Sharon Hoyer

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Last month, a delegation of Illinois state representatives visited Germany to tour transit systems in and between two major cities. The trip was inspired by an action plan issued by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which cited Berlin and Munich as successful case studies for a Chicagoland transit system currently facing an existential crises. Local ridership suffered during COVID-19, and ridership has yet to return to 2019 levels. The CTA, Metra, and Pace are facing a staggering $730 million total budget shortfall next year, when federal pandemic relief funding will run out.

This post was written by John Greenfield, and features research by Sharon Hoyer.

On a frigid #GivingTuesday, the Active Transportation Alliance held its annual member party to celebrate the organization’s 2024 advocacy wins, and announce priorities for the year ahead. Well over 100 members gathered in the cavernous Revolution Brewing taproom – fittingly situated along new curb-protected bike lanes on Kedzie Avenue in Avondale. Attendees mingled for the first hour, sipping beers and scarfing down pizza from Dimo’s and chicken from Nando’s Peri Peri. Full racks in the coat-and-bike room proved that cold-weather cycling is alive and well in Chicago.

Note: This post includes images from the aftermath of a fatal bike crash that may be disturbing.

The talk featured representatives from Elevated Chicago, the CTA, the Department of Planning and Development, People for Community Recovery, and the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce.

A new report from the Chicago Department of Transportation has some encouraging news about the effects of roadway improvements on traffic safety. Thanks to investment in traffic calming and bike/pedestrian safety infrastructure, Chicago recorded a 27 percent decline in traffic deaths in 2023, down from a peak of more than 180 roadway fatalities in 2021. 

As in 2023, the Chicago Department of Transportation has been busy installing new bikeways across the city this year. As of this writing, the city’s website that tracks the installations lists 42 completed segments this year so far, with 20 more underway. Two of them are part of my return commute from a workplace in Englewood to my home Logan Square, and they're a welcome bit of infrastructure on a ride that includes the some of the best and worst aspects of biking in our city.

No word yet on whether a contraflow bike lane would be added to facilitate eastbound cycling from the path on the west side of rider to the east side.