Category: Events

Rollin’ beyond coal

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

Emanuel touts “swat team” CTA station renewal; advocates rally against federal cuts to transit

[flickr]photo:6168877252[/flickr]Rey Colón, Forrest Claypool and Rahm Emanuel

Yesterday was a busy one for transit-related press events in Chicago. In the morning Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Forrest Claypool appeared at the Logan Square Blue Line station, my local stop, to announce their plans to clean and rehab 100 stations within the next year at a cost of $25 million. In the afternoon public transit workers and boosters railed against a Republican proposal to slash more than a third of federal highway and public transportation funding.

I’ve often wondered why the CTA has allowed some of its stations to become so shabby when other systems, like Washington, D.C.’s Metro, have much more appealing facilities. Logan Square was a good example, with crumbling plaster, a dingy, cave-like platform tunnel, and an eternally dripping platform tunnel ceiling. Dismal conditions like these breed discontent from regular customers and discourage potential riders from using transit instead of driving.

Continue reading Emanuel touts “swat team” CTA station renewal; advocates rally against federal cuts to transit

Is there such a thing as a “green” car?

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When Zoe Stathopoulos, an ad exec from Ruder Finn, contacted Steven and me to invite us to the Chicago stop of Hyundai’s Drive 4 Hope event promoting the Tucson Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), a hydrogen-powered car, it raised our eyebrows.

“I think this is right up your alley given your interest in sustainable transportation in Chicago,” she wrote. “As those who are interested in green/clean energy and the environment know, nothing in the automotive industry holds more promise for the health of the planet than fuel cell technology.” Continue reading Is there such a thing as a “green” car?

Chicago’s first Cargo Bike Roll Call

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Monday’s Cargo Bike Roll Call at West Town Bikes, organized by my Grid Chicago co-blogger Steven Vance, went as well as could possibly been have hoped for. The event was a chance for proud cargo bike owners to show off their vehicles, for newbies to learn what cargo biking is all about and for everyone to get a chance to take these unique rides for a spin.

With a long line of parked cargo cycles occupying almost half the width of Campbell Street next to West Town, the roll call was a de facto block party (at least until a police officer asked us to move the bikes to the parkway halfway through the evening). And it was a terrific party, with booming dance music playing from West Town Bikes director Alex Wilson’s sound bike as folks hung out swapping advice on transporting children and other ungainly objects by bicycle. It’s been a while since I’ve hung out at this nonprofit bike shop and education center, and I was reminded what a great vibe this place has.

Speaking of kids, there was a great turnout of youngsters, totally appropriate at an event that was largely about how to use a bike in place of a car for household errands. The children loved riding on the vehicles, or even piloting them, and the party was much enlivened by the little ones running around and shrieking, hopped up on multiple slices of watermelon.

Continue reading Chicago’s first Cargo Bike Roll Call

A visitor’s guide to biking in Chicago

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A view of downtown from Promontory Point, about 55th Street and the Lakefront Trail. 

Back in 2008, Momentum magazine invited me to write a roundup of the Chicago bicycle scene. The current issue of Momentum features this new guide to biking in Chicago, especially geared for visitors to the city but hopefully of interest to locals as well. Comparing the two pieces shows there have been a lot of exciting developments here in the last three years! Print space was limited so I couldn’t include every great cycling event, not-for-profit, bike shop, etc., that I would have liked to, but feel free to to comment if you think I left out anything crucial.

The city of Chicago by the numbers, courtesy of the Chicago Department of Transportation Bicycle Program:
2.7 million people
227 square miles
.5 miles of car-separated cycle tracks
123 miles of on-street bike lanes
33 miles of marked shared lanes AKA “sharrows”
50 miles of paved, off-street bike paths
12,265 on-street bike parking racks, more than any other U.S. city
60,000 people educated about safety by the city’s Bicycling Ambassadors in 2010
100 B-cycle bike share vehicles at six kiosks
300 parking spaces, showers and lockers at the Millennium Park bicycle station Continue reading A visitor’s guide to biking in Chicago

Four transportation events in and for Logan Square

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A rendering of the Bike/Walk35 group’s vision for the Logan Square CTA station. 

One event happened last week, one is this week, one the following week, and the last happens each weekend in September.

Bike/Walk35 presentation on vision and goals for Logan Square CTA station

I joined the Bike/Walk35 group to help them create a great bike parking plan for the station. Last Thursday, August 25, 2011, at the St. Sylvester gymnasium (2157 N Humboldt), we presented on the history, goals, and vision for the Logan Square Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Blue Line station (2620 N Kedzie). Continue reading Four transportation events in and for Logan Square