[This article runs in the May 22 issue of Time Out Chicago:
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/sports/29734/breaking-away]
By John Greenfield
“I love speed and Chicago is all about speed,” says local bike racer Shane Winn. He says the focus of racing here is criterium (laps around a closed course on city streets) and track (riding single-speed, fixed-gear cycles on a velodrome.) “It’s a gladiator phenomenon.”
If you dig velocity, there are over 30 teams in the area, many of them geared towards mentoring newbies. But if you’d rather kick back with a beer and a brat while watching chiseled folks in lycra zoom past, it’s gonna be a great summer for spectating. Get up to speed at chicagobikeracing.com, with info on teams, rides and races.
XXX Racing-AthletiCo (xxxracing.org) is one of the biggest, most inclusive local teams. To get involved, just show up for one of their Saturday training rides, leaving at 7 am from Wicker Park, 1425 N. Damen, for a 50-mile roundtrip to Highland Park and back. There’s a “no drop” policy for the first half; ride home at your pace.
For a taste of the track, head to the Northbrook’s Ed Rudolph Velodrome, Meadowhill Park, 1500 N. Maple Ave. (northbrookvelodrome.com). Established racers compete on Thursday nights but on Fridays from 6/13 to 8/15 between 6 and 10 pm, all ages and abilities can participate in the Developmental Bike Racing Series.
The big news this year is the debut of the Chicago Criterium on Sun. 7/27. Part of Mayor Daley’s campaign to bag the 2016 Olympics, this showcase will be the first Loop crit since 1987 (Google “Chicago Criterium.”) Races starts at 7 am. Thousands of people will flood Grant Park for the event, which features $40,000 in prize money, most of it earmarked for the pro competition at 2:25 pm.
The races take place on a mile-long circuit of streets: Jackson, Columbus, Balbo and a rare closure of the northbound lanes of Michigan Ave.“It’s going to be a great event for fans: high-intensity with lots of turns which makes for a very exciting racing,” says Anne Davis from the Mayor’s Office of Special Events.
Two other crits are coming to the city’s South Side this summer. XXX-Racing hosts the Sherman Park Criterium on Sat. 6/14, with races starting between 8 am to 4:40 pm (xxxracing.org.) Spectators are invited to bring barbecue fixins and a live DJ will spin at the park, 1301 W. 52nd St. in the Englewood neighborhood.
The Beverly Hills Cycling Classic (bapa.org) on Fri. 7/8 is a 100K, 50-lap crit, a great excuse to trek down to the remote neighborhood of Beverly and take in its historic mansions and surprisingly hilly terrain. The race starts at 6 pm at a festival at 107th St & Longwood Dr.
Bicyclist who like to swim and run as well might want to give the multisport scene a “tri.” A good way to get your feet wet is the monthly happy hour and clinic hosted by the Chicago Tri Club, first Wednesdays at Fizz, 3220 N. Lincoln Ave. at 6:00 pm (chicagotriclub.com.)
The area’s most popular multisport event is the Accenture Chicago Triathlon (chicagotriathalon.com), with about 6,500 competitors in the main race on Sun. 8/24, starting with swimming at Monroe Harbor, 101 S. Lakeshore Drive.
On the other side of the racing spectrum, the Chicago Couriers Union and other messengers are bringing the 11th annual North American Cycle Courier Championships to town with City-sanctioned, closed-course races in Garfield Park, 3400 W. Washington St., on Sat. 8/30 and Sun. 8/31 from 10 am – 4 pm (chicagonaccc.com.)
Although the main “alleycat” races will be messenger-only, “civilians” are welcome to compete in the sprint, trackstand, skid, and bike polo competitions. Organizer Augie Montes promises “There’ll be all the jack-assery you might expect.”
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Is the Bike Safety Ordinance Being Enforced?
Police will be fining dangerous drivers this summer, as well as lawbreaking cyclists
[This article runs in the May 22 issue of Time Out Chicago:
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/museums-culture/29680/just-the-ticket]
By John Greenfield
In March bicyclists rejoiced after City Council passed Mayor Daley’s new bike safety laws which assign $150 fines for drivers who endanger bikers, $500 for actions that result in a crash. The ordinances cover fouls such as passing within three feet of a bike and opening a car door into a pedaler’s path.
But the deaths of two cyclists in April, killed by cars in Logan Square within a few days of each other, beg the question: are police enforcing the new laws?
No, said a dozen bikers responding to a query on the Chicago Critical Mass listserv last week. Brendan Neuman reported when he got “doored” by a car last week in Greektown, an officer who witnessed the crash failed to cite the driver.
Police spokeswoman Monique Bond confirms that the number of tickets written so far is probably extremely low, because of the newness of the ordinances.
But Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele says the laws have already raised awareness. “With all the media coverage this received, our hope is people who saw the TV coverage or read the news said ‘Hey, I need to be more careful when I drive.’” He adds his department is working on a flyer for distribution to all officers this summer to make sure they know about the safety ordinances.
But aldermen have also requested that CDOT help reign in dangerous cyclists. “Are we going to insist that bicycles obey the rules of the road?” asked Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) at a hearing before the laws passed. In 2005 Stone vetoed the construction of a bike bridge, citing its proximity to a senior center.
Ben Gomberg, Chicago’s bike coordinator, responded that the City was looking into ways to increase compliance. One strategy from the City’s Bike 2015 Plan is: “Develop and implement an enforcement program targeting particularly dangerous bicycling.”
As a nod to the aldermen’s concerns, the flyer will also remind officers about laws that apply to bikes: cyclists must ride in the street, not on the sidewalk (if over 12); use a headlight and rear reflector at night; and stop at all stoplights and stop signs. Steele acknowledges that the memo should result in more tickets for bikes as well as cars. “Those laws are there for a reason and they should be enforced.”
But the last time the police announced a crackdown on bicyclists, with plans to fine Lakeview lawbreakers $25 to $250 in summer 2005, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation stated in a bulletin the CBF believes “enforcement efforts should focus on traffic with the greatest impact on safety” – i.e. cars.
Spokeswoman Margo O’Hara confirms the CBF would like to see the City’s limited police resources used to ticket cars, not bikes. After all, drivers injure bicyclists, not the other way around, she says.
O’Hara adds the perception of reckless bicycling as a widespread problem may be fueled by media bias in reporting deadly crashes. “They often blame the victim, focusing on what the cyclist was or was not doing. You only get the driver’s perspective because the cyclist has been killed.”
[This article runs in the May 22 issue of Time Out Chicago:
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/museums-culture/29680/just-the-ticket]
By John Greenfield
In March bicyclists rejoiced after City Council passed Mayor Daley’s new bike safety laws which assign $150 fines for drivers who endanger bikers, $500 for actions that result in a crash. The ordinances cover fouls such as passing within three feet of a bike and opening a car door into a pedaler’s path.
But the deaths of two cyclists in April, killed by cars in Logan Square within a few days of each other, beg the question: are police enforcing the new laws?
No, said a dozen bikers responding to a query on the Chicago Critical Mass listserv last week. Brendan Neuman reported when he got “doored” by a car last week in Greektown, an officer who witnessed the crash failed to cite the driver.
Police spokeswoman Monique Bond confirms that the number of tickets written so far is probably extremely low, because of the newness of the ordinances.
But Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele says the laws have already raised awareness. “With all the media coverage this received, our hope is people who saw the TV coverage or read the news said ‘Hey, I need to be more careful when I drive.’” He adds his department is working on a flyer for distribution to all officers this summer to make sure they know about the safety ordinances.
