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Don’t “Roger that”! A sustainable transportation advocate accidentally crashed Roger Romanelli’s anti-Grand Safe Streets Project press conference
Fulton Market Association Executive Director Roger Romanelli is well-known to longtime Streetsblog Chicago readers as a resident of suburban Hillside who often intervenes in urban sustainable transportation matters. He's usually on the wrong side of these issues, with a decidely car-centric point of view. Most notoriously, his tireless lobbying against the City's Ashland bus rapid transit proposal helped get that project shelved.
March 5, 2026
Take a virtual ride on the new parking-to-PBL conversion on Milwaukee between Kedzie and California
Yesterday I discussed the brouhaha over a proposal to extend the two-way protected bike lane on Evanston's Chicago Avenue south about two miles to the city of Chicago border. A total of 62 merchants and "avid cyclists" signed two different letters opposing the new bikeway because it would involve converting 66 of the corridor's 250 car parking spaces – only about a quarter of them. However, more than 250 business people and residents have signed another letter from the Evanston Transit Alliance in favor of the initiative.
December 5, 2024
Five nickels on the dime: 25 mph speed limit for safer streets passes in committee, will get final Council vote later this year
The committee also approved a pilot to let citizens report parking and standing violations in bus and bike lanes to 311, with tickets being sent to repeat offenders.
October 21, 2024
What happened when Streetsblog Chicago accepted a protected bike lane skeptic’s challenge to count vehicles on Augusta Boulevard?
If less than 3% of vehicle operators on the corridor rode bikes or scooters, I would tweet that out. If 3% or more did, A.J. Manaseer would donate $1,000 to bike education programs.
September 10, 2024
Ald. La Spata and staff discussed Milwaukee PBLs extension, Vision Zero efforts, at 1st Ward meeting
They also talked about the local Participatory Budgeting election, and other efforts to create safer streets on the Near Northwest Side.
July 31, 2024
Will complaints from drivers result in “changes to the design” of the beloved Augusta protected bike lanes?
Unsurprisingly, some folks who who drive aren't happy with the changes, which make it harder to illegally park or travel dangerously fast.
November 7, 2023
What does the Nakari Campbell case tell us about street design and traffic enforcement?
Chicago needs street layouts that force motorists to drive safely. And the CPD needs to bring the driver who grievously harmed Nakari to justice.
August 17, 2023
Here are the new plans for traffic diverters instead of PBLs on the Wood Street Neighborhood Greenway
While the new proposal is a major change from the original protected bike lane plans, installing traffic diverters will go a long way towards making Wood truly bike-friendly.
August 4, 2023
January CTA scorecard says reliability improved. Advocates say more needs to be done.
While the January report has some encouraging numbers, there's still a lot more the CTA could be doing to improve performance and communications with customers.
February 15, 2023
Near North and Northwest Side (Wards 1, 43, and 44) candidates talk transportation
As part of our 2023 Election Coverage, Streetsblog Chicago sent a questionnaire out to every candidate running for alderperson.
February 3, 2023