Category: People

Breaking down the battle John McCarron wants to start

[flickr]photo:6048794548[/flickr]

At Grid Chicago, we like to deal with facts and we said before that we would combat bike lane backlash.

The Chicago Tribune published Sunday an op-ed by John McCarron, an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and monthly columnist, about how using bicycles and fast buses to get to work is not practical. I’ve picked 7 misinformed or inaccurate points he makes to tell you what’s real.

1. McCarron says that bus rapid transit won’t work as a practical alternative to commuting by automobile in Chicago.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems typically have fewer stops and can reach higher speeds; they may also have priority at signalized intersections, and be able to cross through before anyone else. At least part of the route has a lane dedicated for the buses’ use.  There are several cities in the United States that have some form of bus rapid transit; here are their effects: Continue reading Breaking down the battle John McCarron wants to start

How do I really feel about driving?

[flickr]photo:6377502427[/flickr]

Photo by Mia Park

In 2003 Eric Paul Erickson interviewed me for the Chicago Tribune about my thoughts on bike advocacy and activism. At the time I said, “I think 10 years from now it just won’t make a lot of sense to own a car here.”

Unlike in, say, New York City, certainly Manhattan, car ownership was fairly practical in Chicago back then and it still is today. Although there are plenty of hassles involved, parking is still relatively plentiful, city fees are affordable and gas is currently less than $4 a gallon. Was my prediction unrealistic?

Continue reading How do I really feel about driving?

Kidical Mass video

[flickr]photo:4510272245[/flickr]

Photo of a family participating in Kidical Mass by Sherry Keating. 

If you’re a Chicago parent and you want to cycle with your children, I invite you to check out Kidical Mass, “Critical Mass for the smaller set”. It’s a monthly, slow bike ride starting at Palmer Square Park (3064 W Palmer Blvd) for families. The next ride is December 10, 2011, at 10:30 AM.

Marisa Paulson published an introductory video at The Northwest Passage, embedded below. The video features short interviews with three Logan Square parents talking about why they ride in Kidical Mass.

[vimeo]32180233[/vimeo]

Watch the video on Vimeo. Elizabeth Bartom posted more photos.

Talking transportation with former Milwaukee mayor John Norquist

[flickr]photo:6351820340[/flickr]

John Norquist – photo courtesy of the Congress for the New Urbanism

Whenever I visit Milwaukee I’m impressed by some of the more progressive aspects of its urban planning, like the many well-preserved old buildings, bike-and-ped-friendly bridges, the Milwaukee Public Market and the vibrant riverfront. Much of the credit goes to John Norquist, who served as mayor from 1988 to 2004, when he left to take his currrent post as president and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). Continue reading Talking transportation with former Milwaukee mayor John Norquist

Chicagoans offer tips to keep the pedals turning this winter

[flickr]photo:6344526493[/flickr]

Gin Kilgore rides with her son Miguel Burton-Kilgore. Photo by Martha Williams.

[This article also runs in Momentum magazine.]

It’s November and days are getting shorter and colder. If you live in the Upper Midwest or the Northeast, sleet, slush, snow and ice are just around the corner, so maybe you’re thinking about mothballing your bike for the next four months.

Instead, Gin Kilgore suggests you give cold-weather biking a spin. She helped found Bike Winter, a Chicago-based grassroots organization that promotes all-season cycling, with offshoots in St. Louis, Missouri, and Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. “Winter biking helps you stay active and in the sunshine all year, which is so good for the body and mind,” Kilgore says. “And it sure beats shivering at the bus stop.”

Continue reading Chicagoans offer tips to keep the pedals turning this winter

Martha Williams celebrates a year of two-wheeled fashion photography

[flickr]photo:6332981799[/flickr]

Martha Williams. Photo by Emma Arnold from the local street fashion blog Trés Awesome. All other images by Williams and featured on Bike Fancy.

Last year Time Out Chicago photographer Martha Williams began taking pictures of well-dressed people on bicycles and posting them on her blog Bike Fancy. She buttonholes good-looking cyclists she encounters while cruising the city, shoots portraits and interviews them about their rides and outfits, why they enjoy bicycling and their ideas for making Chicago more bike-friendly. Continue reading Martha Williams celebrates a year of two-wheeled fashion photography