West Side

We must look at all the factors that are preventing people from using more sustainable modes of travel and work to address those issues.

The city says the program addresses traffic safety as a public health and equity issue. Mobility justice advocate Oboi Reed says he still wants assurance that it won't lead to increased police enforcement.

"“We can’t go in and shove down people’s throats the idea of traffic safety," says Courtney Kashima, Principal of Muse Community + Design, which is consulting on the project.

Attendees also discussed using street redesigns to improve safety, and whether traffic calming and bike lanes may be a precursor to gentrification.

[This piece also runs in Checkerboard City, John's transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

[This piece originally ran in Checkerboard City, John’s column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

Although I currently live a stone’s throw from Lake Street's protected bike lanes, I almost never ride in them. I moved to East Garfield Park during this snowy winter, when the PBLs rarely seemed to get plowed. Now that it’s springtime, the lanes are often filled with broken glass and garbage, and many of the flexible posts that separated them from the parking lane are lying on the sidewalk or in the bikeway. As a result, I almost always take Fulton, Warren/Washington, or Jackson to get downtown – anything but Lake.

[This article also ran in Checkerboard City, John Greenfield's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets in print on Wednesday evenings.]