But aldermen have also requested that CDOT help reign in dangerous cyclists. “Are we going to insist that bicycles obey the rules of the road?” asked Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) at a hearing before the laws passed. In 2005 Stone vetoed the construction of a bike bridge, citing its proximity to a senior center.
Ben Gomberg, Chicago’s bike coordinator, responded that the City was looking into ways to increase compliance. One strategy from the City’s Bike 2015 Plan is: “Develop and implement an enforcement program targeting particularly dangerous bicycling.”
As a nod to the aldermen’s concerns, the flyer will also remind officers about laws that apply to bikes: cyclists must ride in the street, not on the sidewalk (if over 12); use a headlight and rear reflector at night; and stop at all stoplights and stop signs. Steele acknowledges that the memo should result in more tickets for bikes as well as cars. “Those laws are there for a reason and they should be enforced.”
But the last time the police announced a crackdown on bicyclists, with plans to fine Lakeview lawbreakers $25 to $250 in summer 2005, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation stated in a bulletin the CBF believes “enforcement efforts should focus on traffic with the greatest impact on safety” – i.e. cars.
Spokeswoman Margo O’Hara confirms the CBF would like to see the City’s limited police resources used to ticket cars, not bikes. After all, drivers injure bicyclists, not the other way around, she says.
O’Hara adds the perception of reckless bicycling as a widespread problem may be fueled by media bias in reporting deadly crashes. “They often blame the victim, focusing on what the cyclist was or was not doing. You only get the driver’s perspective because the cyclist has been killed.”
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Chicago Musicians Say Bicycling Inspires Them
By John Greenfield
[This piece runs in the May 22 issue of Time Out Chicago with photos:
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/music/29681/song-cycles]
John Herndon, drummer with Tortoise and various jazz groups
“The rhythm of riding relates to my role as a percussionist,” says Herndon, an ex-messenger who enjoys biking with son Hollis, 4. “I sing along with the rhythm my legs are making.”
Herndon bought a Klein while performing in Europe in 2005. “That was amazing to have a bike on tour.” Back in Chicago, he tried to ride it home to Ashville, NC. switching from highways to country roads in Kentucky. “Dogs were on my ass the whole way.” He finally bailed and hitched a ride with a trucker.
Nowadays Johnny’s machine is a Bridgestone. He recently used it to pull a minimalist kit on a trailer to his weekly residency at Danny’s. “A goal of mine is to bike to more shows.”
Mark Messing, leader of Mucca Pazza
“I often write music in my head while riding,” says Messing, car-free since 2004. “It’s one of the best times.”
Members of his 30-piece “circus punk marching band” tow Sousaphones and glockenspiels to gigs on bike trailers. “We load the tympanis upside-down – it looks like a caterpillar.”
Their studio Maestromatic shares a space with West Town Bikes community cycle center. Manager Alex Wilson built Messing’s workhorse so the musician doesn’t know what brand lies beneath the reflective tape.
He enjoys biking Chicago because it’s flat and he gets to pass cars stuck in traffic. “I like thinking about all the money I no longer spend on gas, parking tickets and getting my car de-booted.”
Sally Timms, singer with the Mekons, Wee Hairy Beasties
Timms, a regular commuter, likes to croon while cycling. “You can really howl away, especially on Elston where there’s no one else around.” She also uses saddle time to brainstorm song arrangements.
Growing up in Huby, West Yorkshire, UK, she often rambled the countryside on a five-speed, and now she gets around on a Diamondback. “I don’t care for it the way I should but it’s never let me down.”
“It’s faster than the CTA, it’s exercise and it’s non-polluting,” she says, but as a woman she occasionally endures catcalls. “If you’ve gone out in a skirt you’ll get comments, that’s for sure. But it’s faster than walking. I wouldn’t walk down Elston at night but I’ll ride on it.”
Andrew Bird, violinist
“I’ve definitely written songs while biking,” says Bird, who commutes and goes on day rides. “Just occupying your body so your mind can wander is pretty key.” “A Nervous Tick Motion” is one of many melodies that have come to him on two wheels.
He brings his appropriately-named Heron on the tour bus. “I bought it for myself as a reward for all the touring I do. It’s been great, but four years ago in Saint Paul I spaced-out and went over a curb and my handlebars and bashed the hell out of my knees.”
He likes to cruise the backstreets of Bucktown in the summer, late at night. “On Hoyne or Leavitt between Division and Webster with the streetlights and canopy of trees, it feels like a movie set.”
Bob Weston, bassist with Shellac
“I like the weird, unspoken camaraderie out there between cyclists,” says Weston, a former courier who bikes as his main mode.
“But it’s not like I’m out there riding with the Rat Patrol. I don’t hang out at the Handlebar. I’m not part of some messenger subculture. I’m just a dude who uses his bike for transportation.”
Although he plays an aluminum bass, he rocks a lugged-steel Centurion single-speed. “A lot of modern bikes are really futuristic and ugly. I like simplicity.”
Weston usually cycles to guitarist Steve Albini’s studio then rides in the van to gigs, but he pedaled to the Hideout for most of the band’s six-night stand last winter. After one concert he found his ride covered with a half-foot of snow. “I think I caught a ride home with my wife that night.”
[This piece runs in the May 22 issue of Time Out Chicago with photos:
http://www.timeout.com/chicago/articles/music/29681/song-cycles]
John Herndon, drummer with Tortoise and various jazz groups
“The rhythm of riding relates to my role as a percussionist,” says Herndon, an ex-messenger who enjoys biking with son Hollis, 4. “I sing along with the rhythm my legs are making.”
Herndon bought a Klein while performing in Europe in 2005. “That was amazing to have a bike on tour.” Back in Chicago, he tried to ride it home to Ashville, NC. switching from highways to country roads in Kentucky. “Dogs were on my ass the whole way.” He finally bailed and hitched a ride with a trucker.
Nowadays Johnny’s machine is a Bridgestone. He recently used it to pull a minimalist kit on a trailer to his weekly residency at Danny’s. “A goal of mine is to bike to more shows.”
Mark Messing, leader of Mucca Pazza
“I often write music in my head while riding,” says Messing, car-free since 2004. “It’s one of the best times.”
Members of his 30-piece “circus punk marching band” tow Sousaphones and glockenspiels to gigs on bike trailers. “We load the tympanis upside-down – it looks like a caterpillar.”
Their studio Maestromatic shares a space with West Town Bikes community cycle center. Manager Alex Wilson built Messing’s workhorse so the musician doesn’t know what brand lies beneath the reflective tape.
He enjoys biking Chicago because it’s flat and he gets to pass cars stuck in traffic. “I like thinking about all the money I no longer spend on gas, parking tickets and getting my car de-booted.”
Sally Timms, singer with the Mekons, Wee Hairy Beasties
Timms, a regular commuter, likes to croon while cycling. “You can really howl away, especially on Elston where there’s no one else around.” She also uses saddle time to brainstorm song arrangements.
Growing up in Huby, West Yorkshire, UK, she often rambled the countryside on a five-speed, and now she gets around on a Diamondback. “I don’t care for it the way I should but it’s never let me down.”
“It’s faster than the CTA, it’s exercise and it’s non-polluting,” she says, but as a woman she occasionally endures catcalls. “If you’ve gone out in a skirt you’ll get comments, that’s for sure. But it’s faster than walking. I wouldn’t walk down Elston at night but I’ll ride on it.”
Andrew Bird, violinist
“I’ve definitely written songs while biking,” says Bird, who commutes and goes on day rides. “Just occupying your body so your mind can wander is pretty key.” “A Nervous Tick Motion” is one of many melodies that have come to him on two wheels.
