Chicago Tribune

Leave it to the Chicago Tribune editorial board to take an important expose on police targeting bike riders in black communities and use it as an excuse for yet another another call-to-arms for more ticketing of cyclists citywide.

A Chicago Tribune investigation indicates that police are much more likely to ticket people in African-American communities for bike infractions than they are to issue citations to lawbreaking cyclists in mostly white areas. This isn't just illegal and unjust. It also discourages cycling in black neighborhoods.

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that the Obama Foundation has proposed pedestrianizing stretches of the highway-like roads that run through Jackson Park, the future home of Barack Obama’s presidential library, to create a museum campus. The tone of the article, and quotes from some community members, suggest that this change would cause strangle transportation on the Southeast Side.

The Trib says legalizing the Idaho stop would make our streets more chaotic and dangerous.

After Anastasia Kondrasheva, 23, was fatally struck on her bicycle by a right-turning truck driver in Roscoe Village on September 26, the Tribune ran an editorial noting that this tragedy should remind motorists to watch out for bikes on the road. This reflects the paper’s evolving coverage of traffic safety issues, which has generally improved during the last year.

When it comes to opinion pieces about transportation issues, the Chicago Tribune has been publishing some doozies this month. First, in the wake of four bike fatalities allegedly caused by reckless drivers, an editorial in the paper advised cyclists to ride more carefully. Next they ran an op-ed from noted anti-bike crank John McCarron bemoaning the fact that drivers are supposed to look for cyclists before turning to ensure they don’t kill anyone.

So far this has been a banner month for the Chicago Tribune when it comes to publishing tone-deaf commentary about bicycling.

Yesterday, in response to four recent Chicago bike fatalities apparently caused by reckless drivers, the Tribune ran a well-meaning but wrongheaded editorial that largely puts the onus for creating safer streets on people who bike.