Steven Vance

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider has pushed back a crucial vote about the Illiana Expressway a week to October 17. The vote by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning policy committee will decide if building 47 miles of tolled highway south of the urbanized areas of Chicagoland and into Indiana can proceed.

Last Friday, Divvy eclipsed Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., to become the second largest bike-share system in the United States.

Last night about 30 people showed up to discuss car parking issues on Marshall Boulevard in Little Village, at a meeting hosted by 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas at the Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy. The redesign of Marshall Boulevard last fall added a protected bike lane on one side of the street and a buffered lane on the other, significantly reducing the incidence of speeding. Confusion about the new parking rules post-implementation soured some residents on the project, however, and CDOT was in a defensive posture last night, promising to add 74 parking spaces to the area.

Tonight the future of the Marshall Boulevard bike lane could be at stake at a community meeting hosted by 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas.

Bus rapid transit opponents may have made the most noise at Tuesday night’s community meeting about the CTA’s plan for fast, reliable bus service on Ashland Avenue, hosted by the Chicago Grand Neighbors Association at Talcott Elementary School in Noble Square. But when you’re familiar with the details of the proposal, as well as successful BRT and bus-priority routes in other cities, it becomes clear that the NIMBY arguments don't hold water.

Biking downtown has improved substantially with the addition of protected bike lanes on Kinzie Street and Dearborn Street, but much work remains to be done to create a safe, cohesive bike network linking people to Chicago's biggest employment center.

The longer route and new activities of this year's Milwaukee Avenue Open Streets cicloviá promised to bring the car-free playground into more neighborhoods and attract more people. The event expanded from last year's 1.4 miles to 2.6 miles, and the city had signed up -- for the first time ever -- to pay for police officers and traffic control aides. The event was paid for mostly by the Wicker Park-Bucktown Special Service Area (Steven is a member of the transportation subcommittee) and sponsors Aldi, Walgreens, and Revolution Brewing.

Divvy bike-share continues to expand, Assistant Transportation Commissioner Sean Wiedel said at the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council on Wednesday, and should reach 300 stations by the end of September. As of today there are 222 stations. Wiedel reported that over 7,700 annual members and numerous 24-hour pass users have made almost 325,000 trips and pedaled almost 950,000 miles since June 28.