Interviews

A new interactive map shows what transportation mode people use to get to work in each neighborhood in Chicago, while also identifying the share of Chicagoans who don't own cars. Shaun Jacobsen -- who writes the Transitized blog and occasionally freelances for Streetsblog -- created "How Chicago Commutes" to show that many residents will benefit more from walking, bicycling, and transit improvements than free curbside parking, which tends to dominate the discussion at public meetings.

[This piece also runs in Checkerboard City, John Greenfield's transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the street in print on Wednesday evenings.]

Veteran cyclists Vanessa Buccella and Annie Byrne hope to narrow Chicago’s bicycle commuting gender gap with their new shop BFF Bikes, opening this March at 2113 West Armitage in Bucktown. The city’s first truly woman-centric bike store will feature a largely female staff, a wide selection of women’s apparel, dressing rooms, and other amenities to create an inviting atmosphere for people who might feel less-than-comfortable at a traditional shop.

Prior to the Divvy bike-share launch, some folks argued that the program would be a waste of money because no one would use it during Chicago’s long winter. However, even during this week's cold, snowy weather, the fairly common sight of bundled-up riders on the baby-blue bikes proved the system is still getting plenty of use.

On Friday I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion of cycling and economics with bike writer Elly Blue, author of the new book “Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy,” at City Lit bookstore in Logan Square. Blue’s work has appeared in various biking, sustainability, and feminist publications, and she’s also the author of “Everyday Cycling,” a great beginner’s guide to using a bike for transportation. She blogs at TakingTheLane.com.

[A shorter version of this article ran in Checkerboard City, John’s column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

Since transportation commissioner Gabe Klein announced he’s resigning at the end of the month, he’s received plenty of praise for his work promoting safer, more efficient and more vibrant Chicago streets. However, after all the bold initiatives he’s spearheaded, he probably didn’t expect his sendoff to be all wine and roses. Yesterday the Expired Meter featured a guest post by the pseudonymous "Moe Torrist," an open letter to Klein sarcastically thanking him for his work to “eliminate cars from the streets of Chicago.”

This morning the Chicago Sun-Times published a fairly solid editorial with some interesting thoughts on the task ahead for whomever takes the reigns of the Chicago Department of Transportation after Commissioner Gabe Klein steps down later this month. “Too often in the past the city’s transportation chief has focused more on potholes and snow removal than on a vision of a city in which the streets work for everyone,” the paper states. Actually, Streets and Sanitation handles almost all snowplowing, but the sentiment is spot-on. “Gabe Klein… broke that mold. His replacement should be someone who follows through on Klein’s foresighted initiatives while addressing long-neglected problems.”