Steven Vance

After Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor, he released a transition report that called for creating 100 miles of protected bike lanes by May 2015. It was an ambitious and admirable goal. The report defined protected lanes as "separated from traveling cars and sit[ting] between the sidewalk and a row of parked cars that shield cyclists from street traffic." In December, the Department of Transportation changed the definition of protected bike lane to include what the rest of the country calls a buffered bike lane.

A proposal to legalize transit-oriented development would make it easier to build walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, in part by halving the car parking requirement for residences and eliminating it for non-residential uses near train stations. The ordinance is set to go before aldermen at the zoning committee's next meeting in September. Right now, without the ordinance, launching a new business that complies with Chicago's parking minimums can be a ludicrous ordeal. Here's what two business owners in Logan Square had to go through to get around their parking minimums.

The Chicago Transit Authority's revenue director, Eric Reese, hosted a gaggle of reporters on Friday to show off the Ventra "outreach bus" and demonstrate, for the first time, a Ventra vending machine. Ventra is set to replace the current fare media for CTA and the Pace suburban bus system, including all passes, Chicago Card/Plus, and reduced fare cards. The new technology will enable faster boarding -- speeding up buses especially -- and lower the CTA's costs.

[This article also appeared in "Checkerboard City," John's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

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The Chicago Department of Transportation will redesign Broadway between Montrose and Foster, a mile-long stretch that's currently a very car-centric four- to five-lane road. The street is so inhospitable that one resident at a public meeting Wednesday night said she doesn't drive, walk, or bike on it.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance last Wednesday that would reduce some barriers to transit-oriented development in Chicago, lowering parking requirements and allowing more density near transit stations. While the proposal is a step forward, there's much more the city can do to ensure that future growth leads to more walking and transit use, not more traffic and congestion.

The safety problems on Clark Street between North Avenue and Lincoln Park West are well known. The roadway is too wide, leading too many drivers to speed. Back in 2011, Bike Walk Lincoln Park co-organizer Michelle Stenzel wrote that Clark Street needs a road diet:

The north portion of Lake Shore Drive, from Grand Avenue to its northern terminus at Hollywood Avenue, will be rebuilt in the next five years. It's a major transportation project and a huge opportunity for Chicago, but will we make the most of it?

As of this Monday, 3,157 annual members had signed up for Divvy bike-share, putting Chicago between the initial growth rate of systems in Washington, DC, which started with 49 stations in September, 2010, and New York City, which started with a little more than 300 stations on May 27.