Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about CDOT

Will the New Morgan Park Sports Center Include Good Bicycle Access?

By Steven Vance | Feb 7, 2014 | 3 Comments

The Chicago Department of Transportation will close 115th Street just east of Western Avenue to motor vehicle through traffic, creating a cul-de-sac to reduce neighborhood traffic after a Chicago Park District ice hockey rink and gymnastics center opens. The closure for cars could improve this important bike route, but only if it maintains street connectivity […]

Let’s Measure What Happens With the Western Ave Shutdown This Weekend

By Steven Vance | Feb 4, 2014 | 19 Comments

Crews will be demolishing a viaduct over Western Avenue this weekend as part of Bloomingdale Trail construction, necessitating the closure of Western and diverting automobile traffic and CTA buses to Damen and California, each a half mile away. People walking or biking will be rerouted to the underpasses a block away on either side. The […]

Eyes on the Street: CDOT Adds Curb to Prevent Sidewalk Driving

By Steven Vance | Jan 23, 2014 | 3 Comments

Back in April we showed that people were driving, parking, and blocking the sidewalk next to the BP gas station on the newly redesigned Congress Parkway streetscape. After publishing, we found out that the post had drawn the attention of Chicago Department of Transportation staff. CDOT took quick action last summer to help dissuade future […]

You Can’t Make a 21st Century City With a 1950s Approach to Streets

By John Greenfield | Jan 22, 2014 | 168 Comments

When I worked at the Chicago Department of Transportation’s bicycle program, from 2001 to 2006, it was a very different department than it is today. While there was an interest in improving conditions for walking, transit, and cycling, the city’s main transportation goal, as it had been for most of the previous century, was to […]

CDOT Acts Quickly To Remove Dumpster Blocking Dearborn Bike Lane

By Steven Vance | Jan 9, 2014 | 13 Comments

My favorite of the morning bike commute, Wacker & Dearborn. Here’s looking at you @WasteManagement #Bikechi pic.twitter.com/ybmLHHqNRQ — M. Masterpiece (@MsMMasterpiece) January 9, 2014 A mysterious dumpster blocked both lanes of the Dearborn protected bike lane this morning, causing Chicagoans to tweet their displeasure. The dumpster, placed there by Waste Management, appeared to be […]

Eyes on the Street: Gravel Sidewalk at Plaza Site Forces People Into Street

By Steven Vance | Jan 2, 2014 | No Comments

This week’s snow storm — which is still coming down — has made a lot of sidewalks tough to navigate, but here’s one case that’s worse than most. It’s just one block in Logan Square, but this short stretch of Woodard Street is worth talking about as an example how Chicago needs to pay better […]

CDOT’s Two-Year Strategic Update Lacks Street Safety Data

By Steven Vance | Dec 16, 2013 | 37 Comments

The recently released update to the Chicago Department of Transportation’s first-ever two-year plan, the Chicago Forward Action Agenda, fails to give a status report on critical street safety metrics. The two-year update to Chicago Forward [PDF] does say a lot about what CDOT is doing to improve safety, but it doesn’t provide information on traffic crashes […]

Clybourn Ave and State St Could Get City’s First Curb-Separated Bikeways

By Steven Vance | Dec 12, 2013 | 21 Comments

At yesterday’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council, Chicago Bicycle Program project manager Mike Amsden revealed a new detail about the missing piece of the Clybourn Avenue buffered bike lane. The Chicago Department of Transportation is working with the Illinois Department of Transportation to install a protected bike lane on Clybourn that may be separated by a […]

Like Gabe Klein, Deputy Commish Scott Kubly Is Calling It a Wrap at CDOT

By John Greenfield | Dec 3, 2013 | 16 Comments

Last Tuesday was Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein’s last day on the job. Three days later Deputy Commissioner Scott Kubly, one of Klein’s key lieutenants, announced his resignation as well. Kubly, who has been central in implementing many of Klein’s progressive transportation initiatives, had seemed like a strong candidate to serve as the […]

Construction Makes Milwaukee Bike Lanes An Obstacle Course

By Steven Vance | Nov 22, 2013 | 15 Comments

Responding to a query today from Streetsblog Chicago about abysmal conditions for cyclists on Milwaukee Avenue, transportation commissioner Gabe Klein says he has asked a deputy commissioner to work with the Department of Water Management “to put a better traffic management plan in place for cyclists ASAP.” Deputy commissioner Pat Harney said he is “talking […]

Eyes on the Street: New Buffered Lanes on North Halsted

By John Greenfield | Nov 12, 2013 | 17 Comments

The Chicago Department of Transportation is currently hoping to install up to 20.7 more miles of buffered and protected bike lanes before the close of the construction season. However, since thermoplastic striping doesn’t properly bond to asphalt at under 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the current freeze is delaying these projects, so it’s unlikely all of them […]

Proposed Rules for Road Construction Could Be Better for Walking and Biking

By Steven Vance | Nov 1, 2013 | 19 Comments

The Chicago Department of Transportation is accepting public comments until 5 p.m. today on the draft update to “Rules and Regulations for Construction in the Public Way” [PDF]. Among other things, this document can help improve safety for biking and walking by creating better conditions during street construction projects. If the city’s proposed rules were in place […]

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