Steven Vance
Transportation planner and advocate. Steven also created Chicago Cityscape, a site that tracks neighborhood developments across the city.
Recent Posts
Central Area Committee Pushing New Downtown Rail Transit (Again)
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The Chicago Central Area Committee, a coalition of business executives, has proposed to build a network of automated rail lines downtown and in nearby neighborhoods to expand transit capacity for growing areas and better connect underserved communities. Their proposal includes a plan to provide rapid transit service on the Metra Electric corridor, something many South Siders […]
The Final Segment of the Chicago Riverwalk Set to Open This Weekend
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If all goes well, starting this weekend you’ll be able to walk most of the way from the Ogilvie Center to Michigan Avenue on a car-free, if somewhat circuitous, route. At a media preview of the final section of the Chicago Riverwalk expansion this afternoon, Mayor Emanuel said he’s confident that the new recreational space, […]
The Lockbox Amendment Would Hinder the State Government
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Note: Streetsblog Chicago’s Steven Vance and John Greenfield have different opinions about the lockbox amendment. Read John’s take here. On every ballot in Illinois right now – early voting and mail-in voting has begun – there’s a question asking if the Illinois constitution should be amended to ensure that money that comes from gas taxes, […]
Just in Time for Halloween: The Illiana is Becoming a “Zombie Highway”
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A new filing in the court case against the Illiana Tollway – a proposed 47-mile highway through farmland and nature preserves that would cause exurban sprawl and lead to Illinois jobs being lost to Indiana — indicates that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner may actually be in favor of the project. In recent years it looked […]
Is $2 Billion Red Line Extension Best Way to Provide Transit in Far South Side?
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The Chicago Transit Authority released a major study today, the next step in the developing project to extend the Red Line southward from the 95th Street terminal to 130th Street in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood. The Environmental Impact Study is required by the federal government before the CTA can ask for funding from the U.S. […]
Hundreds Gathered at Memorial for Anastasia, Who Died Biking on Monday
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Note: Streetsblog Chicago will be on vacation on Monday, October 3, and will resume publication on Tuesday. Over 300 people came to the intersection of Addison Street and Damen Avenue in Roscoe Village yesterday evening to pay their respects to Anastasia Kondrasheva and her family, friends, and coworkers. There were so many people that a […]
Reported “Dooring” Bike Crashes Dropped Significantly from 2011 to 2014
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Four years of data on reported dooring crashes in Chicago show a decrease from 2011, when the data started being collected by the state, to 2014, the most recent year for which crash data has been released. A dooring crash occurs when someone in a car opens their door into moving traffic without looking, resulting […]
Diverter Test on Manor Avenue: “People Have to Change Their Habits”
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Last night a group of about 130 people gathered to voice their questions, comments, and concerns, about a car traffic diverter that the Chicago Department of Transportation is testing in Ravenswood Manor. On Monday, CDOT set up two barricades on Manor Avenue at Wilson Avenue that diverts car traffic on Manor approaching Wilson onto Wilson, […]
More Support Needed to Save Manor Avenue Traffic Diverter Test
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The Chicago Department of Transportation’s proposal for a neighborhood greenway on Manor Avenue is endorsed by 33rd Ward alder Deb Mell and the ward’s Transportation Action Committee (I am a member of the TAC). But the initiative is facing fierce opposition from some Ravenswood Manor neighbors who object to plans for traffic diverters at Manor and […]
CDOT Has a Full Plate of New and Upgraded Bike Lane Infrastructure
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During last week’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting Chicago Department of Transportation staffers shared a number of updates on the city’s bike network. At the event, CDOT planner Mike Amsden, who manages the department’s bikeways program, explained how funds from Blue Cross Blue Shield’s $12 million sponsorship of the Divvy bike-share system are helping to pay for bike […]
CDOT: Citizen Support is Necessary For Us to Redesign City Streets
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About 45 “civilians” – people who weren’t obligated to attend – showed up for yesterday’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting yesterday, making it one of the most democratic MBAC meetings ever. The council, which meets quarterly at City Hall during the workday, usually draws only about 10-15 attendees who aren’t there in an official capacity, many of whom are […]
100 People Honored Lisa Kuivinen at Ghost Bike Installation Ceremony
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Nearly 100 family members, friends, and members of the cycling community turned out on Saturday to honor art student Lisa Kuivinen with a “ghost bike” installation ceremony at the site where Lisa was fatally struck last month. Ghost bikes are white-painted bicycles locked at crash sites to memorialize victims and raise awareness of the need for safer […]