbying, it should be acknowledged that a U.S. Bicycle Route designation carries far less impact than a U.S. Route designation, and that through bicycles in a business district should be a more preferred mode of transportation than through motorized vehicles.
 * Prefer existing regional bicycle trails. Existing regional bicycle routes should not be "grandfathered in" as U.S. Bicycle Routes, but U.S. Bicycle Routes should prefer regional bicycle routes, followed by roads in good condition for bicyclists.
 * Establish a state bicycle route system. Any important bicycle route that falls well short of the above criteria could and should still qualify for a numbered state bicycle route.
 * Avoid enumerated county bicycle route systems. Marking bicycle routes as county bicycle routes is about as useful as marking local roads county routes, and should be avoided. The emphasis should be on the broader region.

Prominence of existing trails
A driving idea behind the U.S. Bicycle Routes presentation to AASHTO in 2003 was that the current, unorganized system of bicycle trails is similar to the U.S. Route network in the 1920's &mdash; many named regional trails (Dixie Highway, Tamiami Trail), but no coordination between each region. As such, relying upon the existing network of trails and providing efficient connectors is a key goal of the project.

Chicago's Lakefront Trail
A very high volume trail that is still an impressive accomplishment by the city of Chicago. This trail is often cited as one of the best bicycle trails of its kind, and is also part of the Grand Illinois Trail. Currently would carry U.S. Bicycle Route 45.

Grand Illinois Trail
The Grand Illinois Trail would form a major basis for the U.S. Bicycle Route system in northern Illinois, as it bridges most of the gap between the isolated regional trails and a coordinated national bicycle route network in northern Illinois. As U.S. Routes generally aren't 500 mile-long loops, it would form parts of U.S. Bicycle Routes 18, 20, 30, 45, 49 and 59... which, incidentally, except for Route 47, is all the routes that have currently been proposed. This is because there is strong support for the existing Grand Illinois Trail. See.

Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail
Already assimilated into the Grand Illinois Trail, it would retain a U.S. Bicycle Route 30 designation.

Fox River Trail
The Fox River Trail is a good example of a bicycle trail that fits the U.S. Bicycle Route system; few intersections, picturesque and relatively low volume. As it stands, it would carry U.S. Bicycle Route 49 principally, and part of U.S. Bicycle Route 20 (what's on the Grand Illinois Trail)

Illinois Prairie Path (DuPage County)
The Illinois Prairie Path (IPP) is one of the original rail-to-trail paths in the country, approaching 40 years of age. The path consists of a main branch from Wheaton to Maywood, a branch to Elgin, and a branch to Aurora, as well as three different spurs. This makes the IPP relatively difficult to sign. It would carry U.S. Bicycle Route 20 along the Elgin and Maywood branches. The rest would have to be hashed out, and could include any of the following:


 * State bicycle route along Aurora spur
 * U.S. Bicycle Route 26 along Aurora spur, west on U.S. 30 to Rock Falls, then to Clinton
 * State route or U.S. Bicycle Route 24 along Geneva spur, following old Lincoln Highway

Proposed U.S. Bicycle Routes
The following sections are proposal made by me, Rob, regarding U.S. Bicycle Routes in the greater Chicagoland area. For alternatives to the routes presented, please utilize the talk page. Thank you for your cooperation!

U.S. Bicycle Route 18
U.S. Bicycle Route 18 would be Madison (or points west) to U.S. Bicycle Route 45 at the lakefront. This would be large parts of segments 8, and 10 of the Grand Illinois Trail. North of the trail, perhaps U.S. Route 12 to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin or U.S. Route 14, or the local road equivalents.

U.S. Bicycle Route 20
U.S. Bicycle Route 20 would be the main connector from the northern tier of the Grand Illinois Trail, through the western suburbs of Chicago to downtown. Route 20 would them run east to Indiana along the lakefront. It would consists of parts of the following trails:


 * Local roads to Dubuque, Iowa
 * Segments 6-8 of Grand Illinois Trail
 * Segment 9 of Grand Illinois Trail
 * Fox River Trail south to Elgin Branch of Illinois Prarie Path
 * Elgin Branch of Illinois Prairie Path
 * Main Stem of Illinois Prairie Path


 * Lakefront Trail / U.S. Bicycle Route 45 south to Indianapolis Boulevard or future paths
 * Local roads east to Indiana and Dunes Highway

U.S. Bicycle Route 30
U.S. Bicycle Route 30 would be parts of segment 2, and segments 3, 4 and 5 of the Grand Illinois Trail. By and large this is also the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail. At the eastern end this would also be part of the old routing of the Lincoln Highway.

U.S. Bicycle Route 45
U.S. Bicycle Route 45 would run along the lakefront in northeastern, highlighted by the 23 mile (37 km) Chicago Lakefront Trail. It would consist of the following segments, from south to north:

Note: Maps are hard to come by currently, so some refining of the routes may be needed.


 * (trail south to Kentucky)
 * Burnham Greenway (not complete)
 * U.S. 12/20/45 to Rainbow Beach or appropriate alternates
 * Lakefront Trail from Rainbow Beach to Hollywood Avenue
 * Segment 10 of the Grand Illinois Trail to Lake Bluff, Illinois
 * Robert McClory Bike Path
 * Zion Bike Path
 * Kenosha County, Wisconsin

U.S. Bicycle Route 47
U.S. Bicycle Route 47 would be any and all portions of the Des Plaines River Trail, to the Illinois Heritage Corridor (Route 30) and points south. It may complement U.S. Route 45.

U.S. Bicycle Route 49
U.S. Bicycle Route 49 would run along the Fox River Trail from the Wisconsin Border to Ottawa, and points south using the following:


 * Illinois Route 178 north from Matthiesen State Park through Utica
 * U.S. Bike Route 30 to Ottawa
 * Illinois Route 71 from Ottawa north to the Fox River Trail
 * Fox River Trail north to Segments 8 and 9 of the Grand Illinois Trail
 * Local roads to Wisconsin

U.S. Bicycle Route 59
U.S. Bicycle Route 59 would be segments 4, 5 and 6 (in part or in whole) of the Grand Illinois Trail. It would also form a major portion of a Great River Biking Trail, if one does not already exist.