Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about bike parking

Rotterdam Station Treats Cyclists With Same Respect Drivers Get in Chicago

By Steven Vance | Apr 29, 2016 | 11 Comments

As a former bicycle parking planner for the Chicago Department of Transportation on sabbatical in northern Europe, I’m impressed by how much better the long- and short-term bike storage is here than what I’m used to in the states. Too often in the U.S., bike parking is an afterthought even though secure and convenient parking […]

More Bike Parking Drama at the University of Chicago

By John Greenfield | Nov 12, 2015 | 6 Comments

Last year, Streetsblog reader Elizabeth Edwards alerted us that just about every sign pole, light post, fence and handrail by University of Chicago Medical Center sported stickers reading “Not a Bike Rack.” This passive-aggressive campaign to keep cycles out of the way of pedestrians was also illegal, since some of these poles were on the public […]

Almost a Decade After the City Proposed It, West Loop Gets a Bike Station

By John Greenfield | Oct 12, 2015 | 3 Comments

Millennium Park’s bike station opened in 2004, with indoor parking for 300 bikes, plus showers and lockers. When the city of Chicago released the Bike 2015 Plan two years later, it recommended establishing another bike station, and mentioned the Ogilvie Transportation Center in the West Loop as a possible location. Not long after that, there […]

Eyes on the Street: Monumental Bike Parking on Lawrence Avenue

By John Greenfield | Jul 8, 2015 | 17 Comments

I spent about five years in the early 2000s coordinating bicycle rack installations for the Chicago Department of Transportation. One of the main takeaways from that very enjoyable job was that, when it comes to bike parking, form really does follow function. Although designers are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel by building a better bike […]

U. of C. Medical Center Takes Down Every Single “Not a Bike Rack” Sticker

By John Greenfield | Sep 2, 2014 | 15 Comments

Two weeks ago, Streetsblog Chicago reported that nearly every sign pole, light post, fence and handrail by University of Chicago Medical Center buildings on 59th Street, 58th Street, and Maryland Avenue sported stickers or placards reading “Not a Bike Rack.” Streetsblog reader and U. of C. employee Elizabeth Edwards had originally alerted us about the […]

Illegal Stickers and Signs at U. of C. Hospitals Discourage Biking

By John Greenfield | Aug 19, 2014 | 36 Comments

Last week, I reported how the AMA building unlawfully installed a “No Bike Parking” sign on a city sign pole, then removed a bike that was legally locked to it. In response, Streetsblog reader and University of Chicago employee Elizabeth Edwards alerted me to a similar situation at the U. of C. Hospitals. It appears […]

Active Trans Gets Building to Take Down Illegal “No Bike Parking” Sign

By John Greenfield | Aug 15, 2014 | 56 Comments

The Active Transportation Alliance has a long history of advocating for the rights of bicyclists, and occasionally they do so via direct action. A case in point was a recent incident in which an Active Trans helped reconnect a bicyclist with her ride after it was unfairly confiscated by security outside the American Medical Association […]

Eyes on the Street: Parked Bikes, Meet Stationary Bikes

By Shaun Jacobsen | Jul 23, 2014 | 12 Comments

If you’re looking for bike parking along trendy commercial streets in Chicago, it seems to be a lot easier to find around fitness centers than almost anywhere else. Surely this is no mistake: Either the gyms, or their neighbors, must be requesting many bike racks, and their patrons might be taking an active way to […]

CDOT Aims to Install Over 1,000 Bike Parking Spaces in 2014

By Steven Vance | Jun 25, 2014 | 13 Comments

The new Chicago Department of Transportation bike parking program manager, Kathleen Murphy, described the upcoming summer and fall installation season during the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting two weeks ago. She outlined three initiatives that will get over a thousand new bicycle parking spaces installed on sidewalks and roadways. Murphy is continuing the city’s long-standing program […]

How Parking Requirements Get in the Way of New Chicago Businesses

By Steven Vance | Aug 6, 2013 | 32 Comments

A proposal to legalize transit-oriented development would make it easier to build walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, in part by halving the car parking requirement for residences and eliminating it for non-residential uses near train stations. The ordinance is set to go before aldermen at the zoning committee’s next meeting in September. Right now, without the ordinance, […]

Revolution Finally Gets Bike Corral; CDOT Working to Streamline Process

By John Greenfield | May 16, 2013 | 60 Comments

Lovers of sustainable transportation and beer rejoice! As I type this, on-street bike racks are being bolted into the asphalt in front of Revolution Brewing, 2323 North Milwaukee in Logan Square. This will be Chicago’s fifth on-street bike parking corral, replacing car parking spaces with bike racks. I talked with owner Josh Deth (an old […]

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