Don’t believe the hype: Despite what Inside Publication wrote, Smart Streets “spy cameras” don’t offer 1-minute grace
If you must, check out the Inside Publications / News-Star article at one of their distribution locations, a subscription, Bluesky, or Twitter.
To borrow the slogan from the old Reader column “Bob Watch,” here at Streetsblog Chicago, we read Inside Publications’ “Not In My Back Yard” newspapers so you don’t have to. Today, I must report another sorry episode in the local chain’s ongoing reign of error.
On October 14, Chicago sustainable transportation and traffic safety advocates rejoiced when the City Council voted unanimously to expand the Smart Streets camera pilot program citywide and make it permanent. This initiative uses cameras mounted on CTA buses and City vehicles to issue warnings and tickets to cars standing or parked in bus/bike lanes and bus stops. (A new state law would be required to allow camera ticketing for driving in these facilities.)
Keeping busways and bikeways free of obstructions obviously makes these modes more efficient and pleasant to use. But its also vital for safety, because it prevents people on bikes from having to detour into a mixed-traffic lane, and keeps transit riders from needing to enter the street to board.
That fact was underscored last October 24, when more than 65 people gathered on Leland Avenue in Uptown to remember and honor Elizabeth “Lily” Grace Shambrook, 3. with an honorary street sign for “Honorary Lily’s Greenway.” Tragically, as she was riding on the back of her mother’s bicycle on June 9, 2022, a ComEd truck driver illegally parked in the bike lane, causing a crash that took the girl’s life.
Here’s recent CTA Bluesky post highlighting why Smart Streets enforcement is so important. It also points out that the program isn’t causing major problems for drivers, because it encourages safer behavior. “84 percent of those who received [warnings or citations for illegal parking] did not repeat the offense,” it notes.
Predictably, the Inside Publications article on the subject, which ran on Wednesday in the car-centric chain’s Far North Lakefront paper the News-Star, is written as if the new policy is a massive injustice for motorists. While the piece doesn’t have a byline, it’s safe to assume the author is publisher / editor Ronald Roenigk. At least he didn’t use a pseudonym, like he has in the past.
Alll you need to know about Roenigk’s intent is clear in the headline. “City expands spy camera ticket writing scheme north to Foster.” If you’re keeping count, two out of the eight words imply that something unfair is going on.
Longtime Streetsblog Chicago readers will notice the use of the obnoxious Inside Publications phrase “privileged bike lanes,” which is this case refers to all bike lanes. As I noted years ago, it’s ludicrous to say that bikeways are a form of entitlement because motorists are prohibited from driving, standing, or parking in them. Should we call DuSable Lake Shore Drive and the Dan Ryan “privileged car lanes” because bike riders aren’t allowed to ride on them?
(By the way, today is the 66th anniversary of the opening of the Northwest, later Kennedy, Expressway. So I’m pouring out some Tullamore Dew for the late, great JFK.)
Inside Publications’ motorhead descriptions of walk/bike/transit projects aside, this article includes a couple of misleading or factually incorrect statements that need to be addressed. First of all, Roennigk writes, “The automated pole-and CTA bus-mounted cameras will issue tickets for double-parking.”
Nope, the cams don’t ticket for double parking unless you’re obstructing a bike lane. “The program is not currently enforcing double parking [when no bike or bus lanes are present],” Chicago Department of Transportation spokesperson Erica Schoeder previously told me.
More egregiously, Roenigk assures drivers that a “minimum one-minute block” is required before the cams will ticket them for standing or parking in a bike or bus facility. I have no idea which hat he pulled that notion out of, but it’s absolutely untrue.
“There is no grace period for stopping, standing or parking in a bike or bus lane, whether enforced by Smart Streets or DOF Parking Enforcement Aides.,” clarified Sean Wiedel, CDOT Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Citywide Services. “Also, I wanted to note that we do not currently have pole-mounted cameras that are being used to issue Smart Streets violations.”
The Smart Streets expansion ordinance was sponsored by Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) and Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th). Vasquez’s Chief of Staff Cat Sharp also shared some thoughts about the News-Star piece’s use of the terms “spy cameras” and “privileged bike lanes.”
“I don’t think it will be a surprise that we disagree with both of these categorizations,” she said via email. “If people do not violate the law by blocking bike lanes and bus lanes, then they will not be ticketed. We have lost too many lives in our ward and our city to bike crashes that could have been avoided had vehicles not been blocking the bike lanes. As elected officials, our highest priority should always be the safety of our residents. With this program, we are living up to this responsibility. The program has a proven record of success in changing driver behaviors, and we are proud to be expanding it citywide.”
“Inside Publications has a right to publish their perspective, though of course in this case we disagree,” Sharp concluded.
As the old saying goes, the newspaper chain is entitled its own opinions, but not its own fact. As such, the New-Star needs to run correction about its fictional “minimum one-minute block” statement. As I’ve written before, my advice to the publisher / editor is “Check yourself before you Roenigk yourself.”
In case you really feel the need, you can check out the Inside Publications / News-Star piece via their distribution locations, a subscription, Bluesky, or Twitter.
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