He brings his appropriately-named Heron on the tour bus. “I bought it for myself as a reward for all the touring I do. It’s been great, but four years ago in Saint Paul I spaced-out and went over a curb and my handlebars and bashed the hell out of my knees.”
He likes to cruise the backstreets of Bucktown in the summer, late at night. “On Hoyne or Leavitt between Division and Webster with the streetlights and canopy of trees, it feels like a movie set.”
Bob Weston, bassist with Shellac
“I like the weird, unspoken camaraderie out there between cyclists,” says Weston, a former courier who bikes as his main mode.
“But it’s not like I’m out there riding with the Rat Patrol. I don’t hang out at the Handlebar. I’m not part of some messenger subculture. I’m just a dude who uses his bike for transportation.”
Although he plays an aluminum bass, he rocks a lugged-steel Centurion single-speed. “A lot of modern bikes are really futuristic and ugly. I like simplicity.”
Weston usually cycles to guitarist Steve Albini’s studio then rides in the van to gigs, but he pedaled to the Hideout for most of the band’s six-night stand last winter. After one concert he found his ride covered with a half-foot of snow. “I think I caught a ride home with my wife that night.”
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Ped-Friendly IDOT & More Bike Trails?
by John Greenfield
(Pedestrians at the Looptopia all-night arts festival in downtown Chicago)
Last Wednesday I dropped by the Sears Tower, ran my messenger bag and pannier through the x-ray machine and headed up to the offices of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning for a meeting of their Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force.
CMAP is the regional planning agency for Northeastern Illinois, responsible for issues of land and water use, transportation, economic development and housing in the seven-county region.
The bike and ped task force is made up of advocacy organizations, community groups and businesses, plus representatives from local, regional and state government working to improve conditions for walking and biking in Chicagoland. The quarterly meetings are open to the public; e-mail Tom Murtha, Senior Planner with CMAP at tmurtha@cmap.illinois.gov if you’d like to receive meeting announcements and other bike and ped news.
To be honest, most of the meeting content went over my head but afterwards Murtha and Randy Neufeld, Chief Strategy Officer with Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, brought me up to speed on two of the major topics of discussion.
New pedestrian guidelines for IDOT?
CMAP is recommending that the Illinois Department of Transportation add more guidelines for pedestrian-friendly design to its Bureau of Design and Environment Manual, the design bible for all construction projects. “We’re proposing to IDOT that they adopt national practices that they need to work on catching up on,” Murtha said. “They know the manual is really short on pedestrian safety."
The historically auto-centric transportation agency has made strides toward improvement lately, Murtha said. The state’s Safe Routes to School program, which encourages kids to walk and bicycle, is finally off the ground and IDOT has become a leader in funding bike facility projects. “We’re hoping to extend that to more basic, day-to-day projects,” said Murtha.
The manual needs to be updated because the state adopted a Complete Streets policy last fall, according to Neufeld. The new policy mandates that roadway projects must accommodate the needs of all users including pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities, not just motor vehicles.
The updates to the IDOT manual would be based on a new pedestrian design guide that is likely to be adopted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which sets the national standards for road design. “The AASHTO guide is very good,” says Neufeld. “It’s going to change the way a lot of intersections are designed so bicyclists and pedestrians can safely navigate them.”
“That way you won’t have a road like North Avenue in DuPage County, where you end up having a lot of fatalities,” he said. “Where people try to cross the street where it’s not planned because there’s no other option.”
Making all road projects pedestrian-friendly from the get-go will keep IDOT from having to retrofit dangerous streets, says Murtha. “So you won’t have a situation where somebody burns the toast and then somebody comes back and scrapes it. We need to get it right the first time.”
More bike trails for Northeast Illinois?
Neufeld wants you to remember three numbers: 500, 1,000 and 2,500.
500 is the number of miles of bike trails (including off-street paths and on-street bike lanes or signed routes that connect segments of a path) that existed in 1997. That quantity has doubled over the last decade. 2,500 is the number of miles of trails CMAP wants to see built by 2040.
The planning agency is now updating the Northeast Illinois Greenways & Trails Plan map, originally published in 1997, which helped get those 500 additional miles constructed in the last ten years. The map shows all the regional trails that CMAP is proposing to be built over the next three decades. You can view the map online at:
www.cmap.illinois.gov/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=79
The bulk of the update is the addition of proposed Kane County trails and new greenway proposals in Chicago. The new urban paths would include the Calumet Sag Channel Trail on the city’s southern border and an extension of the Burnam Greenway on the Southeast Side.
More visionary, expensive Chicago proposals included on the map include the extension of the Lakefront Trail south through the former site of the U.S. Steel plant; expanding the Loop’s riverwalk; and rails-to-trails projects like the Northwest Side’s Bloomingdale Trail.
“The trails plan is key because it draws a line in the sand establishing the importance of trails,” Neufeld explained. “It has the ability to change how money is spent. If a road project comes along, the map has power to influence its design.”
“We’re trying to put a trails system in place that makes sense for the region,” added Murtha. “We’ve already got a backbone of off-street trails.” He cited Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, the Illinois Prairie Path, the Plank Road Trail, The Fox River Trail, The Green Bay Trail and the Virgil Gilman Trail as mainstays of the existing system.
CMAP wants to see the trails network expanded with new greenways built as part of new housing developments; county and forest preserve projects; and road construction. For example when an extension of I-355 opened in the southwest suburbs last fall, the bicycle federation’s Roll the Tollway ride raised $70,000 to help build a 10.5 mile bike path paralleling the interstate.
Well, shouldn’t the path have been paid for as part of the highway project instead of requiring “bake sale” funding?
Murtha explained that the road project’s bond covenance prevented the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISHTA) from building the path. But ISHTA did a lot of the bike path engineering, provided the right-of-way for the path and completed the rough grading of the trail.
Plus, a temporary bridge constructed over the Des Plaines river to facilitate construction of the highway is going to stay in place for the bike path, tentatively called the Veteran’s Memorial Trail, a donation worth several million dollars.
To help get bicycle projects included in future road construction, after the updated regional greenways plan is approved CMAP will include it with materials sent to IDOT when the state agency plans streets and highways. “But IDOT’s not going to go to the mat for this,” Murtha cautioned. “It’s going to have to be local communities who spearhead the bike trails.”
Fortunately, the existence of the greenways plan is helping to build political support for new trails in Northeast Illinois, Murtha says. Local agencies, municipalities, county governments and park districts are getting positive feedback about trail plans at community meetings and via letters and e-mails from residents. “They’ve been able to voice that support by spending money and implementing the plans,” he says.
(Pedestrians at the Looptopia all-night arts festival in downtown Chicago)
Last Wednesday I dropped by the Sears Tower, ran my messenger bag and pannier through the x-ray machine and headed up to the offices of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning for a meeting of their Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force.
CMAP is the regional planning agency for Northeastern Illinois, responsible for issues of land and water use, transportation, economic development and housing in the seven-county region.
The bike and ped task force is made up of advocacy organizations, community groups and businesses, plus representatives from local, regional and state government working to improve conditions for walking and biking in Chicagoland. The quarterly meetings are open to the public; e-mail Tom Murtha, Senior Planner with CMAP at tmurtha@cmap.illinois.gov if you’d like to receive meeting announcements and other bike and ped news.
To be honest, most of the meeting content went over my head but afterwards Murtha and Randy Neufeld, Chief Strategy Officer with Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, brought me up to speed on two of the major topics of discussion.
New pedestrian guidelines for IDOT?
