Chicago Bike Lanes: Network Map, Lane Types and How to Ride Them

Chicago’s bikeway network is large and easy to misread. Each kind of lane works differently, and the kind you are on decides how you should ride it.

The network in numbers

Chicago’s cycling network includes over 500 miles of bikeways.² CDOT’s table gives 501.2 miles as of December 2025 and is updated quarterly as segments are installed or upgraded.¹ CDOT installed 100 miles of cycling infrastructure in the past three years, and 42% of the network is low-stress.²

Growth has not been confined to the Loop and the North Side. More than half of the expansion has been on the South and West sides.⁴

Facility	Miles, December 2025
Protected bike lanes	68.71
Neighborhood greenways	85.21
Off-street trails	55.31
Total network	501.21

CDOT also tracks buffered lanes, standard lanes and marked shared lanes.

Lane types, from safest to shared

Protected bike lanes

A protected lane is dedicated space physically separated from vehicles on higher-traffic streets. The separation may be concrete barriers, plastic curbs and delineators, or parking lanes shifted away from the curb.³ CDOT says protected lanes narrow the roadway and prompt drivers to travel at safer speeds.²

The city installed over 12 miles of them in 2025. They now make up over 15% of the on-street network.² Concrete is becoming the standard. CDOT’s 2023 cycling update says it has begun upgrading all existing protected lanes with concrete curbs, and that all new ones will have concrete protection.⁵

Neighborhood greenways

A greenway turns a residential street into a low-stress alternative to an arterial. The tools are traffic calming, signage and special pavement markings.³ Some greenways also allow two-way bike travel on a one-way street.³

The routes often include speed humps, a 20-mph speed limit, raised crosswalks, curb extensions and contraflow bike facilities.² CDOT added 14 miles in 2025, bringing the total to 85 miles, nearly 20% of the network.²

On Long Avenue, a one-way conversion helped produce a 97% drop in the share of drivers going above 20 mph.²

Bike lanes, buffered lanes and shared lanes

A standard lane is on-street space marked with signs, striping and pavement markings.³ A buffered lane adds extra space for clearance from the door zone and moving traffic.³

A CDOT guide describes a bike lane as five to six feet wide, striped, and marked with a large white bicycle.⁶

A marked shared lane is a travel lane with pavement markings and signs. The markings stress the presence of cyclists and their right to use the full lane.³

Off-street trails

Chicago has over 50 miles of car-free trail, including the Major Taylor Trail, the 606 and the Lakefront Trail.³ Start with the 606 or the Lakefront Trail when you want no cars at all.

Intersection markings

Intersections are where lanes change character, and CDOT uses a few distinct treatments.

• Bike boxes. A green-painted space at the edge of an intersection lets cyclists wait during a red light. Drivers should stop at the stop bar before the box.³
• Bike turn boxes. Where a turn is difficult, proceed straight across on the green, then reposition the bike and go in the new direction on the next green.³
• Dashed markings. Dashes show a shared space between motorists and cyclists and push drivers to take care when turning.³
• Advisory lanes. On narrow two-way streets, drivers must check for cyclists on the right, slow, and let them pass before moving into the dashed lane.³
• Dotted lane stripe. When the stripe turns dotted, motorists may cross the lane to turn. Hold your position, and be ready to slow for a driver who does not yield.⁶

How to ride the lanes

You are not required to use a bike lane. A bicyclist may use the adjacent travel lane when moving at the speed of traffic.⁶ Illinois law sets the baseline: ride as close as practicable and safe to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.⁷

Shall ride as close as practicable and safe to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.⁷

That rule bends for hazards. It allows leaving the right edge when reasonably necessary to avoid fixed or moving objects or parked or moving vehicles.⁷

Position matters more than the paint. In a lane beside parked cars, ride on the left side of the lane so an opening door will not hit you.⁶

Maintenance and winter

CDOT sweeps and plows protected lanes with specialized smaller vehicles, deployed Monday through Friday.⁴ Equipment problems or construction can disrupt the schedule.⁴ The city has tripled the number of maintenance vehicles able to operate in protected lanes.⁵

In winter, CDOT handles the roughly 70 miles of protected lanes.⁸ Streets and Sanitation clears the non-protected, paint-only lanes beside the car lanes.⁸ The city encourages residents to report lanes that need attention.⁸ More on cold-weather riding is in winter cycling in Chicago.

Restriping is routine. Lanes are repainted through maintenance programs, arterial resurfacing and utility restoration.⁵

Where the network is growing

The newest projects show the direction.

• Clark Street, Montrose to Winnemac. Protected lanes that connect Andersonville, Ravenswood and Uptown.²
• Indiana Avenue, 31st to Garfield. Protected lanes installed to slow vehicle speeds.²
• Archer Avenue and Kedzie Avenue. Safety upgrades with protected lanes. CDOT’s 2025 highlights expected construction to finish in 2026.²
• Winnemac Street, Damen to the Lakefront Trail. A greenway that links neighborhoods to the lakefront.²
• Belmont, Milwaukee to Western. Protected lanes and bus islands now span 1.8 miles.⁴

CDOT’s cycling strategy projects that its planned projects would put 70% of Chicagoans within a half mile of a low-stress bikeway.⁵ Of the planned projects, 85% are protected lanes and neighborhood greenways.⁴

CDOT keeps a tracker of upcoming and recently completed bikeways. It is not exhaustive, and it is updated periodically.⁹

Get the map

CDOT produces a free Chicago Bike Map every spring. It shows bike shops, CTA and Metra stops, and Divvy stations.¹ Printed copies are free while supplies last at aldermanic offices and at bike shops.¹

Use it with the rest of the commuting guides: start at the commuting hub, then read the Chicago bike commuting guide and bike parking downtown.