Based on nameless op-eds in neighborhood news outlets, you might assume Uptown residents are dead-set against the Chicago Department of Transportation's proposal to extend the Clark Street protected bike lanes north into Uptown. I've nicknamed the project the "Uptown Extension."
Not In My Back Yard-style newspapers from Inside Publications anonymously warned, "Privileged bike paths to spread further on Clark St., Montrose to Winnemac the next victim." That headline suggests lifesaving infrastructure is analogous to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, the similarly nameless and auto-centric blog Uptown Update attributed the initiative, which would convert parking on one side of Clark, to "very loud biking advocates swamp[ing] the meetings and online to advocate for... BIKE LANES!" To its credit, the website accurately stated that many of the bikeway supporters view Uptown Update "as dinosaurs who just [don't] care about safety."
But if you read some of the 15 comments currently below the Uptown Update article, and the 103 posts below its Facebook post, you'll see that the great majority of commenters support the project. Of course, not everyone is a fan. "Reading most of the comments here it is clear critical thinking is dead," responded one person on the blog. "And self-centered narcissism is alive and well."
So it's selfish for bike, electric scooter, and other sustainable transportation device users to want a single "car" lane converted so they can travel safely, while leaving a mere three lanes for driving and storing automobiles?
The intersection layout CDOT has proposed on Clark, with car parking on one side of the road, and curb-protected bike lanes with concrete end caps, which would shorten the pedestrian crossing distance by half.
But let's stop discussing the nameless anti-bikeway grumps in newsprint and on the Internet. In contrast, last Saturday's Tour the Grid ride, hosted by Chicago, Bike Grid Now!, drew about 100 real-life human beings, including several families with young kids, who are in favor of creating safer cycling conditions on Clark. The event met at one of the gates of St. Boniface Cemetery, 4901 N. Clark St., near the Andersonville retail strip.
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One of the attendees was Nathaniel Igrham, who works for a third-party logistics company that does trucking, so he's no stranger to traffic-related issues. He said he regularly bikes from his home in Lakeview to his workplace near the United Center, and he showed up for the ride because he wants to advocate for better cycling infrastructure.
"My commute a little scary sometimes," Ingraham explained. "I'd really like to see the new bike lanes on Clark. Protected infrastructure with curbs is obviously the best... For example, when you get to the part of Belmont [between Western and Kimball avenues] with protected bike lanes, you just feel so much safer. I'm fairly young and active, so I put up with the danger sometimes, but I know other people don't, and it would be really nice to see protected infrastructure for people who aren't willing to deal with the hassle of [being endangered by] drivers in Chicago."
CBGN! organizer Charna Albert introduced the Tour de Grid ride with an update on the grassroots group's advocacy for a citywide grid of low-stress bikeways. Currently they're working on helping to get a "bike grid ordinance" passed to mandate this strategy.
"We're trying to drum up support for this in City Hall," Albert said. "We've been meeting with community groups, especially on the Southwest Side to get them onboard with our vision. We met recently with [Near South Side] Ald. Nicole Lee [11th], which went pretty well – I think she'll be supportive... We're targeting some other Southwest Side alders. It's not going to be easy, and it's not going to be fast, but it's going to be worth it, and I do believe that eventually we'll win."
The Tour de Grid procession then took off, and while it wasn't fast, it was easy, with effective ride-marshaling from CBGN! members in safety vests. Although the huge crowd occupied entire mixed-traffic lanes (of course, taking up far less space than 100 car drivers would), I noticed zero friction with motorists, and plenty of positive reactions from bystanders.
I did about half of the route before I had to peel off for a meeting. Below is a gallery of images from the ride that includes photos provided by "Chicagoans Who Bike" blogger Viktor Köves and sustainable transportation advocate Michael McClean. The event showed that, despite what one might gather from pundits who claim urban corridors can't flourish without tons of parking, there's plenty of support for trading car storage space for people space.
Read more about the proposal here.
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