CMAP is recommending that the Illinois Department of Transportation add more guidelines for pedestrian-friendly design to its Bureau of Design and Environment Manual, the design bible for all construction projects. “We’re proposing to IDOT that they adopt national practices that they need to work on catching up on,” Murtha said. “They know the manual is really short on pedestrian safety."
The historically auto-centric transportation agency has made strides toward improvement lately, Murtha said. The state’s Safe Routes to School program, which encourages kids to walk and bicycle, is finally off the ground and IDOT has become a leader in funding bike facility projects. “We’re hoping to extend that to more basic, day-to-day projects,” said Murtha.
The manual needs to be updated because the state adopted a Complete Streets policy last fall, according to Neufeld. The new policy mandates that roadway projects must accommodate the needs of all users including pedestrians, cyclists and people with disabilities, not just motor vehicles.
The updates to the IDOT manual would be based on a new pedestrian design guide that is likely to be adopted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which sets the national standards for road design. “The AASHTO guide is very good,” says Neufeld. “It’s going to change the way a lot of intersections are designed so bicyclists and pedestrians can safely navigate them.”
“That way you won’t have a road like North Avenue in DuPage County, where you end up having a lot of fatalities,” he said. “Where people try to cross the street where it’s not planned because there’s no other option.”
Making all road projects pedestrian-friendly from the get-go will keep IDOT from having to retrofit dangerous streets, says Murtha. “So you won’t have a situation where somebody burns the toast and then somebody comes back and scrapes it. We need to get it right the first time.”
More bike trails for Northeast Illinois?
Neufeld wants you to remember three numbers: 500, 1,000 and 2,500.
500 is the number of miles of bike trails (including off-street paths and on-street bike lanes or signed routes that connect segments of a path) that existed in 1997. That quantity has doubled over the last decade. 2,500 is the number of miles of trails CMAP wants to see built by 2040.
The planning agency is now updating the Northeast Illinois Greenways & Trails Plan map, originally published in 1997, which helped get those 500 additional miles constructed in the last ten years. The map shows all the regional trails that CMAP is proposing to be built over the next three decades. You can view the map online at:
www.cmap.illinois.gov/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=79
The bulk of the update is the addition of proposed Kane County trails and new greenway proposals in Chicago. The new urban paths would include the Calumet Sag Channel Trail on the city’s southern border and an extension of the Burnam Greenway on the Southeast Side.
More visionary, expensive Chicago proposals included on the map include the extension of the Lakefront Trail south through the former site of the U.S. Steel plant; expanding the Loop’s riverwalk; and rails-to-trails projects like the Northwest Side’s Bloomingdale Trail.
“The trails plan is key because it draws a line in the sand establishing the importance of trails,” Neufeld explained. “It has the ability to change how money is spent. If a road project comes along, the map has power to influence its design.”
“We’re trying to put a trails system in place that makes sense for the region,” added Murtha. “We’ve already got a backbone of off-street trails.” He cited Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, the Illinois Prairie Path, the Plank Road Trail, The Fox River Trail, The Green Bay Trail and the Virgil Gilman Trail as mainstays of the existing system.
CMAP wants to see the trails network expanded with new greenways built as part of new housing developments; county and forest preserve projects; and road construction. For example when an extension of I-355 opened in the southwest suburbs last fall, the bicycle federation’s Roll the Tollway ride raised $70,000 to help build a 10.5 mile bike path paralleling the interstate.
Well, shouldn’t the path have been paid for as part of the highway project instead of requiring “bake sale” funding?
Murtha explained that the road project’s bond covenance prevented the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISHTA) from building the path. But ISHTA did a lot of the bike path engineering, provided the right-of-way for the path and completed the rough grading of the trail.
Plus, a temporary bridge constructed over the Des Plaines river to facilitate construction of the highway is going to stay in place for the bike path, tentatively called the Veteran’s Memorial Trail, a donation worth several million dollars.
To help get bicycle projects included in future road construction, after the updated regional greenways plan is approved CMAP will include it with materials sent to IDOT when the state agency plans streets and highways. “But IDOT’s not going to go to the mat for this,” Murtha cautioned. “It’s going to have to be local communities who spearhead the bike trails.”
Fortunately, the existence of the greenways plan is helping to build political support for new trails in Northeast Illinois, Murtha says. Local agencies, municipalities, county governments and park districts are getting positive feedback about trail plans at community meetings and via letters and e-mails from residents. “They’ve been able to voice that support by spending money and implementing the plans,” he says.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Car-free Parks Movement
Cities across the United States are creating more space for walking, running and biking by shutting down roads through parks and neighborhoods.
This article was originally published in the May 2008 issue of Parks and Recreation Magazine.
By John Greenfield
If the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives gets its way, 2008 will be the year New York banishes motor vehicles from Central Park and Prospect Park all summer long.
Nowadays, cars are only allowed on the parks’ perimeter roads during weekday rush hours and the holiday shopping season. But the group argues speeding autos still threaten the safety and serenity of the intended users: pedestrians, cyclists and others seeking a break from the city’s cacophony. “These parks are the crown jewels of New York and right now car traffic dictates how and when people can use them,” says TA spokesman Wiley Brown.
His group has collected over 100,000 signatures in support of its proposal for a car-free summer and the city’s new transportation commissioner says she’s thinking it over. Assuming this pilot program is successful, TA plans to push for banning autos altogether. “There’s so little time left for cars already it makes sense to just close the parks and be done with it,” says Brown. “We’ve reached a tipping point.”
New York’s proposal is part of a national trend to create safe, inviting places for exercise and relaxation by removing the sight, sound, smell and danger of car traffic. Dozens of cities have recently moved to restrict auto access to parks and other public spaces, according to Ben Welle from the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence in Washington D.C.
Others are planning ciclovia (“bike path”) programs in which networks of streets are temporarily closed to driving and open for non-motorized play. Last summer El Paso, TX, staged the first ciclovia in the U.S. and now Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland and Portland, OR, are working on similar events.
“Cities are beginning to reach a boiling point,” says Welle. “They realize that if all they do is plan around cars they’re not going to be healthy places for people. The obesity crisis, global warming and a migration of people back to the city are pushing this issue to the forefront. Residents want spaces that accommodate people rather than cars. We’re trying to put forward the idea that closing roads can revitalize parks.”
But proposals for road closures often meet stiff resistance from motorists and neighboring communities. They argue that traffic will become snarled, cars will be diverted onto residential streets, parking will suffer and shops and museum will lose patrons.
In 2003, for example, the National Park Service proposed expanding car-free hours on Beach Road in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek Park, to weekday non-rush periods (it was already closed on weekends). Joggers and bicyclists were thrilled and the plan received overwhelming support at community meetings.
However, drivers and nearby residents rallied against the change, and local officials refused to back the plan. The park service abandoned the idea. “The commuters were able to garner more political support,” says park superintendent Adrienne Coleman. “There needs to be cooperation from the surrounding jurisdictions; otherwise its just not going to happen.”
Despite worries from residents, studies have shown that park road closures do not contribute to congestion or parking problems. In San Francisco, a 2007 report commissioned by the mayor found that car-free Sundays on John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, in place since the ‘60s, double the number of visitors with little effect on the adjacent neighborhoods. Patronage of the park’s De Young Museum and local businesses actually increases on Sundays.
The San Francisco Bike Coalition used this study to successfully lobby for “Healthy Saturdays” last summer, ending seven years of debate on the subject. “Golden Gate Park is a retreat from urban pressures,” says the coalition’s Leah Shahum. “It needs to be a safe, welcoming place. We wanted Saturdays to look like Sundays.”
