John Greenfield
In addition to editing Streetsblog Chicago, John writes the transportation column for the Chicago Reader weekly paper. A Chicagoan since 1989, he enjoys exploring the city on foot, bike, bus, and 'L' train.
Recent Posts
A witness discusses how a speeding postal worker killed Joshua Avina, 15, on his bike
| | No Comments
"This is yet another tragic example of one of Chicago's children not being able to ride safely in the city's streets," said an attorney from a local bike-focused firm.
Equity-focused Chicago Mobility Collaborative meeting takes place at inequitable time of day
| | No Comments
The transportation department could take one very simple action to help more broaden the demographics of who has a say in Chicago mobility projects, but for some reason it has resisted doing so.
Stop the child killings. Joshua Avina-Luna, 15, hit by van driver on bike, is 4th kid to die this month.
| | No Comments
Chicago has lost four children to traffic violence this month, but the response to the crisis from some aldermen and media outlets has been totally irresponsible.
WBEZ retracts claim that speed cams “don’t slow down” drivers, have “little safety benefit”
| | No Comments
It's not surprising when right-wing publications run garbage articles about traffic cameras. But it's disappointing when progressive news outlets approach this issue with a windshield POV.
Another reason why CTA should get real about its schedule: looming funding shortfalls
| | No Comments
Reallocating service now to address staffing shortages in the best way possible, while being truthful about that, is a good dress rehearsal for what to do if and when federal relief money runs out.
Here are 16 alders who voted to allow deadly speeds, and crash cases in their wards.
| | No Comments
Let's look at the 16 alders who supported the ordinance – and recent traffic violence cases in their wards that should have inspired them to vote differently.
Dear CTA: Stop gaslighting us. Change “scheduled service” to better reflect actual service.
| | No Comments
The CTA needs to do the honest and responsible thing. It must change its published timetables so that "scheduled service" and actual service begin to at least remotely resemble each other.
Ordinance introduced to allow towing bikeway blockers, speed cam vote gets deferred
| | No Comments
A lot of transportation-related stuff happened at today's City Council council meeting.
Alderpersons turn up the heat on CTA to explain how the agency will fix service gaps
| | No Comments
Service gaps were understandable during the depths of the pandemic, but that's no longer an acceptable excuse, so it's good to see alders lighting a fire under the agency to address the problem.
These 16 alderpersons narrowly won the committee vote to let people drive at deadly speeds
| | No Comments
Tomorrow the legislation will go before the full City Council, including the 19 alders who didn't weigh in today, and hopefully it will be defeated.
If alders vote to allow drivers to speed by 9 mph, more Chicagoans will die
| | No Comments
It's clear that the arguments for letting drivers speed by up to 9 mph over the limit are bogus. And if aldermen vote to do that, they'll have blood on their hands.
Senior in pickup kills Ride Illinois board member Ramon Escapa on bike in downstate Frederick
| | No Comments
"Our organization is devastated by his death," said Ride Illinois executive director David Simmons We will miss Ramon and the amazing work he did for those who ride bikes in Illinois."