Milwaukee Avenue
Connecting neighborhoods and communities along Chicago's busiest bikeway
Introduction
Chicago is building the best bike network in the country by implementing the Chicago Cycling Strategy. There are many exciting Complete Streets projects that are recently completed, underway, or upcoming along various segments of Milwaukee Avenue. A Milwaukee Avenue that is safer for cyclists is safer for everyone: people walking, biking, riding transit, and in cars.
About
Milwaukee is one of our busiest streets for biking because it is a great route for both neighborhood trips and accessing other communities. It is the vibrant commercial street of several neighborhoods and an efficient connection between communities.
An entire cycling ecosystem thrives along the corridor, with over a dozen bike-related businesses and nearly 20 Divvy bike share stations that originate more than 200,000 Divvy rides annually.
Milwaukee Avenue is Chicago's most heavily bicycled street.
Chicagoans have relied on Milwaukee Avenue for decades, and now thousands of people bike on Milwaukee Ave every day.
Along the corridor, neighborhoods like Wicker Park and Logan Square have developed as vibrant hubs of Chicago's cycling community. More broadly, cycling continues to grow throughout the corridor. The design of the street continues to evolve and still requires a nuanced understanding of local transportation and mobility needs, land use and development patterns, and other community initiatives.
Strategy in Action
Milwaukee Avenue is at the heart of Chicago's efforts to achieve an equitable transportation system through cycling, because it plays a key role among all the strategic pillars of the Chicago Cycling Strategy :
(1) A connected citywide network
(2) that also serves local trips
(3) with low-stress options for cyclists and pedestrians.
A Connected Citywide Network
Milwaukee Avenue connects Chicagoans from the Far Northwest Side to Downtown. It is a major crosstown route that cuts across the city's street grid, and many of Chicago's transportation options -- CTA buses, the Blue Line "L", Metra UP-NW commuter rail, and the Kennedy Expressway -- all pass by or along Milwaukee Avenue.
Building a Citywide Network
Chicago is approaching 500 miles of bikeways and off-street trails. As the network grows, bike routes connect with one another, making citywide cycling a reality. For example, Milwaukee Avenue's protected bike lanes connect with Kinzie Street, Chicago's first protected bike lane, and other key bike routes. For many Northwest Side residents, Milwaukee Avenue is a key part of their route to regional destinations, including Downtown Chicago, centers of employment, and cultural institutions.
Stitching Neighborhoods Together
Milwaukee Avenue passes through many Chicago neighborhoods, each of which celebrates its own distinctive identity, culture, and mobility needs. A ride along Milwaukee Avenues introduces people to a small sampling of the many cultures that make Chicago such an amazing place to live.
Connecting the Low-Stress Bike Network
Milwaukee Avenue connects with multiple low-stress bikeways and neighborhood bike networks, providing improved access to our city's neighborhoods. New protected bike lanes between North and Armitage Avenues have improved connections to the Bloomingdale Trail and Leavitt neighborhood greenway, while new protected bike lanes on Milwaukee will connect Schurz High School to the Belmont Avenue Complete Streets corridor.
Serving Local Trips
Milwaukee Avenue is the vibrant main street of many Chicago neighborhoods. Many people use their bikes on this street to fulfill everyday needs, such as accessing neighborhood schools and parks, shopping for groceries and other essentials, and connecting to public transit.
Milwaukee Avenue connects people to the most familiar and meaningful destinations in their lives like schools, parks, shopping, dining, family and friends, and jobs.
Low-Stress Options
Building a Complete Streets corridor of more than 11 miles, which passes through many distinctive neighborhoods, requires strategically implementing projects when opportunities arise, and designing streets that respond to local land uses, mobility needs, and community support.
Cycling in Chicago is growing faster than in any other large city in the United States. CDOT is implementing more protected bike lanes than ever before to help ensure that the number of people biking continues to grow. The recent protected bike lanes between North and Armitage Avenues (before and after images pictured at right) has improved conditions for people walking, biking, riding transit, and in cars.
