Eyes on the Street
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More Before-and-After GIF Goodness: Bike Lanes, a Ped Scramble, and BRT
Inspired by a post from Streetsblog USA's Angie Schmitt, I recently tried my hand at using a new-ish feature of Google Streetview to illustrate how Chicago street transformations have improved traffic safety and made neighborhoods more livable. Google now lets you access archived Street View images, so it's easy to see how our roadways have changed for the better.
October 2, 2015
Before-and-After GIFs of Projects That Made Chicago Streets More Livable
Last year, Streetsblog USA's Angie Schmitt demonstrated how a new feature of Google Street View can be used to highlight street remix projects that have made cities more livable. Google now lets you look at archived Street View images, so it's easy to compare what streets looked like before and after they were reconfigured.
September 29, 2015
Eyes on the Street: Chicago Police SUVs That Aren’t Serving or Protecting
It goes without saying that it's bad when motorists park or stand their vehicles in crosswalks or bike lanes. Obviously, the former makes it harder for pedestrians to safely cross the street. The latter forces cyclists to merge into moving traffic to get around the obstacle, which can be dangerous for less experienced riders. It can also partially obstruct the travel lane, creating a hazard for other drivers.
September 18, 2015
Eyes on the Streets: New Bike Lanes and Pedestrian Facilities on Vincennes
Vincennes Avenue, which runs southwest from the 69th Street Red Line to the city limits, is one of the bike-priority Spoke Routes identified in the City's Streets for Cycling Plan 2020. Vincennes already had conventional bike lanes running from the train stop to 76th, and protected and buffered lanes from 84th to 103rd.
September 17, 2015
Eyes on the Street: The State Street Road Diet
Earlier this summer the Chicago Department of Transportation implemented a complete streets overhaul on State Street between 69th and 79th, in Park Manor and Chatham, as part of effort to slow down car traffic and make the area friendlier to pedestrians. Located just east of the Dan Ryan, the street is essentially a frontage road, which drivers have treated as an ittension of the expressway.
September 16, 2015
Orange Dots and Balloons Jazz Up the Sunnyside Pedestrian Mall
First built in 1975, the Sunnyside Pedestrian Mall is a leafy, car-free walkway that runs for two blocks between Beacon Street and Magnolia Avenue in Uptown’s Sheridan Park section. With its benches, plantings, and mosaic-covered pillars, it should be a popular place for all kinds of positive activity, along the lines of Lincoln Square’s Kempf Plaza.
August 28, 2015
Milwaukee Bike Lane Overhaul Includes Some Concrete Protection
Note: Keating Law Offices, P.C. has generously agreed to sponsor two Streetsblog Chicago posts about bicycle safety topics per month. The firm's support will help make Streetsblog Chicago a sustainable project.
August 20, 2015
Eyes on the Street: The New Normal on Clybourn Avenue
The Lakefront Trail. Milwaukee Avenue. The 606. And Clybourn Avenue?
August 13, 2015
Eyes on the Street: Checking Out the “Mistake by the Lake” Parking Garage
I have a confession to make. When I wrote Monday's post about the brand new parking garage that billionaire developer Jennifer Pritzker opened at Sheridan Road and Sherwin Avenue in Roger Park, I hadn't actually checked it out in person.
August 12, 2015
The Case of the Missing Andersonville “People Spots”
[This article also runs in Checkerboard City, John's transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]
August 4, 2015