Showers for Bike Commuters in Downtown Chicago: What Is Left

A downtown commute is short on distance and long on logistics. The hard part is rarely the ride. It is what happens after you lock up and walk into an office in your work clothes.

The station’s closing

From 2004 the answer was the Millennium Park bike station. The Chicago Department of Transportation built the steel-and-glass structure at 239 E. Randolph St. for $3.2 million, using federal air-quality funds.¹ It opened in 2004.¹ Mayor Richard M. Daley called it the “first of its kind in the Midwest and one of the biggest in the nation.”²

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced that the center, then called HUB312, would permanently close on Friday, September 30, 2022, at 5 p.m.¹ The department said it was exploring options for the best use of the space.¹ The agency blamed business conditions during and coming out of the pandemic.¹ It closed on that date, and in March 2023 the building was confirmed as a police-only facility.⁹

The facility was heated, covered 16,448 square feet and held over 300 bike spaces.² The closing meant the bike parking, locker room, repair and rental service going offline indefinitely, for the first time since 2004.¹

What it offered

Its final form, HUB312, opened in August 2021.³ Each bathroom held 4 showers.³ The change rooms had 128 women’s lockers and 112 men’s lockers, with 92 more in the common space.³ Towel service was available, and members entered with a key fob.³

Access ran on passes. In 2021 the operator listed a $15 day pass, a $50 monthly pass and a $250 annual pass.³ In May 2021 Shift Transit took over operations, rehabbed the locker rooms, added towel service and set up memberships.¹ A $5 monthly Equity Pass carried the same amenities for people who qualified for SNAP or LINK assistance.³ Bike parking itself was free. Only the locker rooms and showers cost money, and monthly and annual memberships were available for avid cyclists.² Business hours that year ran 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.³

How the original worked

In 2006 the Cycle Center ran on the same bargain. It offered 300 secure parking spaces, plus lockers and showers so a rider could refresh before work.⁴ A membership then cost $30 a month or $169 a year, plus a $20 registration fee, for Illinois residents.⁵ Parking without a membership was free.⁵

What to use now

Without the station, a commuter has four realistic routes. Weigh the monthly cost of a gym against the convenience of a shower at the desk, and ask any prospective employer what it provides.

• A gym near the office. The Metropolitan Planning Council advises using a shower at the office or a nearby gym, and riding harder because of it.⁸
• An employer with showers. Ask before you accept a job. Employers that want riders can pair showers with parking, as laid out in why employers should promote bike commuting.
• A university facility. UIC lets faculty, students and staff with a valid i-card shower in campus recreation center locker rooms for up to 30 minutes.⁶
• A Park District fitness center. Northwestern lists the Lake Shore Chicago Park District Fitness Center at 808 N. Lake Shore Drive for Chicago shower access. Visitors sign in at the front desk.⁷ Showering does not open the rest of the facility to non-members.⁷

Northwestern’s Evanston facilities sit in a restricted area, and users must register by email first.⁷ University access is for the university’s own people, so do not plan around it without an affiliation.

Arriving without a shower

The Metropolitan Planning Council’s advice is simple and cheap.⁸

1. If you sweat a lot, ride slower.⁸
2. If you still sweat too much, ride in gym clothes with your work clothes rolled in a backpack.⁸
3. At the office, towel dry, put on deodorant and dress.⁸

The same advice runs the other way. A shower at the office or a nearby gym is the license to ride harder.⁸

Pair it with parking

A shower solves half the arrival problem. The other half is a secure place to leave the bike for the workday. Start with bike parking downtown, then read the Chicago bike commuting guide. More guides sit in the commuting hub.