News

Now that Beale's ordinance has been defeated, there's more work to be done to make Chicago's speed camera program, and traffic safety strategies in general, more equitable and effective.

Here are John's prepared remarks for the public comment period of today's City Council meeting in advance of the vote on Ald. Anthony Beale's (9th) ordinance to raise the speed camera ticketing threshold.

Update 7/12/22, 11:00 AM: CDOT provided the following info to Streetsblog about what kind of bikes will be given away: "The bikes are the Fyxation Pixel in various sizes and colors, both the step-through and the standard model, the State Azure and the State Ellison, both in the single-speed version. The city has not committed to using the same model bikes each year. The brand and model of bikes procured will likely depend on vendor pricing and the quantities available." While Streetsblog can't vouch for the quality of these bikes, it's definitely a good thing that the bikes that were chosen have fenders, chainguards, and front and rear carrying racks, which will make them very practical for commuting.

it's frustrating to see ProPublica, a news outlet that's supposed to be working for the public good, come out with yet another windshield-POV piece on Chicago's automatic enforcement program.

We can keep everyone safer if we build a connected network of physically protected bike lanes, so all bike riders will feel safe cycling in the street.

The victim was the 18th pedestrian killed on Chicago Streets this year.

Even amid death and trauma, people still have places to get, and public transit will, hopefully, still be there to serve them.

"This is yet another tragic example of one of Chicago's children not being able to ride safely in the city's streets," said an attorney from a local bike-focused firm.

The transportation department could take one very simple action to help more broaden the demographics of who has a say in Chicago mobility projects, but for some reason it has resisted doing so.