As a follow up to my blog post about meeting with Rahm Emanuel, on Sunday he announced plans for significantly expanding the city’s bike network.
I'm excited to see many recommendations from our Sustainable Transportation Platform in his plan, including the emphasis on building protected bikeways.
Many of us are comfortable riding in Chicago streets and bike lanes, but we know that most cyclists are not. Cycling rates shoot up when you give people physically separated bike lanes or create “bike boulevards” that limit and slow auto traffic.
• Emanuel’s plan calls for adding 25 miles of bikeways per year, compared to about 8 miles per year currently.
• He wants to complete the Bloomingdale Trail during his first term. It would run along an elevated rail line Chicago’s northwest side.
• He supports an ordinance that requires office buildings with more than 200 tenants to offer protected bike storage facilities.
• He wants to double the amount of bike racks—partly to make up for the parking meters that were removed and replaced with pay boxes.
Stay tuned for more details about the Chicago mayoral candidates. We are scheduled to meet later this week with Carol Moseley Braun. And check out the blog post about our meeting with Miguel del Valle.