Category: Bicycling

Pedaling revolution: Comrade Cycles seizes the means of production

[flickr]photo:6963547865[/flickr]

This is the first article published in “Checkerboard City,” John’s new column about sustainable transportation that will run in print in every issue of Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.

“Bikers of Chicago unite! You have nothing to lube but your chains.”
—Suggested manifesto for Comrade Cycles

First there was Atomix Café, with its giant mural of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, then Revolution Brewing, with a red star logo and tap handles shaped like upraised fists. By opening Chicago’s newest communist-themed enterprise, the three worker-owners behind Comrade Cycles hope to make their Marx on the local bike scene.

Continue reading Pedaling revolution: Comrade Cycles seizes the means of production

Will 47th Ward residents learn to love the bike boulevard?

[flickr]photo:6958139237[/flickr]

47th Ward staffer Bill Higgins

A few weeks ago I contacted Mike Amsden, lead planner for the Chicago Department of Transportation’s Streets for Cycling initiative, to ask why CDOT chose Berteau Avenue (4200 N.), from Lincoln to Clark, to be the city’s first “neighborhood greenway” (AKA bike boulevard.) One of the main reasons he mentioned is that the project lies entirely within one ward, the 47th, and there’s enthusiastic support from local alderman Ameya Pawar. Amsden also told me he’s also gotten positive feedback from folks along Berteau who want to see cut-through traffic reduced. “We’ve heard from a few nearby residents who are really excited about it,” he said. Here’s a map of the location.

Last week at a block club meeting about the proposed greenway at a Ravenswood church, I learned firsthand how important it is that the project is slated for only a short stretch of roadway (.9 miles) and has strong aldermanic backing, because it’s turning out to be more controversial than I expected. There were over 50 people in attendance and many of the attendees said they’re afraid that the project will create chaos for drivers.

Continue reading Will 47th Ward residents learn to love the bike boulevard?

The Bike Swap on Saturday was an informative event

[flickr]photo:6808254986[/flickr]

Randy Neufeld, Even Jennings, and Mike Amsden. Photo by Eric Rogers.

Thank you to the tens of people who visited the Grid Chicago table at the Chicago Bike Swap in the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse on Saturday. We thoroughly enjoyed talking to current and (hopefully) new readers of our blog. We handed out pins, business cards, and demonstrated the site. Since there was no wifi or electricity available, we improvised: we showed off the website with an iPad and a mobile hotspot. MobileCitizen generously lent us the mobile hotspot for the day. I was also able to talk to people about the Get Lit campaign.

In addition to the myriad organizations signing up interested guests, and shops selling bike parts, handlebar smartphone holders, and cycling caps, there were many great presentations. I filmed two: a Q&A on bicycling with kids with three Logan Square parents called “Kids in the Saddle: Raising the Next Generation of Cyclists”; and “Decade of Revolution: the Rise of Bicycle Transportation in Chicago”. The videos will be up later this week – each are longer than 30 minutes and will take some time to edit for publishing. Continue reading The Bike Swap on Saturday was an informative event

The Halsted Passage

[flickr]photo:6802215300[/flickr]

The sign says “bridge closed ahead” – not for people on foot or with bicycles. Cross the river by entering the sidewalk on the west side of Halsted Street.

Sorry if I’m revealing anyone’s secret. During reconstruction on the Halsted Street bridge over the Chicago River just north of Chicago Avenue, it’s possible to cross into Goose Island and continue on Halsted Street. Construction is supposed to last until May 2012. The west side sidewalk is open. And the Halsted Street bridge over the North Branch Canal of the Chicago River, just south of Division Street, has been open since December.

[flickr]photo:6802217184[/flickr]

Looking north from the sidewalk along the bridge. 

[flickr]photo:6948330129[/flickr]

Looking west at the concrete plant from the sidewalk along the bridge. 

Alderman Pawar’s newsletter addresses Berteau Avenue neighborhood greenway concerns

[flickr]photo:6813989663[/flickr]

In Alderman Pawar’s weekly newsletter, the subject of neighborhood greenways, including the City’s first on Berteau Avenue, is addressed. The entire email is quoted here, except for the single photo that was embedded. You can also view the original email here, but it won’t be archived forever.

Many of you have been contacting our office regarding speeding cars, cut-through traffic and community safety. We have been working with the Mayor’s office and CDOT to identify innovative ways to increase pedestrian safety in our neighborhoods. Mayor Emanuel and CDOT recently released the Bike 2020 plan – simultaneously, our office has been looking at ways to increase safety, keep traffic moving effectively and make our ward more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. The result: we are studying the possibility of installing a Neighborhood Greenway on Berteau Ave from Clark Street to Damen Avenue. This stretch of Berteau has a high volume of traffic safety complaints and intersects four existing recommended bike routes. What’s a Neighborhood Greenway? It is a residential street where pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers can all share the road safely. Continue reading Alderman Pawar’s newsletter addresses Berteau Avenue neighborhood greenway concerns

Does Chicago want to be a bike friendly city or what? (video)

[flickr]photo:2780428291[/flickr]

A depiction of what wouldn’t have happened. Photo by flickrknufflo. 

Share the road? What a terrible idea.

The Netherlands is the safest place to travel, on any mode, because they’ve a road design philosophy called “sustainable safety”. One of the principles is to homogenize modes by mass, speed, and direction:

Large differences in speed and mass of different road users in the same space must be eliminated as much as possible. Where speed differences cannot be eliminated types of traffic must be separated. [Read about the four other principles.]

In Chicago and most places in the United States, the philosophy is “share the road” and “good luck”. Continue reading Does Chicago want to be a bike friendly city or what? (video)