Streetsblog Chicago

Today’s Headlines for Monday, July 18

By AJ LaTrace | Jul 18, 2022 | No Comments

The application for Bike Chicago, CDOT’s free bike giveaway program, will open today at 11:00 am. Visit chicago.gov/bikechicago to learn about eligibility and how to apply.
Lag in protections for transit workers could hamper hiring and system upgrades (Politico)
Commentary: CTA stations should have Narcan to prevent opioid overdoses (Sun-Times)
Lincoln Square affordable housing plan moving forward with more units and less parking (Block Club)
NYT photojournalist documents experience riding the California Zephyr, which starts in Chicago
City leaders considering new ordinance to impound vehicles used in street racing (ABC 7)
Chicago Uber driver recounts carjacking at gunpoint (CBS Chicago)
Bicyclists, historians will honor 1897 trek of Black soldiers (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

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Mayor Lightfoot speaks at a lectern in Chicago Union Station

Mayor Lightfoot, state officials, and federal electeds advocate for Union Station upgrades

By Courtney Cobbs | Jul 15, 2022 | No Comments

On Thursday, July 8, Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined federal elected officials Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (IL-4) alongside state transportation officials in asking for federal funds for improvements to Chicago’s Union Station and nearby tracks that would make the station a more comfortable and spacious place for passengers and reduce delays on […]

Still from the video showing the unmarked police SUV after the driver struck the teen who was filming from his bike. The wheel and pedal of his bike is visible in the frame. Image: Facebook

Video shows CPD officers confronting, striking teen on bike and fleeing the scene

By John Greenfield | Jul 15, 2022 | No Comments

This is the second disturbing incident this month in Chicagoland involving teens of color, bicycles, and alleged police violence.

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Today’s Headlines for Friday, July 15

By AJ LaTrace | Jul 15, 2022 | No Comments

Chicago Transit Authority Union president Keith Hill discusses new hiring plan on WGN Radio
Pedestrian struck and killed by Metra train in Evanston (CBS Chicago)
P.S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center at UIC warns that Metra ridership may not return to pre-pandemic levels (Crusader)
Meanwhile, CTA ridership is back to pre-pandemic levels during weekends (NBC Chicago)
Incoming policy chief discusses We Will Chicago 10-year plan with WBEZ’s Natalie Moore
Some criminal charges dismissed for driver in fatal I-74 bike path crash (WQAD 8)
Tribune columnist David McGrath recounts the bike crash that made him take cycling safety more seriously
1st Ward Ald. Daniel LaSpata is seeking public input on how to spend $1 million on infrastructure projects (Block Club)

The family of Victor Vasquez, who was fatally struck on his bike on July 17, 2021, near Roosevelt Road and Fairfield Avenue, will install a ghost bike memorial at the crash site this Sunday, July 17, at 3 p.m. They have invited bike community members to attend the installation.

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A photo of new pedestrian infrastructure in Barcelona, with three people walking on it.

A report from abroad: Barcelona transforms transportation—What it means for Chicago

By Sebastian Huydts | Jul 14, 2022 | No Comments

For personal reasons, I call two towns home. During the fall and spring college semesters I live and work in Chicago, while I spend most of my summer in Barcelona, Catalunya (Spain). I have been making this commute since 2001 but have lived in Chicago since 1992. Being a Dutch native, bikes and trains were […]

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Today’s Headlines for Thursday, July 14

By AJ LaTrace | Jul 14, 2022 | No Comments

A bicyclist is in critical condition after being struck by a truck driver in Jefferson Park (Nadig Newspapers)
CTA leaders vow to hire more operators and improve train and bus tracking system (Block Club)
City’s 10-year planning proposal aims to address old wrongs (Sun-Times)
The local 10-day Intelligentsia Cup cycling race series starts July 22 (Daily Herald)
Former Logan Square Blue Line station location on track for affordable housing (Block Club)
A motorcyclist was thrown from their bike in a hit-and-run crash on expressway (Fox 32)
Museum Campus improvements make sense whether Bears stay or go, park advocates say (Sun-Times)
Lime to start utilizing camera-based detection to prevent scooters from riding on sidewalks (Gizmodo)

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Rendering of an affordable TOD by 43rd Street Green Line stop.

Connected Communities equitable TOD ordinance headed to zoning committee

By Courtney Cobbs | Jul 13, 2022 | No Comments

The proposed Connected Communities ordinance has been released. We looked at some of the changes the ordinance proposes.

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Today’s Headlines for Wednesday, July 13

By John Greenfield | Jul 13, 2022 | No Comments

After SBC called on CTA to adjust “scheduled service” to reflect current reality, Carter indicates this will be done (Tribune)
State rep and mayoral hopeful Kam Buckner tweeted a thread about what needs to be done to improve CTA service
Police: State trooper injured in crash during I-94 pursuit of driver involved in possible kidnapping (NBC)
Roads and Bridges looks at Ald. Matt Martin’s proposed Complete Streets ordinance
Days after a man tried to hijack a Blue Line train, another man attempted to steal a CTA bus (FOX)
3 Intelligentsia Cup bike races come to DuPage County (Daily Herald)
Chicago Mag’s 50 Essential Chicago(land) Experiences includes sightseeing via Brown Line, biking Northerly Island

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Clockwise from top left: Speed cameras on a two-lane street next to Sherman Park in a majority-Black census tract in Englewood; on a four-lane street next to Warren Park in a majority-Asian-American tract in West Ridge; on a four-lane street Next to Curie High in a majority-Latino tract in Archer Heights; and on a four-lane street next to Welles Park in a majority-non-Hispanic white tract in Lincoln Square. Images: Google Street View

Road widths aren’t to blame for Chicago’s racial disparities in speed cam ticketing

By John Greenfield | Jul 12, 2022 | No Comments

While ProPublica recently wrote that "wider streets with more lanes that lend themselves to speeding... seem to contribute to the [racial/ethnic] disparities in ticketing," the data doesn't support that theory.

The First Step to Ending Pedestrian Deaths? Tax Heavy Cars In Cities

By Kea Wilson | Jul 11, 2022 | No Comments

As American cars have ballooned in size over the past three decades, the menace cars like the GMC truck pose to pedestrians and cyclists has increased in lockstep.

Participants will be given single-speed bikes (not this particular model), which work fine for flat Chicago and are easier to maintain than most bikes with multiple gears. Photo: John Greenfield

CDOT releases more details on the “Bike Chicago” free bicycle program

By John Greenfield | Jul 11, 2022 | No Comments

Update 7/12/22, 11:00 AM: CDOT provided the following info to Streetsblog about what kind of bikes will be given away: “The bikes are the Fyxation Pixel in various sizes and colors, both the step-through and the standard model, the State Azure and the State Ellison, both in the single-speed version. The city has not committed to using […]

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