Chicagoans love their bikes and excitedly share their favorite routes for zipping around town.

Local cyclists are also quick to voice their frustrations and concerns, from safety to inadequate infrastructure. These concerns were underscored this spring by a series of accidents that killed road users at busy intersections.

WBEZ recently asked Chicagoans their thoughts on cycling in the city – the good ones and the bad ones – and the questions they had for city hall transport officials. Questions and comments from nearly 200 cyclists poured in. (See their questions — and the city’s answers — in our sidebar.)

Frustrations include clogged bike lanes and potholes, while protected lanes along Elston Avenue and the Martin Luther King Parkway have drawn praise.

What bothers Chicago cyclists the most

• When cars and buses block bike lanes

One of the most common annoyances we’ve heard about biking in Chicago is how often bike lanes are ignored by motorists.

“They are almost always blocked by double parking lots, delivery trucks, etc. It looks good on paper, but it doesn’t work as well in real life,” wrote Susan Tonon of North Center.

A North Lawndale resident said “it’s particularly frustrating to see police cars, CTA vehicles, information vans [and] other municipal vehicles do it when they should above all know better.

West Loop resident Robbie Ellis said he was “resigned to carpooling” as he took to the bike lanes.

• East-west route search

Cyclists love to ride north to south on the Lakefront Trail and other major thoroughfares, but “cycling east to west could use a little love,” as Benjamin Bedley of Buena put it. Park.

“East-west is much harder,” wrote one Uptown runner. “Crossing the river is always a problem because you’re channeled to the bridges, and they’re hit-and-miss until the bike paths.”

There are particular frustrations with Chicago Avenue, where a Wicker Park resident noted there was a designated bus lane, but no bike lane.

“So now if I try to be a law-abiding citizen and stay out of the bus lane, I get bombarded with horns and cars driving too close to me because they don’t want to share “, wrote the biker.

Eboni Senai Hawkins, who lives in Oak Park, said she chooses residential streets even over roads with bike lanes.

“Those with lanes are often laid out along major traffic arteries and I prefer not to play hopscotch with the buses,” she writes.

• Bike paths that lead nowhere

Chicago cyclists not only want protected bike lanes, but also connected bike lanes. In the current network, cyclists sometimes say they are going to ride and the lane suddenly stops.

“I’m riding and all of a sudden the bike lane is gone! (Example: Jackson Boulevard),” wrote one Oak Park cyclist.

One Uptown resident wrote that “bike paths should be continuous and all interconnected.”

Without sufficient connections, this forces cyclists to cross dangerous streets in order to “access safe routes”, as one cyclist from West Rogers Park put it.

• Potholes

Cyclists across the city are united in their hatred of potholes and their frustrations with how long it takes the city to fill them.

“Lanes through West Side parks are often riddled with potholes,” Hawkins said.

Bike lanes can be rendered “useless” by potholes, like on Cortland Avenue, writes an East Village biker. This area has become a “heartbreaking nightmare,” as one Humboldt Park resident put it.

“Across the south side, the quality of sidewalks, bike paths in parks and even streets is TERRIBLE. So many potholes,” wrote one Hyde Parker.

• Not feeling safe

Chicago bike enthusiasts want more spaces where they can ride without competing with cars for space.

“Being hit and knocked to the ground twice by cars, once badly, really impacted my sense of safety,” wrote one Lake View resident. “I know a lot of people who don’t want [bike] because they feel it is not safe. I would like to see more infrastructure dedicated to the physical separation of cars from bicycles for the main thoroughfares.

Andersonville’s Liz Kersjes said biking in Chicago is a huge source of happiness, but it also comes with some anxiety.

“I would cycle even further and further if I felt safe, but every time I ride, at some point, I think about my safety and if a car is about to hit me or carry me away” , said Kersjes.

“Car-free streets for cycling would be a joy and so many people would use them as an alternative means of transport. Just watch the lakeside path – it’s packed all the time!

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

What cyclists like

• The “606” trail

There’s a lot of praise for the approximately 3-mile elevated trail that transformed an old rail line into a popular biking artery between Ridgeway and Ashland Avenues.

A resident of Hermosa said the 606 was his “favorite feature of Chicago” and said “anywhere outside of the 606 is frustrating in comparison”.

Other survey respondents said the time of day made a difference when it came to the 606: many often choose to get out early and have the car-free crossing almost to themselves or “when it’s raining and that there’s nobody,” as Belmont Cragin resident and year-round cyclist Laurie Wettstead replied.

• The 18-mile lakeside trail

Unsurprisingly, many people we’ve heard from consider the Lakefront Trail “above all else” over other city bike trails — calling it “glorious,” “a treasure,” “ideal,” and “obviously the best.” But their praise often came with the caveat: “If you can get to it.”

This frustration alludes to the fact that despite the trail being 18 miles long, only a few major thoroughfares connect to it and they tend to be high traffic areas.

“Love the Lakefront Trail, but hate reaching it from downtown,” wrote one Lake View cyclist.

“The lakeside path is amazing but getting there is dangerous!” another Andersonville-area runner wrote.

Some cyclists say they avoid the lakeside during the busy summer months, but some parts of the trail may be less crowded.

“The South Lakefront is beautiful and not crowded like the North Lakefront,” wrote one Hyde Park resident.

Others say better communication between riders could help make it a better experience for everyone.

“There are many, many cyclists who don’t ring a friendly bell or give a ‘on your left’ warning as they pass. It can be scary and dangerous,” Buena Park’s Bedley wrote.

• Elston Avenue

The love of cyclists for Elston, which takes cyclists from the city center through the North West Side, is real.

“Elston is great and it would be so much better if they regularly sweep/shovel the bike path and not park there,” wrote one respondent from Bucktown.

Another wrote: ‘Elston is great because the bikes are protected from traffic by parked cars and the lanes are painted green.

• Martin Luther King Walk

Laura Alagna, who lives in Rogers Park, wrote: “I really like the bike paths on the south side! The one on MLK Drive is wide and nice, and has very few obstructions with cars etc.

“There’s not much traffic on this road and the architecture on it is really beautiful,” Alagna added.

• Protected cycle paths in general

Nearly half of all respondents told us they like protected bike lanes, which separate bikes from car traffic using curbs, poles or parked cars. And they want more.

“If I was running the city and I had unlimited money, I’d make the whole thing a cement barrier,” said Kersjes, who lives in Andersonville. The painted alleys, she pointed out, are fading.

Elihu Blanks, who has cycled around the city for 20 years, said “most cyclists don’t like street paint”.

“That doesn’t stop a 3,000-pound vehicle from propelling you where it wants to go,” South Shore’s Blanks said.

A biker who lives in West Loop wrote that “protected bike lanes on streets are essential. The blatant disregard for bike lane violations is unacceptable.

Is there anything you love or hate about biking in Chicago that isn’t on this list? Share your thoughts on social media using #WBEZBikeBetter.

Courtney Kueppers is a digital producer/reporter at WBEZ.