Cool Tucson bike stuff I’d love to see in Chicago: bike boulevards and more

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Traffic diverter on University Avenue bikeway at Stone Avenue. Motorists must turn right from University Avenue onto Stone Avenue. This setup is also known as TOUCAN. Find more information and photos here.

Earlier this month my buddy Jonathan and I spent a week visiting our friend Lauren in Tucson, Arizona, and I was a little surprised by just how bicycle-friendly a town it is. This college town of 520,000 people (roughly one million metro) was recently rated the 9th best city for biking by Bicycling magazine, one notch above Chicago, so I knew it was a good place to pedal. But this city in the Sonoran desert, surrounded by saguaro cactus-covered mountains has more going for it than just cloudless skies and inspiring nearby destinations for road and mountain bike excursions. Central Tucson has a blossoming bike culture and some excellent infrastructure, including a great network of bicycle boulevards, which our city would do well to emulate.

Continue reading Cool Tucson bike stuff I’d love to see in Chicago: bike boulevards and more

Ride with me on the journey to deliver beehives across the city

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Three beehives are ready to go. 

On April 3, 2012, I joined Jana Kinsman (Bike-A-Bee; read our story from January) and Brandon Gobel (Chicago Cargo) to deliver three beehives on the west and south sides of Chicago. Scroll through this photo essay to join us, or watch this slideshow (22 photos, no captions).

Continue reading Ride with me on the journey to deliver beehives across the city

Bike sharing and speed cameras ordinances pass in today’s Chicago City Council meeting

This article will be updated a few times after publishing while I gather all the information. All regular city council meetings are streamed live with video and transcript and that is where I am getting all of the information.

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Alderman Cardenas of the 12th ward speaks in support of the speed camera ordinance.

Bike sharing

Bike sharing passes City Council, 46-1. Alderman Robert Fioretti (2nd) was the sole alderman to vote against the ordinance. The system will launch in September 2012.

Margarent Laurino (39th, chair of the committe on pedestrian and traffic safety) gave a prepared statement.

Colón (35th) talks about his experience in Seville, Spain, in March 2011. The city made investments in bicycle facilities, and bike sharing, and saw an enormous increase in the number of people cycling there.

Continue reading Bike sharing and speed cameras ordinances pass in today’s Chicago City Council meeting

Is there really a maze of steam tunnels beneath the University of Chicago?

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U. of C. steam plant – photo by Eric Allix Rogers

[This piece originally ran in Time Out Chicago.]

Q: I heard there’s a maze of tunnels that leads from the University of Chicago’s steam plant under the Midway to many of the campus’ spooky Gothic masterpieces. Can I take my sweetie down there to get steamy?

A: Sorry, the golden age of steam-tunnel spelunking is over. These passageways, which can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit, are used to maintain pipes that transport heat from the steam plant at 6101 South Blackstone Avenue to a number of the university’s older buildings, says U. of C. spokesman Bill Harms. In the April ’99 issue of The University of Chicago Magazine, plant assistant manager Mike DeSoto reported finding beer bottles and graffiti in the tunnels and that it was common to catch students exploring the labyrinth in the dead of night.

Continue reading Is there really a maze of steam tunnels beneath the University of Chicago?

Trying to get in the last word about speed cameras, before Wednesday’s vote

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Photo of a speed hump in Logan Square from the point of view of someone bicycling by Andrew Ciscel. 

The following is a conversation between co-writer John Greenfield and myself and was derived from an email chain between him and me on Sunday. 

Dear John,

By reading all my articles about speed cameras, you may find yourself confused on my position. I’ve figured it out. I want city council to not pass the ordinance. I think the surveillance and revenue aspects leave too much room for abuse and I believe that we should pursue human-scale strategies to reduce speed and change our culture that accepts speeding and the injuries and fatalities it leads to. -Steven

John replies:

What is the potential for abuse? Is this just anti-Big Brother paranoia? It’s true that the Tribune reported that a longtime Emanuel campaign contributor is a consultant to a traffic camera manufacturer. But I still don’t really see a downside. I’m not concerned about the surveillance aspect. Continue reading Trying to get in the last word about speed cameras, before Wednesday’s vote

Bike and proud: Red Bike and Green promotes cycling to African Americans

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Last Saturday’s kickoff ride – photo by Daris Jasper

[This piece appeared in print in Checkerboard City, John’s weekly transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

All Chicagoans should have a chance to reap the benefits of urban biking: cheap, convenient transportation, improved physical and mental health, and good times with friends and family. The proliferation of nonprofit bicycle shops and youth education programs, along with the rising popularity of fixies among inner-city teens, is starting to broaden the demographics of cycling here. But the local bike scene still doesn’t reflect our city’s ethnic and economic diversity. Eboni Senai Hawkins, 34, wants to change that. She recently launched the Chicago chapter of Red Bike and Green, a nationwide group that promotes bicycling in the black community.

Continue reading Bike and proud: Red Bike and Green promotes cycling to African Americans