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“Divvy for Everyone” Aims to Boost Ridership in Low-Income Areas
Divvy bike-share has been a resounding success on many fronts, with 476 docking stations installed and more than four million trips taken since the system launched two years ago. However, like most bike-share networks across the country, there’s plenty of room for improvement when it comes to access and ridership in low-income communities. Thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Better Bike Share Partnership, announced last week, the Chicago Department of Transportation will be taking steps to help close the bike-share gap with a campaign called "Divvy for Everyone."
June 10, 2015
Ex-Chicago Bike Czar Ben Gomberg Is Taking Off to the Great White North
Tomorrow, former Chicago bicycle program coordinator Ben Gomberg will cross the border and return to his homeland of Canada for good. On Monday, he starts a new job as active transportation manager for the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. Perhaps you've never heard of the town, but with 713,443 residents, it’s Canada’s sixth-largest municipality by population, bigger than the city of Vancouver.
April 30, 2015
What’s Going on With Alderman Reilly and the Kinzie Protected Bike Lanes
Alderman Brendan Reilly submitted an order to city council on Wednesday that would compel Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld to remove the Kinzie Street protected bike lane between Dearborn and the Chicago River because he says it conflicts with Wolf Point construction truck traffic.
April 17, 2015
CDOT Puts Belmont on a Confusing, Dangerous “Binge Diet” At Western
Bicycling up and over the Chicago River on Belmont, from Avondale to Roscoe Village, will soon be more comfortable once the Chicago Department of Transportation gives the street a "road diet" and replaces car travel lanes with new buffered bike lanes. Bicyclists shouldn't get too comfortable, though: Once they've crested the bridge eastbound, they'll be dropped into the middle of a six-lane highway. Yes, CDOT is narrowing Belmont from four lanes to two on one block, and then on the very next block widening Belmont to six lanes, while eliminating the bike lanes completely.
January 5, 2015
Yellow Journalism: Tribune Panics Over “Risky” Stoplight Timing
Day in and day out for at least 30 years (and perhaps for almost a century), over 3,000 stoplights all across Chicago have whirred through tens of millions of cycles the exact same way: green, then yellow for three seconds, then red. Yet today, this three second cycle was suddenly declared a public safety emergency, with the Tribune's front page fomenting panic about the crisis posed by "risky" and "too short" yellow phases.
December 23, 2014
Why the Tribune’s Red Light Camera Story Is Garbage Journalism
In a huge front-page story Friday, the Chicago Tribune published yet another installment in its long-running vendetta against the city's photographic traffic enforcement program. Because the Trib chose to obscure key information about the severity of crashes, the story is worthless as an evaluation of the city's red light camera program.
December 22, 2014
Eyes on the Street: A Cycle Track Rises Along Roosevelt In South Loop
Next month, bicyclists of all ages will have a safe new way to get to the Museum Campus, Lakefront Trail, and Soldier Field from the South Loop once construction crews complete the city’s first raised cycle track. A two-way bike path along Roosevelt Road, between Wabash and Indiana avenues, is being built on the same level as the sidewalk on the north side of the street. This separated path will keep bicyclists out of a busy five-lane road that's often filled with cars and buses traveling to or from Lake Shore Drive and the museums.
November 3, 2014
Road Diet Curbs Lawrence Avenue’s Dangerous Mile
The one mile of Lawrence Avenue between Ashland and Western avenues, through the Ravenswood neighborhood, went on a road diet this year. The diet slimmed Lawrence from four to two travel lanes, and used the extra space to create room for bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and extensive landscaping. The streetscape project right-sized this stretch of Lawrence, bringing it in line with the two-lane segments both west of Western and east of Ashland.
October 27, 2014
Inspector General Issues a Reality Check on Trib’s Red Light Cam Spin
Last summer, the Chicago Tribune reported on the mysterious spikes in red light ticketing at dozens of cameras around the city. Recently, the paper discovered the city had started enforcing violations that took place after slightly shorter yellow phases. This resulted in tens of thousands of additional tickets.
October 17, 2014
Eyes on the Street: Construction Pushes Walkers Into Fullerton Ave.
Pedestrians walking along Fullerton Avenue in Logan Square have been forced off the sidewalks, and into the street, by Bigane Paving's curb ramp construction. Bigane has failed to provide the required detour for pedestrians, so pedestrians have to walk in the street amidst busy traffic.
September 26, 2014