Part of lakefront trail re-opens with separate bike/pedestrian lanes

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Sunday officially re-opened a section of lakefront path between North and Fullerton avenues that had been closed since May as construction crews worked to install separate lanes for cyclists and pedestrians.

The stretch of trail has historically been one of the lakefront’s busiest and most congested.

It is the latest accomplishment in the city’s piecemeal construction plan to create separate lanes along the entire 18-mile lakefront path that runs between Ardmore Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood and 71st Street in the South Shore neighborhood.

The entire project is slated for completion by the end of 2018.

The goal is to decrease the chance of dangerous collisions on one of the nation’s busiest trails. It’s used by an estimated 100,000 people daily on summer weekends.

A $12 million gift from billionaire Ken Griffin — Illinois’ richest man and an avid cyclist — is covering the cost of the trail-separation north and south of the Navy Pier flyover.