CDOT

There was backlash when CDOT proposed parking conversions for protected lanes on Clark in Uptown. But the end product offers reason for optimism in Brighton Park.

This article was written by John Greenfield, with additional research by Cameron Bolton

Update 12/6/25 12:15 AM: As discussed on the Facebook post for this article, car activists are planning a protest against the Archer Complete Streets project this Monday 12/8, 4:30 p.m. at Ald. Ramirez's office, 3836 S. Archer Avenue. The nearby group Gage Park Cyclists is inviting supporters of the street remix to show up to demonstrate support for the plan.

The department needs to promptly plow bikeways after blizzards, or else face arguments that riders were better off with old-style, paint-only bike lanes.

Last December, the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board blamed the diagonal Milwaukee Avenue bikeway for traffic jams created by car commuters fleeing Kennedy Expressway construction. "[On] many of the former alternate routes, such as... Milwaukee [the Chicago Department of Transportation has] reduced... vehicular capacity by adding bike lanes," they stated. "Those roads don’t offer any meaningful relief from a clogged expressway anymore."

The serious and fatal bicycle crashes that spurred the City of Chicago to build the Long Avenue Neighborhood Greenway were tragic. But Thursday's celebration of the recent traffic safety upgrades, held at Portage Park Elementary School, was a hopeful and inspiring event.

By Austin Busch

In October 2023, a sedan driver struck and killed Josh Anleu, 16, as he biked through the intersection of Waveland (3700 N.) and Long (5400 W.) avenues in the Portage Park community. At a ceremony that November to install a "ghost bike" memorial at the site, his mother Karen Buendia tearfully told the crowd, "If we, as human beings, don’t care about other people’s lives, we're going to keep killing each other."

Good afternoon, fellow longtime Divvy bike-share enthusiasts. I've got some good news and some bad news for you.