Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Open Streets

The 79th Street Red Line station. Crowding on the #79 bus has been an issue during the pandemic. Photo: James Porter

A tale of two Chicagos: The South and West sides have different pandemic priorities than the North Side

By Courtney Cobbs | Apr 17, 2020 | No Comments

There are multiple reasons why open street may not be a pressing concern for Black and Latinx Chicago residents during the pandemic, but it can be part of the solution for improving access to open space.

A "Slow Street" in Oakland. Photo: Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

MPC, Council on Global Affairs staffers urge the city to open streets during pandemic

By Sharon Hoyer | Apr 16, 2020 | No Comments

Sidewalks, parks, and trails are crowded in Chicago, and speeding and sever crashes are up. Local transportation leaders say it's time for an open streets program.

Increased walk/bike during the pandemic is an opportunity to improve our streets

By Courtney Cobbs | Apr 8, 2020 | No Comments

While Chicago has been closing trails and parks in response to crowding during the pandemic, we should be opening streets to make room for safe, socially-distanced recreation.

An emergency bike lane in Bogotá. Photo via Taiwan News

Leaders from SF, Philly, Duluth and Bogotá discuss open streets as a public health strategy

By Courtney Cobbs | Apr 7, 2020 | No Comments

Having supportive city officials has been key to opening opening up streets to people during the COVID-19 crisis.

34th Street in Queens is one of several New York City roadways that is being opened for car-free recreation. Photo: Shekar Krishnan via Twitter

Database documents cities that are repurposing car space during the pandemic

By Steven Vance | Mar 29, 2020 | No Comments

During the pandemic, cities are recognizing it makes sense to take road space away from cars and give it to people.

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Miraculous! Philly’s Open Streets Open Eyes During Papal Visit

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 29, 2015 | No Comments

Father-son soccer in the street on 16th near Spruce pic.twitter.com/Mt47dbiHJo — Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) September 27, 2015 The official name for it was the “traffic box” — the 4.7-square-mile chunk of center city Philadelphia where incoming motor vehicles weren’t allowed when Pope Francis was in town this weekend. But rather than the traffic nightmare some anticipated, […]

Citing Lack of Funds, Active Trans Discontinues Open Streets

By John Greenfield | Feb 6, 2014 | 16 Comments

It pains me to report there probably won’t be an Open Streets event in Chicago this year. Since 2005, the Active Transportation Alliance has been lobbying the city of Chicago to stage a ciclovía, a Latin American-style car-free event, in which the streets are opened for walking, biking, and other forms of healthy recreation. Various […]

Sunday’s Rainy Open Streets Made the Case for Multiple Car-Free Events

By Steven Vance and John Greenfield | Sep 17, 2013 | 8 Comments

The longer route and new activities of this year’s Milwaukee Avenue Open Streets cicloviá promised to bring the car-free playground into more neighborhoods and attract more people. The event expanded from last year’s 1.4 miles to 2.6 miles, and the city had signed up — for the first time ever — to pay for police officers […]

Three Miles of Milwaukee Will Be Open for Car-Free Play This September

By John Greenfield | Jul 26, 2013 | 8 Comments

Although Chicago was one of the first U.S. cities to consider staging a ciclovía, a Latin-American-style event that creates temporary car-free street space in order to encourage healthy recreation, community interaction and commerce, we’re currently way behind peer cities. New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco are each hosting several ciclovía events this […]