Wiley Brown says the minimal affect park road closures have on congestion can be explained by what he calls “induced demand.” When you allow people to speed through parks, you give them an incentive to drive. “Some people think traffic is like water: if you block it from one place it will just go somewhere else. We’ve found that this is not true.” Instead, when roads are closed less people choose to drive, a phenomenon sometimes called “traffic evaporation.”
“I’m not really convinced,” says John Corlett from the American Automobile Association’s New York chapter. “Some of these advocacy groups have a results-oriented approach – ‘Let’s achieve the objective and worry about the impact later.” He says that AAA does not have a knee jerk reaction against closing park roads and he has heard no complaints from motorists about Central Park. But he argues there should be careful study before further closures take place. “The Department of Transportation moves cautiously and I know TA isn’t too happy with that but I understand the DOT’s reasoning.”
If local authorities can be convinced, Boston may be the next big city to remove autos from parkland. Across the Charles River in Cambridge, a 1.6-mile stretch of Memorial Drive along the north bank has been car-free on Sunday afternoons for over 30 years. The resulting greenway, is known as “Riverbend Park.”
In January, the Charles River Conservancy proposed opening a five-mile stretch of the westbound lane of Boston’s Storrow Drive, on the south bank of the river, to non-motorized uses on Sunday mornings. “We want to bring a sense of quietude to the river because right now it’s not as peaceful as it could be,” says the Conservancy’s Nicole Brown. Unlike Memorial, Storrow passes under the streets that intersect it. “The beauty of Storrow Drive is you could get a vigorous, uninterrupted five-mile workout.”
She’s optimistic that the state Department of Conservation and Resources, which owns the road, will eventually support the plan. “Car-free days are hot topics,” she says. “But when we’ve explained the hours and that people can still drive east into the city, people have generally gotten behind this.”
In Phoenix, the Parks and Recreation Department’s new “Silent Sundays” at South Mountain Park and Preserve bans autos from the road to the mountain’s summit once a month, all year ‘round. “It’s a bigger success each time we do it,” says park supervisor Kim Keith, adding that he’s received a lot of positive feedback via e-mail. “80% of the messages are from road bikers who use the road to get to the top of the mountain and like the fact they can relax and not worry about cars. The other 20% are from hikers who appreciate the clean air and quiet.”
The ciclovia model, already common in Latin America and Europe, is the wave of the future for road closures in North American cities. Bogota, Colombia, pioneered the concept in the ‘80s, creating a car-free street route where residents could not only run and bike but also push strollers, play volleyball, skateboard, dance, do aerobics and yoga or just hang out and enjoy the social environment. Today Bogata’s ciclovia takes place each Sunday on a 70-mile network, regularly drawing 1.5 million participants. Every February 1st is Dia Sin Carro, “Car-Free Day,” when private autos are completely barred from the city.
Gil Penalosa, Bogota’s former parks and recreation director, speaks passionately about how ciclovias promote health and a sense of community. “Ciclovia provides a wonderful opportunity to walk, bike and socialize. It’s magical because all of the sudden you are invited to occupy a space where you are normally forbidden.” He calls the event an “exercise in integration” which encourages folks from all walks of life to interact with people of different ages, backgrounds and economic levels.
The ciclovia model is cheap and flexible, Penalosa says. “It doesn’t cost you one cent in capital investment. It can be as successfully in huge cities as small towns. The main thing it requires is political will.” He suggests that municipalities should try it out for a few consecutive Sundays to allow momentum and support to build. “The first Sunday is when people complain the most, the second goes a lot more smoothly and the third is fantastic.”
Last year El Paso, a poor city with only about 25% of the green space of an average American town its size, became the first U.S. municipality to hold a ciclovia. Just across the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, car-free days had been drawing 60,000 participants on Sundays.
“Because Juarez was so close to us it wasn’t such a radical idea,” says Shamori Whitt, who coordinated the event for the west Texas town. “68% of the women in El Paso are overweight and 78% of the men, and 10% of the population has diabetes. You can’t really argue with those numbers.” The city was able to raise $100,000 in contributions, used mostly to pay police to manage intersections so the ciclovia would not affect cross traffic.
The event took place every Sunday in May on a linear route that included Scenic Drive, a mountain road with a breathtaking vista. “People said they never appreciated how beautiful the view was until they were able to get up there on a bike,” says Whitt. While many cyclists and bladers enjoyed the challenge, she suspects the steep grades intimidated others – there were only 5,000 total participants in this city of 700,000. Next year the ciclovia may be moved to flatter, more populated areas so more people can take part.
Despite the modest turnout Whitt says the ciclovia inspired her. “I was excited that people were getting to know their neighbors. Little kids were coming out of their houses to wave and we saw a lot of dogs out there. We had to set up water stations for animals next to the water fountains for people.”
At four times the population of El Paso, Chicago is proposing a ciclovia, called Sunday Parkways, which could draw much larger crowds this summer. No stranger to car-free events, every year the city hosts Bike the Drive. 15 miles of Lake Shore Drive, an 8-lane superhighway, are closed to traffic, drawing 20,000-plus cyclists. The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is spearheading the Sunday Parkways effort and has raised much of the $400,000 needed to run three to five trials, pending approval from the mayor’s office.
The proposed 7.5-mile route uses the city’s historic boulevard system connecting three large parks on the west side of town, largely through low-income areas. In 2006 when the bike federation first pitched the idea it faced opposition from churches along the boulevards who felt alienated from the planning process and worried street closures would hurt church attendance. They complained to their alderman and the project was stalled.
In the spring of 2007 the federation invited church representatives and other community leaders on a fact-finding trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, to experience its ciclovia. Called Via Recreativa, “Recreational Path,” Guadajara’s event is a seven-mile route that draws up to 500,000 participants each weekend. It has brought a wave of customers to businesses that had previously been shuttered on Sundays.
Wowed by what they saw, including churches holding outdoor services along the route, the Chicago clergy decided to endorse Sunday Parkways. In turn, the bike federation agreed to move the proposed ciclovia hours until after services let out. “Now the churches who had challenged us in the past have joined our stakeholders committee,” says the bike federation’s Adolfo Hernandez.
“They’re supporting Sunday Parkways because public health is a major issue in these neighborhoods,” Hernandez says. “Our main goal is to get more people to be active. We’re trying to change the way people view these streets and the way resources are used in the city.”
This article was originally published in the May 2008 issue of Parks and Recreation Magazine.
By John Greenfield
If the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives gets its way, 2008 will be the year New York banishes motor vehicles from Central Park and Prospect Park all summer long.
Nowadays, cars are only allowed on the parks’ perimeter roads during weekday rush hours and the holiday shopping season. But the group argues speeding autos still threaten the safety and serenity of the intended users: pedestrians, cyclists and others seeking a break from the city’s cacophony. “These parks are the crown jewels of New York and right now car traffic dictates how and when people can use them,” says TA spokesman Wiley Brown.
His group has collected over 100,000 signatures in support of its proposal for a car-free summer and the city’s new transportation commissioner says she’s thinking it over. Assuming this pilot program is successful, TA plans to push for banning autos altogether. “There’s so little time left for cars already it makes sense to just close the parks and be done with it,” says Brown. “We’ve reached a tipping point.”
New York’s proposal is part of a national trend to create safe, inviting places for exercise and relaxation by removing the sight, sound, smell and danger of car traffic. Dozens of cities have recently moved to restrict auto access to parks and other public spaces, according to Ben Welle from the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence in Washington D.C.
