John Greenfield

This post includes summaries of 2024 pedestrian and bike fatality cases on surface streets within the city of Chicago that Streetsblog has not previously covered.

Two University of Illinois Chicago urban planning scholars have released a new report on public transportation access and commute disparities in Chicagoland. Associate Professor Dr. Kate Lowe and Assistant Professor David López-García from the Department of Urban Planning and Policy collaborated on the study. It's titled "Race, travel time, and earnings in Chicagoland: Comparing predicted job accessibility with the commuting burden of public transit."

• Sun-Times letters: Transit advocate and environmental policy analyst Nik Hunder lists Carter's downsides, another reader credits the CTA chief for trying

On Tuesday, January 7, hundreds of Illinois residents headed to Springfield for 2025 Climate Day at the Capitol. They were pushing for sustainable, affordable, and equitable transportation through proposed legislation like the IL CleanJobs Platform and the Clean and Equitable Transportation Act.

It was a bombshell, but not a huge surprise, when the CTA announced this morning that President Dorval R. Carter Jr. is stepping down from his post at the end of this month.

• Active Transportation Alliance: Here's how to tell your alder we must lower Chicago's speed limit to 25 at Wednesday's full City Council vote

It's that time of year again. On Friday, the 47th Ward, the North Side district represented by Ald. Matt Martin, launched its annual participatory budgeting voting process. PB elections let residents help determine how to spend a ward's $1.5 million a year in discretionary "menu" money for infrastructure projects.

• Tribune editorial: "New York’s congestion tax is no model for Chicago"

Wednesday morning, the Chicago Department of Transportation shared some good news about how popular shared sustainable transportation devices have become in our city. "Over 10 million trips were taken on shared bikes and e-scooters in 2024, a new annual record," the agency said in a press release. "This milestone reflects a growing demand for sustainable and convenient transportation options, supported by CDOT’s investments in micromobility infrastructure and the continued expansion of the Divvy bike-share system."

• Could congestion pricing help ease Chicago traffic? (WGN)