Yesterday, Open Streets on State Street happened in downtown Chicago. And thousands were there to enjoy the breakdancing performances, open skate park, and dance for fitness lessons.
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A skateboarder jumps off the ramp in the skate park at State Street and Van Buren Street open to anyone. There were even skateboards to borrow. Continue reading Grid Shots: No cars on State Street edition
[flickr]photo:6198220998[/flickr]2009 Open Streets: left-to-right, in orange shirts, Lucy Gomez-Feliciano, Adolfo Hernandez, Rob Sadowsky
[This article also runs in Newcity magazine.]
“On State Street, that great street, I just want to say
They do things they don’t do on Broadway”
– “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)” by Fred Fisher
The question is, can Chicago do on State Street what New York City already does successfully, not on Broadway but on Park Avenue; what San Francisco does on Grant Avenue; and what Bogotá, Colombia, does on Calle 11?
Born in Bogotá, “ciclovía” (Spanish for “bike path”) events close streets to motorized traffic, creating safe spaces for citizens to bicycle, jog, stroll, play and mingle, encouraging healthy recreation and social interaction. Ciclovías are now popular around the world, and most of America’s bike-friendly major cities are holding successful events, but the model still hasn’t gained a foothold in Chicago.
This could change after Saturday’s Open Streets on State Street ciclovía, when for five hours the sight, sound and smell of hundreds of automobiles, cabs and buses on the famous thoroughfare will be replaced by thousands of people enjoying a giant block party. The free event takes place from 10 am to 3 pm, with State Street closed to traffic between Lake and Van Buren. Vehicles will be permitted to cross the route at Madison and Monroe.
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The Pioneers’ inaugural ride: Khari Reed, Keith Bevans, Oboi Reed, Larry. Photo by Neeketta Dotson.
Recently Steven and I received an e-mail from a Chatham resident named Olatunji Oboi (“O-bye-ee”) Reed with the cheerful greeting, “Trusting y’all are both well and this note finds you in great health!” Bicycling has become part of Reed’s own strategy to maintain good physical and mental health, and this summer he launched The Pioneers Bicycle Club in hopes of spreading the gospel to his family, friends and community. I caught up with Reed last month at the Valois Cafeteria in Hyde Park to talk about the importance of cycling in his life, the history of the club, and his ideas for getting more South Siders and African Americans on bicycles.
Continue reading Oboi Reed from The Pioneers Bicycle Club wants more South Siders cycling
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People ride their bikes across the point at which Milwaukee Avenue was measured to have a mode share of 22% bicycles.
These are important to mention because they will be shared again and again. While nothing was inaccurate, there was definitely space to clarify and expand. Original article.
1. “[Gabe] Klein hopes the percentage of trips taken by bike will rise from under 2 percent to 5 percent”
The percentage of “trips taken by bike” (for any purpose) is not known. We only know the percentage of trips taken by bike to work, and it stands at 1.4% right now.
The goal of the Bike 2015 Plan is to have 5 percent of all trips under 5 miles be by bike. But we won’t know when we achieve that because we lack baseline data: no survey collects the data on trips by bike for all purposes and categorizes them by distance – there was a household travel survey in 2007-2008 from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), but only for counties and not Chicago. I have written many times before about the “missing data” and baseline data problem: One, two, three, four.
Continue reading Imprecisions in widely shared Reuters article on Chicago biking
On Saturday, I joined a group of people at Daley Plaza who want the Chicago City Council and Rahm Emanuel to pass the Clean Power Ordinance for a demonstration bike ride to Dvorak Park, across Cermak Road from the Fisk coal power plant. Roll Beyond Coal was a short ride from the Loop to Pilsen, through the rain and sun, and with a police escort. It was a small affair, but we joined up with a larger group of people at the park for a couple of speakers and a march through the neighborhood. This post is a photo essay – read more coverage of the Clean Power Ordinance on Steven Can Plan. Photos are posted in chronological order.
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More than 50 people rode in the rain to demonstrate to aldermen and the mayor their desire for cleaner air in Chicago. Continue reading Rollin’ beyond coal
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I attended the first public meeting for the 35th Ward student active transportation plan, being managed by Sam Schwartz Engineering and Active Transportation Alliance (ActiveTrans), but left without understanding what the planners envision next, based on the outcomes of the meeting.
I asked Adolfo Hernandez at ActiveTrans about this. He replied:
The next steps include Sam Schwartz Engineering reviewing the community’s input and developing a set of approaches to improve walking and biking access to specific parks and schools within the ward. That set of strategies will be presented as a plan to the community in a public meeting. At that meeting, the public will have an opportunity to hear about the plan and its recommendations as well as help identify priority projects for implementation.
The plan will include some recommendations for short, mid and long term projects but we really want the community to guide prioritizing projects. The alderman [Rey Colón] has agreed to use the plan as a guide for making the ward safer for biking and walking. The alderman has committed to using some menu funds as well as leveraging other funding sources to help implement the plan.
Mark de la Vergne, at Sam Schwartz Engineering added:
During this time, we’ll also be working with the Alderman’s office and Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) to discuss the potential recommendations and how they may fit within current efforts.
I will inform you when the next meeting is scheduled.