Others are planning ciclovia (“bike path”) programs in which networks of streets are temporarily closed to driving and open for non-motorized play. Last summer El Paso, TX, staged the first ciclovia in the U.S. and now Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland and Portland, OR, are working on similar events.
“Cities are beginning to reach a boiling point,” says Welle. “They realize that if all they do is plan around cars they’re not going to be healthy places for people. The obesity crisis, global warming and a migration of people back to the city are pushing this issue to the forefront. Residents want spaces that accommodate people rather than cars. We’re trying to put forward the idea that closing roads can revitalize parks.”
But proposals for road closures often meet stiff resistance from motorists and neighboring communities. They argue that traffic will become snarled, cars will be diverted onto residential streets, parking will suffer and shops and museum will lose patrons.
In 2003, for example, the National Park Service proposed expanding car-free hours on Beach Road in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek Park, to weekday non-rush periods (it was already closed on weekends). Joggers and bicyclists were thrilled and the plan received overwhelming support at community meetings.
However, drivers and nearby residents rallied against the change, and local officials refused to back the plan. The park service abandoned the idea. “The commuters were able to garner more political support,” says park superintendent Adrienne Coleman. “There needs to be cooperation from the surrounding jurisdictions; otherwise its just not going to happen.”
Despite worries from residents, studies have shown that park road closures do not contribute to congestion or parking problems. In San Francisco, a 2007 report commissioned by the mayor found that car-free Sundays on John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, in place since the ‘60s, double the number of visitors with little effect on the adjacent neighborhoods. Patronage of the park’s De Young Museum and local businesses actually increases on Sundays.
The San Francisco Bike Coalition used this study to successfully lobby for “Healthy Saturdays” last summer, ending seven years of debate on the subject. “Golden Gate Park is a retreat from urban pressures,” says the coalition’s Leah Shahum. “It needs to be a safe, welcoming place. We wanted Saturdays to look like Sundays.”
Wiley Brown says the minimal affect park road closures have on congestion can be explained by what he calls “induced demand.” When you allow people to speed through parks, you give them an incentive to drive. “Some people think traffic is like water: if you block it from one place it will just go somewhere else. We’ve found that this is not true.” Instead, when roads are closed less people choose to drive, a phenomenon sometimes called “traffic evaporation.”
“I’m not really convinced,” says John Corlett from the American Automobile Association’s New York chapter. “Some of these advocacy groups have a results-oriented approach – ‘Let’s achieve the objective and worry about the impact later.” He says that AAA does not have a knee jerk reaction against closing park roads and he has heard no complaints from motorists about Central Park. But he argues there should be careful study before further closures take place. “The Department of Transportation moves cautiously and I know TA isn’t too happy with that but I understand the DOT’s reasoning.”
If local authorities can be convinced, Boston may be the next big city to remove autos from parkland. Across the Charles River in Cambridge, a 1.6-mile stretch of Memorial Drive along the north bank has been car-free on Sunday afternoons for over 30 years. The resulting greenway, is known as “Riverbend Park.”
In January, the Charles River Conservancy proposed opening a five-mile stretch of the westbound lane of Boston’s Storrow Drive, on the south bank of the river, to non-motorized uses on Sunday mornings. “We want to bring a sense of quietude to the river because right now it’s not as peaceful as it could be,” says the Conservancy’s Nicole Brown. Unlike Memorial, Storrow passes under the streets that intersect it. “The beauty of Storrow Drive is you could get a vigorous, uninterrupted five-mile workout.”
She’s optimistic that the state Department of Conservation and Resources, which owns the road, will eventually support the plan. “Car-free days are hot topics,” she says. “But when we’ve explained the hours and that people can still drive east into the city, people have generally gotten behind this.”
In Phoenix, the Parks and Recreation Department’s new “Silent Sundays” at South Mountain Park and Preserve bans autos from the road to the mountain’s summit once a month, all year ‘round. “It’s a bigger success each time we do it,” says park supervisor Kim Keith, adding that he’s received a lot of positive feedback via e-mail. “80% of the messages are from road bikers who use the road to get to the top of the mountain and like the fact they can relax and not worry about cars. The other 20% are from hikers who appreciate the clean air and quiet.”
The ciclovia model, already common in Latin America and Europe, is the wave of the future for road closures in North American cities. Bogota, Colombia, pioneered the concept in the ‘80s, creating a car-free street route where residents could not only run and bike but also push strollers, play volleyball, skateboard, dance, do aerobics and yoga or just hang out and enjoy the social environment. Today Bogata’s ciclovia takes place each Sunday on a 70-mile network, regularly drawing 1.5 million participants. Every February 1st is Dia Sin Carro, “Car-Free Day,” when private autos are completely barred from the city.
Gil Penalosa, Bogota’s former parks and recreation director, speaks passionately about how ciclovias promote health and a sense of community. “Ciclovia provides a wonderful opportunity to walk, bike and socialize. It’s magical because all of the sudden you are invited to occupy a space where you are normally forbidden.” He calls the event an “exercise in integration” which encourages folks from all walks of life to interact with people of different ages, backgrounds and economic levels.
The ciclovia model is cheap and flexible, Penalosa says. “It doesn’t cost you one cent in capital investment. It can be as successfully in huge cities as small towns. The main thing it requires is political will.” He suggests that municipalities should try it out for a few consecutive Sundays to allow momentum and support to build. “The first Sunday is when people complain the most, the second goes a lot more smoothly and the third is fantastic.”
Last year El Paso, a poor city with only about 25% of the green space of an average American town its size, became the first U.S. municipality to hold a ciclovia. Just across the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, car-free days had been drawing 60,000 participants on Sundays.
“Because Juarez was so close to us it wasn’t such a radical idea,” says Shamori Whitt, who coordinated the event for the west Texas town. “68% of the women in El Paso are overweight and 78% of the men, and 10% of the population has diabetes. You can’t really argue with those numbers.” The city was able to raise $100,000 in contributions, used mostly to pay police to manage intersections so the ciclovia would not affect cross traffic.
The event took place every Sunday in May on a linear route that included Scenic Drive, a mountain road with a breathtaking vista. “People said they never appreciated how beautiful the view was until they were able to get up there on a bike,” says Whitt. While many cyclists and bladers enjoyed the challenge, she suspects the steep grades intimidated others – there were only 5,000 total participants in this city of 700,000. Next year the ciclovia may be moved to flatter, more populated areas so more people can take part.
Despite the modest turnout Whitt says the ciclovia inspired her. “I was excited that people were getting to know their neighbors. Little kids were coming out of their houses to wave and we saw a lot of dogs out there. We had to set up water stations for animals next to the water fountains for people.”
At four times the population of El Paso, Chicago is proposing a ciclovia, called Sunday Parkways, which could draw much larger crowds this summer. No stranger to car-free events, every year the city hosts Bike the Drive. 15 miles of Lake Shore Drive, an 8-lane superhighway, are closed to traffic, drawing 20,000-plus cyclists. The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is spearheading the Sunday Parkways effort and has raised much of the $400,000 needed to run three to five trials, pending approval from the mayor’s office.
The proposed 7.5-mile route uses the city’s historic boulevard system connecting three large parks on the west side of town, largely through low-income areas. In 2006 when the bike federation first pitched the idea it faced opposition from churches along the boulevards who felt alienated from the planning process and worried street closures would hurt church attendance. They complained to their alderman and the project was stalled.
In the spring of 2007 the federation invited church representatives and other community leaders on a fact-finding trip to Guadalajara, Mexico, to experience its ciclovia. Called Via Recreativa, “Recreational Path,” Guadajara’s event is a seven-mile route that draws up to 500,000 participants each weekend. It has brought a wave of customers to businesses that had previously been shuttered on Sundays.
