John Greenfield

Howdy, Streetsblog Chicago readers! We couldn't ask for a better day to kick off this publication's now-annual Bike Lane Fest series than this lovely mid-December day with weather in the upper 40s Farenheit. (Let's not think too hard about whether climate change is playing a role.)

• Driver fatally struck Saul Hernandez, 37, Sunday around 4:55 on NB I-53 south of Lake Cook Road in Palatine (ABC)

• RTA: "Last chance for public comment on 2025 budget and 5-year capital program"

Yesterday I discussed the brouhaha over a proposal to extend the two-way protected bike lane on Evanston's Chicago Avenue south about two miles to the city of Chicago border. A total of 62 merchants and "avid cyclists" signed two different letters opposing the new bikeway because it would involve converting 66 of the corridor's 250 car parking spaces – only about a quarter of them. However, more than 250 business people and residents have signed another letter from the Evanston Transit Alliance in favor of the initiative.

• Driver, 49, who allegedly killed another motorist, 69, in DUI crash Sunday around 7:40 PM at St. Charles/Villa in Villa Park charged with felony (FOX)

While an article in the Evanston RoundTable suggests that most residents are opposed to the project, hundreds of people signed a letter to support it.

• CDOT: New protected bike lanes are in on Milwaukee Avenue between California Avenue and Logan Boulevard

Sadly, last week, an SUV driver struck and killed a 44-year-old male man in Chicago's North Lawndale community and fled the scene.

• Image released of SUV whose southbound driver fatally struck man, 44, Wednesday around 7 PM in 1300 block of S. Central Park Avenue (WGN)

This has been a big year for Chicagoland sustainable transportation issues, but there are greater challenges ahead in 2025.