Promoted

Today could have been the day when Chicago joined New York City, Boston, Seattle, Portland, and even neighboring suburb Evanston in voting in favor of reducing the speed limit in the city to 25 mph. However, questions and concerns among fellow City Council members were numerous enough for Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) to take the expected vote off the agenda for today's City Council meeting. 

As it stands today, Chicago’s United Center — the home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks professional sports franchises — is surrounded by a sea of parking lots with thousands of parking spaces. 

Despite its status as the most populous city in the Midwest, Chicago infamously does not have a BRT system. So last month, I traveled to Madison to spend a day in Wisconsin's capital city to experience what it might be like to live in a midwestern city with a bus rapid transit system.

On Tuesday, January 7, hundreds of Illinois residents headed to Springfield for 2025 Climate Day at the Capitol. They were pushing for sustainable, affordable, and equitable transportation through proposed legislation like the IL CleanJobs Platform and the Clean and Equitable Transportation Act.

Thanks in part to the efforts of the Southwest Collective, progress is being made on making dangerous South Pulaski Road safer.

"Electeds often don’t want to hear more from 'bike activists' and it is our job to make sure they feel like the advocacy is coming from the community," CBGN! stated.

It's that time of year again. On Friday, the 47th Ward, the North Side district represented by Ald. Matt Martin, launched its annual participatory budgeting voting process. PB elections let residents help determine how to spend a ward's $1.5 million a year in discretionary "menu" money for infrastructure projects.

Last month, a delegation of Illinois state representatives visited Germany to tour transit systems in and between two major cities. The trip was inspired by an action plan issued by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which cited Berlin and Munich as successful case studies for a Chicagoland transit system currently facing an existential crises. Local ridership suffered during COVID-19, and ridership has yet to return to 2019 levels. The CTA, Metra, and Pace are facing a staggering $730 million total budget shortfall next year, when federal pandemic relief funding will run out.

Wednesday morning, the Chicago Department of Transportation shared some good news about how popular shared sustainable transportation devices have become in our city. "Over 10 million trips were taken on shared bikes and e-scooters in 2024, a new annual record," the agency said in a press release. "This milestone reflects a growing demand for sustainable and convenient transportation options, supported by CDOT’s investments in micromobility infrastructure and the continued expansion of the Divvy bike-share system."