Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about River North

Pins distributed to Cann family supporters at the sentencing hearing. Photo: Bart Crouch

Court Transcript, Crash Videos Show Why Bobby Cann Sentence Was Unjust

By John Greenfield | Feb 9, 2017 | 5 Comments

In an effort to understand what might have motivated the judge's ruling, last week I viewed security-camera footage of the crash and analyzed the transcript of the January 26 sentencing hearing.

Lack of Concrete Protection for Rebuilt Kinzie Lanes Is a Missed Opportunity

By John Greenfield | Oct 14, 2016 | 12 Comments

With apologies to The Who, “Meet the new lanes / The same as the old lanes.” Chicago cyclists have experienced a lot of highs and lows with the Kinzie protected bike lanes. Unfortunately, there’s a new setback. The city has announced the current reconstruction of the lanes won’t involve adding concrete protection, which represents a […]

Man Fatally Struck After Falling Into Street During Altercation in River North

By John Greenfield | Feb 11, 2016 | 4 Comments

A 32-year old man died Sunday after he fell into the street during an altercation and was struck and killed by a cab driver. At about 4:20 a.m., Marques Gaines was involved in an altercation near Hubbard and State in River North, according to the Chicago Police. After a man punched him in the head, […]

Eyes on the Street: New Buffered Lanes on Halsted Between Fulton and Erie

By John Greenfield | Dec 30, 2014 | 13 Comments

The Chicago Department of Transportation has taken advantage of recent warm spells to do some late-year bikeway construction. In addition to new bikeways on Lincoln, the department recently striped buffered bike lanes on Halsted, between Fulton and Erie in the West Loop and River West. This half-mile stretch, done as part of a repaving project […]

CTA Adds Rail Service To Accommodate Rising Ridership

By Steven Vance | Oct 31, 2014 | 8 Comments

The Chicago Transit Authority expects that more people will ride the ‘L’ next year, especially in north side neighborhoods. To accommodate this increased demand, it added six new rush-hour trips on the Brown, Red, and Purple lines at the end of September, and will add even more frequency to the Brown Line and Orange Line […]

City Hopes to Beef Up Transit Service in Streeterville, River North

By John Greenfield | Aug 14, 2014 | 6 Comments

The city is slowly moving forward with building the Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit project, which will speed bus service between Union Station and Michigan Avenue . Meanwhile, the Chicago Department of Transportation is looking at other ways to improve transit connections between the West Loop train stations and the neighborhoods just north of the […]

City Focuses on Communication, Not Citations, to Remove Snow

By Steven Vance | Feb 18, 2014 | 24 Comments

A huge complaint during this #Chiberia season has been the lack of snow removal from sidewalks. The problem is nothing new, but complaints are rising along with the frequency of the snowfall — it is the fifth snowiest winter, after all. The issue was discussed at February’s Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Council, and last week CDOT […]

Eyes on the Street: Unwalkable Kinzie Sidewalk Finally Replaced

By Steven Vance | Jan 21, 2014 | 5 Comments

The steps, broken pavement, and roller coaster ramps at the southwest corner of Kinzie Street and Clark Street were all repaired recently. The construction was originally supposed to wrap up by spring 2013, but didn’t finish until December. The six-month long construction was unusually complex, according to 42nd Ward Alderman Reilly’s newsletter. Because of the […]

Maximizing the Chicago Riverwalk’s Role as a Transportation Route

By John Greenfield | Feb 7, 2013 | 10 Comments

The Chicago Riverwalk extension, from State Street to Lake Street along the south bank of the waterway, will be a marquee public space and recreation project in the same class as Millennium Park and the Bloomingdale trail and park. And like the Bloomingdale, the riverwalk also has the potential to be a valuable addition to […]