Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Policy & Planning

A Red Line train arrives at the Wilson station. Photo: John Greenfield

Chicago’s first transit rider’s union launches this Friday during Transit Equity Day rally

By John Greenfield | Feb 3, 2022 | No Comments

Speakers will include representatives of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Warehouse Workers for Justice, Sierra Club of Illinois, and the Active Transportation Alliance.

The futuristic BP station at Clark and LaSalle on Chicago's Near North Side. Image: Google Maps

Here’s why Pritzker’s plan to skip this year’s scheduled gas tax hike is a bad idea

By Steven Vance | Feb 1, 2022 | No Comments

The proposal, which is projected to cost the state $135 million in revenue, is unfair to people who don't drive. And it may not even save much money for drivers.

A Divvy user rides outside of the Clark Street protected bike lanes in Edgewater because they're clogged with snow and illegally parked vehicles. Image: Twitter user @Teflonics

Rally for better bike lane maintenance planned for this Thursday 6 PM at Clark/Ridge

By Courtney Cobbs | Feb 1, 2022 | No Comments

It took the city five days to clear snow from the Clark Street protected bike lanes in Edgewater. Conditions have improved somewhat, but a protest is planned to demand timely snow clearance from bikeways.

Cycling in the dashed bike lanes on the 1500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. Photo: John Greenfield

Banning parking as a public safety strategy? Use the space for walking, biking, or dining

By John Greenfield | Jan 31, 2022 | No Comments

Rather than asking, "How will our customers be able to drive here?" merchants should ask, "How can we make it easier for customers to get here?"

Biking on 55th Street in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. Photo: Steven Lucy

Glass-half-full Bike League report highlights Chicago’s successes in promoting cycling

By John Greenfield | Jan 28, 2022 | No Comments

LAB did a good job of laying out some of the things that CDOT has gotten right when promoting cycling, while noting that we still need a lot more miles of protected bike lanes.

Omaha's only protected bike lane, a pilot project on a 1.5-mile stretch of Harney Street, was installed last summer. Image: Google Maps

People for Bikes is wrong: Chicago isn’t a worse bike city than Jacksonville or Omaha

By John Greenfield | Jan 27, 2022 | No Comments

Yes, Chicago got screwed by People for Bikes' flawed rating system. But we still have lots of work to do need to make cycling as safe, enjoyable, and normalized as it is in truly great cycling cities.

Show More Stories