Pilsen

In a hurry? Read a shorter version of this piece at Grist.org, an environmental news website.

Imagine if almost everybody who rode the Chicago Transit Authority, a public transportation system subsidized with taxpayer money, was Caucasian. Denver found itself in an analogous situation last year, when a survey revealed that, in a city where almost half of residents are people of color, 89.9 percent the people using the publicly funded Denver B-cycle system were non-Hispanic whites.

On-street bike corrals have many benefits for retail areas. They accommodate a high number of customers and advertise the efficiency of cycling, since one car spot fits up to 12 bikes. Parking bikes in the street frees up space on sidewalks for pedestrians. On-street racks placed at corners improve sight lines and shorten crossing distances for peds. And while motor vehicles often block the view of storefronts, bike corrals make them more visible.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced last week [PDF] that it is distributing over $20 million in Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program funds to bicycle and pedestrian projects in the Chicagoland area. Highlights for Chicago include: