Although the Village of Hinsdale was one of the first municipalities within Illinois to sign a bicycle route, the time has arrived for the Village to update its bicycle network to link routes in Hinsdale to other bikeways in DuPage and Cook Counties. These improvements are needed such that bicycling can become both a viable transportation alternative and a means of promoting recreational activity and community health initiatives.

Hinsdale Bicycle Plan Workshop

On Saturday, April 14, 2007, more than thirty residents and bicycling advocates gathered in Hinsdale for the Bicycle Master Plan workshop and tour. The workshop began with an eight-mile ride through the village, during which bicyclists viewed different types of roads in Hinsdale, ranging from local residential streets to major commercial thoroughfares. Hinsdale has a long history of providing on-street cycling, and the new Hinsdale Bicycle Plan seeks to build upon that legacy.

Those who attended the workshop rode on various streets to determine their suitability for bicycling, as well as to identify the best ways to reach major destinations within Hinsdale. The community pool, downtown Hinsdale, and all of Hinsdale's schools were seen as important destinations that residents envision to be connected by a bicycle route network. Participants also identified the many barriers preventing them from reaching their destinations on bicycle, including busy intersections, difficult railroad crossings, or impassible highways like the Tri-state Tollway.

Making Connections

Making connections to Hinsdale's neighbors is important, as well. Representatives from area school districts, local police, and road cyclists from neighboring communities participated in the workshop, sharing their views with respect to getting into and around Hinsdale on bicycle. With the goal of improved bicyclist comfort and safety, workshop attendees sought to identify good roads for bicycling, roads in need of improvement to better accommodate bicycling, and opportunities for creating shared use paths separate from the street for recreational and children's bicycling.

Many roadways, including most residential streets throughout Hinsdale, are suitable for bicycling in their current condition. They carry local traffic at low speeds, and are controlled by stop signs and yield signs at most intersections. Such roadways are suitable for bicycle routes. Busier roadways, like Oak Street and Hinsdale Avenue west of the Metra Station, are better suited for on-street improvements like a painted bike lane. These roadways carry more traffic at higher speeds than local streets, but still can accommodate bicyclists with the right improvements. Fortunately, this can be done without removing on-street parking. High-traffic streets, like 55th Street and Ogden Avenue, are not convenient or safe for most bicyclists. Roadway speeds are high and current lane configurations do not provide enough space for a bike lanes In these situations, residents looked for alternative routes or shared use paths that could be constructed nearby.

Next Steps

Consultants from T.Y. Lin International, a transportation consulting firm specializing in non-motorized planning, will propose a comprehensive network of bicycle routes, lanes, and shared use paths that can be implemented in phases under the direction of the Hinsdale Parks & Recreation Department and Department of Engineering. The Bicycle Task Force will review the policy recommendations made by T.Y. Lin at their next meeting on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the Memorial Building.

If you have any comments or questions, please contact Tim Gustafson, Transportation Planner, at 312-777-2875 or by email.