Wowed by what they saw, including churches holding outdoor services along the route, the Chicago clergy decided to endorse Sunday Parkways. In turn, the bike federation agreed to move the proposed ciclovia hours until after services let out. “Now the churches who had challenged us in the past have joined our stakeholders committee,” says the bike federation’s Adolfo Hernandez.
“They’re supporting Sunday Parkways because public health is a major issue in these neighborhoods,” Hernandez says. “Our main goal is to get more people to be active. We’re trying to change the way people view these streets and the way resources are used in the city.”
Safety Dance: A New Bike Safety Ordinance
Chicago’s reckless driving ordinance is on the books. Now City Hall is considering a crackdown on bicyclists
Originally published on Gapers Block 3/13/07:
http://gapersblock.com/detour/bicyclists_do_the_safety_dance
By John Greenfield
On Wednesday, March 12, City Council gave the final OK to Mayor Daley’s bike safety ordinance which will slap motorists who endanger cyclists with $150 fines. The penalty jumps to $500 if a crash occurs.
Five risky moves by drivers are now verboten: Turning into a cyclist’s path (AKA the “left hook” and “right hook”); parking or driving in a bike lane; passing within three feet of a pedaler; and opening a car door on a bicyclist (AKA the “door prize.”)
“This really represents a continuation of what the mayor and CDOT have been trying to accomplish for the past 15 years: making streets safer for cyclists,” said Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele.
Bicyclists and motorists alike cheered the new law. “This is very positive,” said bike courier Seth Chambers, “It’s a great idea.” A three-year veteran of the Loop’s mean streets, he once suffered a shattered arm when a car smashed into him while making a left turn. “Obviously this is a big issue for me.”
“We think it’s great news that the ordinance passed,” said Beth Mosher from the American Automobile Association’s local chapter. “This is going to go a long way in keeping everyone safe on the roadway.”
“We really like that this ordinance tells motorists they need to show due diligence to bikes on the road,” said Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s Rob Sadowsky. While he said traffic laws are hard to enforce, he feels the ordinance will be a godsend to cyclists who get hurt by cars.
Sadowsky broke his elbow four years ago when a passenger exiting a cab kicked the door open into a bike lane. In the ensuing lawsuit the defense argued Sadowsky should have been riding as close to the right as possible.
“This ordinance clearly states that by riding in a bike lane I was operating my vehicle appropriately,” said Sadowsky. “With this ordinance in place my case would have settled six months earlier.”
City Council passed the law unanimously with no debate. But during discussion of the ordinance at a Traffic Committee hearing a week earlier, several aldermen called for cracking down on dangerous bicyclists as well.
“How many of ‘em are stopping at stop lights?” asked Ald. Willie Cochrane (20th). “How many of ‘em are stopping at stop signs? How many of ‘em are putting up their hands when it’s time to make a turn? Those are serious issues.”
Ben Gomberg, Chicago’s Bike Program Coordinator, responded that the City is exploring ways to increase compliance, including increased ticketing of cyclists. One strategy recommended by Chicago’s Bike 2015 Plan is: “Develop and implement an enforcement program targeting particularly dangerous bicycling.”
Although the bicycle federation was contracted to help write the bike plan, Rob Sadowsky said his group differs with the City on the issue of traffic citations for cyclists. “We do not endorse using few and precious police resources to target behavior that is relatively insignificant. Inattentive and reckless drivers are causing fatalities – that’s where our resources should go.”
“We don’t believe it’s a waste of police resources to enforce laws designed to ensure the safety of public way users,” responded CDOT’s Brian Steele. He added that the City also works to spread the word about safe cycling with education programs like Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors, outreach specialists who appear at schools, parks and special events.
A crackdown on bicyclists would be a step in the wrong direction, said Michael Burton from the transportation advocacy group Break the Gridlock. “I think it’s mostly hype, this idea of a bicycle menace. What’s the incidence of bicyclists hitting pedestrians or drivers? Where are the injuries or fatalities?”
In contrast, Burton said, cars kill an average of 40,000 Americans a year. “When a car hits a cyclist or another driver or jumps a curb and kills a pedestrian it’s not even considered news anymore,” he said.
“If more people biked instead of clogging the roads with cars we’d have safer streets,” said Burton. “So we should be working to make life easier for bicyclists instead of ticketing them.”
The March 12 City Council meeting started on a decidedly pro-bicycle note as local politicians honored former alderman Leon Despres, a legendary South Side progressive and cycling enthusiast, on his 100th birthday.
As Despres looked on, Mayor Daley credited the Hyde Parker with bringing bicycling issues to the forefront for the current generation. “You’re a great bike rider,” said the mayor.
Originally published on Gapers Block 3/13/07:
http://gapersblock.com/detour/bicyclists_do_the_safety_dance
By John Greenfield
On Wednesday, March 12, City Council gave the final OK to Mayor Daley’s bike safety ordinance which will slap motorists who endanger cyclists with $150 fines. The penalty jumps to $500 if a crash occurs.
Five risky moves by drivers are now verboten: Turning into a cyclist’s path (AKA the “left hook” and “right hook”); parking or driving in a bike lane; passing within three feet of a pedaler; and opening a car door on a bicyclist (AKA the “door prize.”)
“This really represents a continuation of what the mayor and CDOT have been trying to accomplish for the past 15 years: making streets safer for cyclists,” said Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele.
Bicyclists and motorists alike cheered the new law. “This is very positive,” said bike courier Seth Chambers, “It’s a great idea.” A three-year veteran of the Loop’s mean streets, he once suffered a shattered arm when a car smashed into him while making a left turn. “Obviously this is a big issue for me.”
“We think it’s great news that the ordinance passed,” said Beth Mosher from the American Automobile Association’s local chapter. “This is going to go a long way in keeping everyone safe on the roadway.”
“We really like that this ordinance tells motorists they need to show due diligence to bikes on the road,” said Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s Rob Sadowsky. While he said traffic laws are hard to enforce, he feels the ordinance will be a godsend to cyclists who get hurt by cars.
Sadowsky broke his elbow four years ago when a passenger exiting a cab kicked the door open into a bike lane. In the ensuing lawsuit the defense argued Sadowsky should have been riding as close to the right as possible.
“This ordinance clearly states that by riding in a bike lane I was operating my vehicle appropriately,” said Sadowsky. “With this ordinance in place my case would have settled six months earlier.”
City Council passed the law unanimously with no debate. But during discussion of the ordinance at a Traffic Committee hearing a week earlier, several aldermen called for cracking down on dangerous bicyclists as well.
“How many of ‘em are stopping at stop lights?” asked Ald. Willie Cochrane (20th). “How many of ‘em are stopping at stop signs? How many of ‘em are putting up their hands when it’s time to make a turn? Those are serious issues.”
Ben Gomberg, Chicago’s Bike Program Coordinator, responded that the City is exploring ways to increase compliance, including increased ticketing of cyclists. One strategy recommended by Chicago’s Bike 2015 Plan is: “Develop and implement an enforcement program targeting particularly dangerous bicycling.”
Although the bicycle federation was contracted to help write the bike plan, Rob Sadowsky said his group differs with the City on the issue of traffic citations for cyclists. “We do not endorse using few and precious police resources to target behavior that is relatively insignificant. Inattentive and reckless drivers are causing fatalities – that’s where our resources should go.”
“We don’t believe it’s a waste of police resources to enforce laws designed to ensure the safety of public way users,” responded CDOT’s Brian Steele. He added that the City also works to spread the word about safe cycling with education programs like Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors, outreach specialists who appear at schools, parks and special events.
