Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about road diets

An Update on the Lawrence Streetscape and the Ravenswood Metra Stop

By John Greenfield | Oct 13, 2014 | 138 Comments

The long-awaited Lawrence streetscape and road diet is is almost complete, and the project has already transformed a corridor that had been unpleasant for pedestrians and cyclists into a much more livable street. Meanwhile, construction is also wrapping up on a new, supersized Metra station house on Lawrence. First announced in 2010 and launched in […]

Don’t Knock Woodard: Chicago’s Next Great Little Public Space

By John Greenfield | Feb 24, 2014 | 10 Comments

[This piece also runs in Checkerboard City, John’s column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.] Surrounded by chainlink fence and blanketed with snow, a new plaza under construction at the northwest corner of Milwaukee/Diversey/Kimball in Avondale, an intersection that appears several times in the movie “Wayne’s World,” currently looks pretty bleak. […]

Arena’s Foe Attacks Milwaukee Safety Overhaul, Advocates Fight Back

By John Greenfield | Jan 28, 2014 | 58 Comments

John Garrido, a Chicago cop and part-time lawyer, narrowly lost to 45th Ward Alderman John Arena in the 2011 election. Now Garrido has started an online petition against the city’s plan for a road diet and protected bike lanes on Milwaukee in the district, a project that Arena has endorsed. The Chicago Department of Transportation […]

Critique of the Gabe Klein Era by “Moe Torrist” Is Running on Fumes

By John Greenfield | Nov 13, 2013 | 12 Comments

Since transportation commissioner Gabe Klein announced he’s resigning at the end of the month, he’s received plenty of praise for his work promoting safer, more efficient and more vibrant Chicago streets. However, after all the bold initiatives he’s spearheaded, he probably didn’t expect his sendoff to be all wine and roses. Yesterday the Expired Meter […]