Snow Clearance

Let's chalk this up as a rare exception to the CPD's normally excellent trail maintenance protocols.

The group has launched a new campaign and petition, with almost 1,250 signatures, to exhort the city of Chicago to take charge of winter sidewalk clearance.

CDOT explains when and how they plow protected lane, and what you should do when you encounter blockages.

The Chicago Park District continues to do a bang-up job of clearing the Lakefront Trail. When I rode it on the North Side Monday afternoon in the wake of last weekend’s snowstorm – the second snowfall in as many weekends -- the pavement was generally dry as a bone. Last I heard, the trail on the South Side was in pretty good shape as well.

Biking on the West Side has been a mixed bag each time it's snowed this winter. When it snowed on the weekend after Thanksgiving it took more than two days for the protected bike lanes on Lake Street to be plowed. With last week's snowfall it’s been over a week, and the protected bike lanes on Franklin and Jackson Boulevards still haven’t been cleared as of Monday afternoon.

Steven Vance and I have been touched by the many shout-outs and well-wishes we’ve received on social media in the wake of last week’s shutdown of Streetsblog Chicago due to funding issues. We’ve heard a collective groan from everyone from our readers, to transportation blogging colleagues around the country, to other Chicago media outlets like Gapers Block, Chicagoist, and Chicago Magazine. We’ve even heard from local elected officials bemoaning the loss of the city’s daily source for sustainable transportation and livable streets news: