A Bike Route from Oak Park to Chicago?

The elusive quest for the safest bike route from Oak Park to the city just got a lot more interesting.

A plan reportedly under consideration by Chicago's Department of Transportation would create 10 miles of bike lanes, stretching west along Madison Street from the Loop to Oak Park.

During Monday's Oak Park Village Board meeting, a representative with the urban planning firm Altamanu Inc. said CDOT representatives told him the city was considering the new route. 

John Mac Manus, co-founder of Altamanu, has been working on Oak Park's Madison Street "road diet,” which aims to reduce motor traffic and make the corridor more friendly to cyclists and pedestrians.

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The news was echoed at Monday’s meeting by Mark de la Vergne, a project manager with Sam Schwartz Engineering, one of the lead consultants for Chicago's pedestrian and biking initiative that aims to bring 100 miles of new bike paths to the city's streets.

According to de la Vergne, who was also on-hand discussing the road diet, a draft plan for the Madison Street project will be up for public comment soon.

"As part of that project, the city is reaching out to its neighbors to sort of see what is being proposed in the area...That's one of the opportunities for Madison Street," he said.

The revelation seemed to surprise even the village board.

"That's the first time it's been mentioned to our board," said Village President David Pope. "I'm definitely interested. It has the potential to be a transformative type of investment, not just for Oak Park but for the entire city of Chicago."

Messages to CDOT on Tuesday were not returned.