Local Businesses

The controversial right-turn ban at Grace/Halsted/Broadway in Lakeview East may have created a new Chicago record for the number of community meetings held over a pair of traffic signs. Fortunately, it appears that a compromise has been reached which should satisfy the drivers who groused about the turn ban, as well as folks who are concerned about improving pedestrian safety.

[Note: This Chicago Reader article lies a bit outside Streetsblog Chicago's usual wheelhouse of transportation and livable streets topics, but since it covers an important local public space issue, I thought it might be of interest to Streetsblog readers.]

Smart community leaders brainstorm ways to get more butts on bicycles. After all, more people traveling in the neighborhood on two wheels instead of four means less traffic congestions and pollution. And when more shoppers access retail strips by bikes instead of cars, there are similar (or even better) economic benefits for the area, with less need for car parking. Plus, when people travel at slower speeds, they’re more likely to notice local storefronts and consider patronizing the businesses.

It's encouraging to see that more and more business owners have come to understand that accommodating people, rather than automobiles, is good for the bottom line.

Imagine how much better Chicago’s central business district would work if all the deliveries that don’t require motor vehicles were made by bicycle instead.

[The Chicago Reader recently launched a new weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership allows Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We syndicate a portion of the column on the day it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the streets on Thursdays.]

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the former owners of the influential, recently shuttered Rapid Transit cycle shops are launching a new store called Cosmic Bikes in the Jefferson Park. They plan to open the shop at 4641 North Milwaukee by the end of April.

Broadway in East Lakeview is one of the city’s most vibrant pedestrian-oriented retail districts. But lately it’s been depressing to watch the construction of a massive, suburban-style development just north of Wellington, which will house a Mariano’s supermarket and an XSport Fitness, plus a whopping 280 car parking spaces.

Say goodbye to the Heritage Bicycles People Spot.