Dickens Greenway

Former 43rd Ward chief of staff Erik Wallenius scoffed at Comer's current opposition to the greenway, suggesting it's motivated by politics rather than safety concerns.

The lawyer says the bikeway would create a deathtrap for pedestrians, and has a theory that city officials, advocates, and Streetsblog have been conspiring behind the scenes to make it happen.

After more than two years of relentless Not In My Back Yard pushback to the Dickens Greenway proposal, Alderman Michele Smith has finally signed off on the project.

On Tuesday night Alderman Michele Smith of the 43rd ward convened a public meeting over Zoom about the two-years-old proposal to convert part of Dickens Avenue in Lincoln Park into a "Neighborhood Greenway." Chicago Department of Transportation bicycle and pedestrian program manager David Smith presented plans for the greenway and answered questions from the audience. It was a well-attended meeting with 166 people in attendance when the Q & A period began around 90 minutes into the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting it was clear that many people had already formed their opinions about the greenway.

Just a few days after Alderman Smith announced the end of the pilot, the traffic calming treatment, which enabled safe, socially-distanced walking and biking in the roadway, has already been taken down.

There were plenty of adorable kids riding scooters and bikes, an indicator species of a successful Slow Street.

Doing a Slow Street on Dickens is a great way to test out the neighborhood greenway concept without making permanent infrastructure changes.

While the Dickens Greenway proposal in Lincoln Park has been highly controversial, meeting with Lincoln Square neighborhood groups early in the planning process is promoting buy-in.

Hundreds of cyclists rolled the entire proposed greenway route and ended the ride with a flash mob appearance on the riverwalk, where an alderman is trying to ban cycling.