Interviews

“Parts of Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city, and the South Side of Chicago are actually eerily similar,” says Dustin Gourdin, a PhD student in the University of Chicago’s sociology department, over coffee at Hyde Park’s Valois Cafeteria. “You see a lot of the same issues, in terms of transportation challenges and youth opportunities. Hopefully we can figure out ways to make things better in both places.”

The League of American Bicyclists, one of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations, has come a long way. Founded in 1880 as the League of American Wheelman, the group passed a resolution in 1894 barring people of color from joining, including up-and-coming African-American racing champ Major Taylor. In 1999, after it was discovered there were no records the ban had ever been revoked, the league officially disavowed the resolution, repealed the ban and committed to building a membership that reflects America’s population.

I had the chance to sit down with Ray LaHood yesterday morning before he spoke to the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association. Our conversation covered a wide range of topics, looking back on his four years at the helm of the U.S. Department of Transportation. We'll publish the interview in three installments over the next few days. Here's the first part.

Last week when I talked to Brian Bonanno from the Andersonville Development Corporation about his interest in bringing bus rapid transit to the neighborhood, he mentioned that the ADC wants to create a pedestrian plaza along the Clark Street business strip. The Chicago Department of Transportation’s Make Way for People initiative is helping to create “People Spot” parklets (Andersonville's was one of the first) and “People Streets” pedestrian zones, so this is a great time to pursue the idea. I called Brian today for more info.

Andersonville has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainable transportation and public space initiatives. The neighborhood’s main drag on Clark Street is one of Chicago’s most vibrant pedestrian retail districts, and its chamber of commerce and aldermen have been strong supporters of bike facilities. The business strip recently became home to one of the city’s first People Spots, which replaced parking spaces with a miniature park, as well as two on-street bike racks.

Part One of this interview was posted yesterday.

The Emanuel administration has been doing a terrific job of promoting biking, so it’s bizarre that the city seems to be stonewalling a bicycle-powered business that supports local retail districts and helps prevent drunk driving. Pedal Pub leads bar crawls on sixteen-person vehicles, operating legally in 27 other cities. In a few cities they are even permitted to serve beer from a keg onboard, although they’re not proposing to do that in Chicago.

Margaret Laurino with constituent and Grid Chicago commenter Bob Kastigar.