Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Events

Preckwinkle, Environmental Groups Want CMAP to Drop Illiana

By Steven Vance | Sep 9, 2014 | 25 Comments

The Sierra Club and other organizations intend to petition the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to remove the Illiana Tollway from its regional plan, effectively disallowing the state from building the new highway. The deletion is possible because CMAP, the federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for this region, is finalizing a mandatory update of its GO […]

Quinn, Rauner Should Get On Board With Region’s Performance Measures

By Steven Vance | Sep 2, 2014 | 6 Comments

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s lauded GO TO 2040 regional plan prioritizes transportation investments based on performance measures, rather than through arbitrary formulas or aggressive politicking. This ensures that the hundreds of millions of federal dollars that CMAP handles are spent on projects selected on need and merit, rather than just because someone important likes […]

Thanks to Loophole, Cheerios’ Downtown Pedicab Promotion Was Unsinkable

By John Greenfield | Aug 28, 2014 | 20 Comments

This morning, I was puzzled when I read a DNAinfo.com report that Cheerios was planning to promote its new line of high-protein cereals with a seemingly illegal activity: pedicab rides in the Loop during rush hours. In April, City Council passed an ordinance regulating pedicabbers – and banning them from downtown streets. Under the new […]

North Branch Trail Extension Inches Forward, Including Edgebrook Sidepath

By Steven Vance | Aug 26, 2014 | 10 Comments

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is proceeding with plans to extend its popular North Branch Trail three miles further into the city limits, via a sidepath along Central Avenue. The extension has been planned since 1995, and has been shown as a dotted line on the Chicago bike map for several years. Some neighbors, […]

Local Architects Envision “Meeting Place” At Empty Logan Square Plaza

By Steven Vance | Aug 19, 2014 | 7 Comments

This past Sunday, the usually forlorn bus transfer plaza above the Logan Square Blue Line station suddenly looked very different. Architects Krista Petkovsek and Kara Boyd had scrounged nearby alleys, rounded up a couple dozen used chairs, painted them orange, and scattered them around the plaza to spark a conversation about how to enliven the empty space, […]

Plantings, Art, Down-A-Clown Enliven Unloved Ravenswood Lot

By John Greenfield | Aug 19, 2014 | 4 Comments

Last weekend, community groups across the city staged placemaking events in under-used lots, plazas and corners, all part of the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Old Place, New Tricks contest. The Grow Space Picnic, held in a gravel parking lot at Ravenswood and Wilson, was a great example of how fun, games, and art can energize ho-hum […]

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