Chicago’s most notorious bike-share haters, married couple and lawyers David Kolin and Jeannine Cordero, have gotten Divvy deliverance. In the wake of a lawsuit by the pair, the city has removed a “hideous” bike-share station from their Lakeview block. However, it’s not for the reasons you might expect.
On August 21, Kolin and Cordero sued the Chicago Department of Transportation and 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman, demanding the removal of the station in front of their condo at 3565 North Pine Grove. They argued that the facility would attract garbage, and could be a magnet for strangers who might follow their kids into the building. Two days later, a judge dismissed the couple’s request to have the station removed immediately, but the lawsuit continued.
The lawsuit settled a few months ago, according to CDOT spokesman Pete Scales. As part of the deal, the city agreed to move the docks about 50 feet south, away from the couple’s door and closer to the alley. This afternoon, workers moved the station a block north, to the southeast corner of Pine Grove and Waveland, but Scales said the relocation was unrelated to the lawsuit.
“That’s one of the top 30 most-used stations in the system, with about 32 trips per day,” he said. “Because it’s so popular, we wanted to add a few more docks. Moving the station allowed us to expand the station, and also conserve some [car] parking spaces.”
The controversial station’s new home is next to the New Yorker, a 594-unit, high-rise condo tower, and there are several other high rises nearby. Scales said he’s heard of no objections from the station’s new neighbors. “This moves the station closer to thousands of people,” he said.
While this sounds like a fine location for the blue bikes, it's mildly annoying that Kolin and Cordero, a pair of squeaky wheels, got their way. It's safe to assume that, during the eight-plus months their block was "begrimed" by Divvy bikes, there were no major waste management issues or child abductions.