Recent Successes
01 / 04
1
Upgrades, Enhancements, and Added Benefits
In 2022, CDOT upgraded the bike lanes from Augusta Avenue to Division Street with physical separation from auto traffic, while enhancing existing protected bike lanes from Chicago Avenue to Augusta Boulevard with concrete curbs. Both sections include bus boarding islands to allow for safer, more efficient bus operations. By cutting crossing distances in half, these changes significantly improved the safety and comfort of people walking along and across Milwaukee.
2
Connecting with Low-Stress Bikeways
In 2023, CDOT began construction on protected bike lanes from North Avenue to Armitage Avenue, with many low-stress designs, such as the connection to the Leavitt neighborhood greenway (pictured at right).
3
Improving safety for everyone, no matter how they get around
After protected bike lanes were installed from Western to California Avenues, injury-producing crashes decreased by more than 50%. These crucial safety benefits extended to every road user: people walking, biking, on transit, and in cars.
4
Encouraging More Riders
CDOT installed protected bike lanes from Addison Street to Irving Park Road in 2022. The popularity of low-stress bike facilities through the Irving Park and Portage Park community areas demonstrate that protected bike lanes are important transportation infrastructure for all neighborhoods.
Upcoming Projects
CDOT is continuing to enhance Milwaukee Avenue, filling gaps, upgrading more segments to protected bike lanes and reconfiguring space to improve bus operations and pedestrian safety. These projects will create seven miles of dedicated bikeways between Irving Park Road and Downtown, and include:
- Kinzie Street to Chicago Avenue
- Maplewood Avenue to Washtenaw Avenue (bus stop improvements)
- California Avenue to Logan Boulevard
- Logan Square Monument
- Belmont Avenue to Addison Street
Kinzie to Chicago
Improving existing protected bike lanes
CDOT will resurface Milwaukee Avenue from Kinzie Street to Chicago Avenue, adding additional concrete curb to strengthen the protected bike lane and bus boarding islands to improve transit operations. CDOT will also rebuild the Milwaukee & Erie intersection to make it better organized and more comfortable for everyone.
Maplewood to Washtenaw
Bus boarding islands allow buses on Milwaukee to access stops without pulling in and out of traffic.
Five new bus boarding islands between Maplewood Avenue and Washtenaw Avenue will improve bus operations, reduce illegal parking in bus stops, and eliminate the need for buses to cross the bike lane. People using transit have more space at bus stops, and the boarding islands can make it easier for buses to deploy the ramp for people in wheelchairs or with strollers.
California to Logan
Extending protected bike lanes in Logan Square
CDOT will install protected bike lanes from California to Logan, creating a continuous protected bike lane from the intersection of Milwaukee, North, and Damen to Logan Square.
Logan Square Monument Improvements
Connecting low-stress bikeways through complex intersections
CDOT has begun construction on a transformation of the Logan Square Monument area into a more pedestrian-and bike-oriented public space. The project will include protected bike lanes around the square, expanded green space, and a new public plaza adjacent to the Blue Line Station.
Belmont to Addison
Mind the Construction!
Crews are hard at work re-building our streets to make them safer, better-organized, and more efficient for everybody. CDOT will begin another Complete Streets transformation on Milwaukee Avenue from Belmont Avenue to Addison Street, connecting new protected bike lanes on Belmont to existing protected bike lanes on Milwaukee north of Addison. Keep an eye out for our crews who are building a better Milwaukee Avenue!
Where We're Going
Designing streets to be accessible, inviting, and safe for people of all ages, abilities, and modes doesn't only serve transportation needs. Complete Streets help us become the city we aspire to be. A city that...
... Supports economic development, the natural environment, and public health...
... Engages young people to proactively envision a future for their neighborhoods and their city...
... Extends the benefits of living in a large, diverse city, to everyone, making living here more equitable and affordable for all...
... And, enables us to move through our city comfortably, efficiently, and safely, with the sense of pride that comes from calling Chicago our home.
