Steven Vance

I'm pleased to announce that the Chicago Crash Browser application is now open to the public. The tool, which I've been developing for almost two years, lets you look up the number of crashes where drivers struck pedestrians or cyclists at any location in Chicago. It includes crash data from 2005 to 2011. The purpose of the Chicago Crash Browser is to provide planners and engineers with the info they need to analyze where street safety investments should be made, and to educate residents and elected officials about important traffic safety issues.

While the Chicago Police Department issued no citation to the driver who doored Bridgid Mullen on Southport Avenue in April, 2010, she will be compensated for her injuries. Mullen has now received an $800,000 settlement from the driver's insurance company, reports the Lincoln Park Patch.

As Steven Vance wrote recently, protected bicycle lanes will be crucial for boosting Chicago’s bike mode share because they attract the “interested but concerned” set that doesn’t yet feel comfortable riding on city streets. But as the city installs protected lanes on roadways that are already popular bike routes, such as Milwaukee Avenue, it will be important to design and maintain the new lanes so that they appeal to current riders as well.

Ventra, you may have heard, is the new fare payment system for Chicago Transit Authority and Pace. (Metra will not be joining the Ventra system, and is currently testing other fare payment methods.) CTA is switching to Ventra to save $5 million per year on maintaining outdated fare collection technology, according to spokesperson Lambrini Lukidis.

The Illinois Department of Transportation's Circle Interchange highway project appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't around when the GO TO 2040 regional plan was being crafted and then adopted by 7 counties and 284 municipalities, a process that lasted from 2005 to 2010. It didn't show up until 2012, when IDOT asked the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning – our region's federally-designated planning organization – to insert the project into GO TO 2040. The addition of this $400 million highway project has sparked an important discussion about what went wrong and how the regional planning process can be fixed, to prevent IDOT from ambushing it again.

Last week, the Chicago Transit Authority finished construction of a partially-sheltered bike parking area on Lunt Avenue under the viaduct at the Morse Red Line station. The area is well-lit but surrounded by a tall fence with a single opening, on the alley. Instead of making the bike parking area more secure, this fence may actually decrease the perception of safety here.

Saturday's bike swap, located in the largest venue since its humble beginnings in the party room of Jak's Tap in 2010, brought in more visitors than ever -- about 1,700, according to the Active Transportation Alliance. Organizers credit several changes, including social media marketing, discounts for University of Illinois at Chicago students and staff, and new attractions. The event's proceeds benefit Active Trans, The Chainlink, and Bike Winter.

On Friday, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning transportation committee voted to recommend the addition of the Illinois Department of Transportation's $410 million Circle Interchange project to GO TO 2040, the official regional plan. According to CMAP's estimates, the project will increase carbon emissions and decrease transit trips. Governor Pat Quinn has directed IDOT to pursue the Circle Interchange expansion, but it cannot receive federal funds unless it is in the regional plan.

The Chicago Department of Transportation is proposing to build a protected bike lane on Milwaukee Avenue in River West, connecting the protected bike lane on Elston Avenue with the protected bike lane on Kinzie Avenue. This project could help many more Chicagoans feel safe enough to bike on city streets, but as we reported earlier this week, the local alderman and some businesses on Milwaukee are uneasy about trading parking spaces for a fully protected bikeway, and CDOT is considering alternating between protected and buffered bike lanes. The businesses shouldn't worry about the redesign: With better parking management and a fully-protected bike lane, Milwaukee will be accessible to more people and customers than it is today.

On-street bike corrals have many benefits for retail areas. They accommodate a high number of customers and advertise the efficiency of cycling, since one car spot fits up to 12 bikes. Parking bikes in the street frees up space on sidewalks for pedestrians. On-street racks placed at corners improve sight lines and shorten crossing distances for peds. And while motor vehicles often block the view of storefronts, bike corrals make them more visible.