A crackdown on bicyclists would be a step in the wrong direction, said Michael Burton from the transportation advocacy group Break the Gridlock. “I think it’s mostly hype, this idea of a bicycle menace. What’s the incidence of bicyclists hitting pedestrians or drivers? Where are the injuries or fatalities?”
In contrast, Burton said, cars kill an average of 40,000 Americans a year. “When a car hits a cyclist or another driver or jumps a curb and kills a pedestrian it’s not even considered news anymore,” he said.
“If more people biked instead of clogging the roads with cars we’d have safer streets,” said Burton. “So we should be working to make life easier for bicyclists instead of ticketing them.”
The March 12 City Council meeting started on a decidedly pro-bicycle note as local politicians honored former alderman Leon Despres, a legendary South Side progressive and cycling enthusiast, on his 100th birthday.
As Despres looked on, Mayor Daley credited the Hyde Parker with bringing bicycling issues to the forefront for the current generation. “You’re a great bike rider,” said the mayor.
No More Door Prizes?
Chicago aldermen rubber-stamped Daley’s proposal to fine drivers who endanger cyclists, but they want to crack down on bikes as well.
[Originally published on Gapers Block on 3/10/08:
http://gapersblock.com/detour/no_more_door_prizes/]
By John Greenfield
On Wednesday City Council’s Traffic Committee unanimously passed the mayor’s bike safety ordinance which would dock drivers $150 for several types of fouls against cyclists. The fine would jump to $500 for offences that results in a crash.
The new law covers five dangerous moves by motorists: opening a car door on a bicyclist; parking or driving in a bike lane (which forces pedalers to swerve into traffic); passing within three feet of a bike; and turning left or right into the path of a cyclist, AKA the “left hook” and “right hook.”
The unanimous approval means the ordinance will almost certainly pass when it goes before City Council on Wednesday, March 12, according to Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele.
“If we establish and widely publicize these ordinances, motorists will know that they risk people’s lives with this kind of behavior,” testified Ben Gomberg, the City’s Bike Program Coordinator, at the meeting.
Committee members applauded the mayor’s effort to make streets safer for cyclists but griped that more needs to be done to keep bicyclists from breaking laws. Ald. Bernie Stone (50th) said he is “absolutely delighted” to pass the ordinance and has received many calls and e-mails in support of the plan from constituents.
But Stone added that the recent death of a cyclist, struck by an SUV while he was running a red last month at Lincoln and Irving Park, highlights the need to enforce traffic codes for bikes as well. “Are we going to insist that bicycles obey the rules of the road? Yes, it’s true that a bicycle is less likely to cause a fatality but if everyone would pay attention to what they’re doing they’re wouldn’t be any fatalities.”
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said that he appreciates bicycling as a “a great way to travel” that aids traffic problems in his downtown ward but said cyclists, especially couriers, need to be “held accountable” for their actions. “There are many great bike messengers out there but a few bad apples are endangering public safety.”
Gomberg responded that the City’s Bike 2015 Plan includes strategies for making messengers “safer, more responsible and more popular.” The plan recommends mandatory safety training for bike couriers and selective enforcement of traffic laws by police.
The plan also proposes a crackdown on lawbreaking by the general cyclist population. “All vehicle must share the road,” said Gomberg. “Cyclists have the same responsibilities as motorists. It’s a level playing field.”
Vanessa Smith and Pilar Tena, who pedaled to the hearing, disagreed. “Cars and bicycles aren’t comparable,” said Smith, noting that a bike and rider weighs about 200 pounds while a car weighs closer to 3,000. “I think the laws should be different for bikes and cars.” She suggested that cyclists should be allowed to treat a stoplight like a stop sign, and a stop sign like a yield sign, as is currently the law in Idaho.
“It would be a downer if they start enforcing all of the traffic laws for bikes,” said Tena. “Part of the freedom and efficiency of bicycling is that you don’t have to follow the same rules as cars.”
“Stop lights are for everyone,” maintained Beth Mosher, spokesman for American Automobile Association’s Chicago chapter, “Everyone has to play by the rules of the road. The onus of safety falls on everybody: drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.”
She was pleased to learn the safety ordinance was approved. “AAA supports this. There are too many bike and pedestrian fatalities.”
Between 2001 and 2005 there were more than 6,000 reported crashes between cars and bikes; 30 bicyclists were killed in Chicago, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
[Originally published on Gapers Block on 3/10/08:
http://gapersblock.com/detour/no_more_door_prizes/]
By John Greenfield
On Wednesday City Council’s Traffic Committee unanimously passed the mayor’s bike safety ordinance which would dock drivers $150 for several types of fouls against cyclists. The fine would jump to $500 for offences that results in a crash.
The new law covers five dangerous moves by motorists: opening a car door on a bicyclist; parking or driving in a bike lane (which forces pedalers to swerve into traffic); passing within three feet of a bike; and turning left or right into the path of a cyclist, AKA the “left hook” and “right hook.”
The unanimous approval means the ordinance will almost certainly pass when it goes before City Council on Wednesday, March 12, according to Chicago Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Steele.
“If we establish and widely publicize these ordinances, motorists will know that they risk people’s lives with this kind of behavior,” testified Ben Gomberg, the City’s Bike Program Coordinator, at the meeting.
Committee members applauded the mayor’s effort to make streets safer for cyclists but griped that more needs to be done to keep bicyclists from breaking laws. Ald. Bernie Stone (50th) said he is “absolutely delighted” to pass the ordinance and has received many calls and e-mails in support of the plan from constituents.
But Stone added that the recent death of a cyclist, struck by an SUV while he was running a red last month at Lincoln and Irving Park, highlights the need to enforce traffic codes for bikes as well. “Are we going to insist that bicycles obey the rules of the road? Yes, it’s true that a bicycle is less likely to cause a fatality but if everyone would pay attention to what they’re doing they’re wouldn’t be any fatalities.”
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said that he appreciates bicycling as a “a great way to travel” that aids traffic problems in his downtown ward but said cyclists, especially couriers, need to be “held accountable” for their actions. “There are many great bike messengers out there but a few bad apples are endangering public safety.”
Gomberg responded that the City’s Bike 2015 Plan includes strategies for making messengers “safer, more responsible and more popular.” The plan recommends mandatory safety training for bike couriers and selective enforcement of traffic laws by police.
The plan also proposes a crackdown on lawbreaking by the general cyclist population. “All vehicle must share the road,” said Gomberg. “Cyclists have the same responsibilities as motorists. It’s a level playing field.”
Vanessa Smith and Pilar Tena, who pedaled to the hearing, disagreed. “Cars and bicycles aren’t comparable,” said Smith, noting that a bike and rider weighs about 200 pounds while a car weighs closer to 3,000. “I think the laws should be different for bikes and cars.” She suggested that cyclists should be allowed to treat a stoplight like a stop sign, and a stop sign like a yield sign, as is currently the law in Idaho.
“It would be a downer if they start enforcing all of the traffic laws for bikes,” said Tena. “Part of the freedom and efficiency of bicycling is that you don’t have to follow the same rules as cars.”
“Stop lights are for everyone,” maintained Beth Mosher, spokesman for American Automobile Association’s Chicago chapter, “Everyone has to play by the rules of the road. The onus of safety falls on everybody: drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.”
She was pleased to learn the safety ordinance was approved. “AAA supports this. There are too many bike and pedestrian fatalities.”
Between 2001 and 2005 there were more than 6,000 reported crashes between cars and bikes; 30 bicyclists were killed in Chicago, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
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