Help us Clear the Way

Active Trans recently launched a new campaign, Clear the Way, aimed at increasing efforts to report instances of illegally parked vehicles in bike lanes, poor pavement conditions and dangerous construction zones.

It's important for us to report these violations to 311 – these reports often lead to action taken.

Thank you to the dozens of contributors who’ve sent us emails and posted #ClearTheWay photos on social media. Please, keep them coming!

We want to generate as many submissions as possible before the end of September. Contributors will be awarded for the most reports submitted and the best photos.

Below are some of our top contenders thus far. 

The submission above of a truck parked in the bike lane is a regular sight for many cyclists. Stephanie Reid emailed the photo to us and posted to social media. Thankfully, New City Moving Company saw the post and quickly responded, promising to talk to their crew about safety and clearing the way for cyclists. Great work, Stephanie!

 Construction sites with inadequate diversions for people who bike and walk cause unsafe conditions. This construction site near Grand and Milwaukee Avenues was submitted yesterday by three different people. Daniel Fischer submitted this photo showing dangerous conditions for biking. The location is very close to the spot where Lisa Kuivinen was recently struck and killed. Streetsblog Chicago also reported on this dangerous blockage yesterday.

We’ve been getting lots of reports of personal vehicles confused about the rules of the road and driving in bike lanes. This submission from Jonathan Rogers shows vehicles driving in the protected bike lane on Washington Street in the Loop.

This photo, provided by Eric Ridder, shows a torn up sidewalk at Sacramento Avenue and Logan Boulevard. It's not safe for pedestrians and makes passage impossible for people in wheelchairs.  

We appreciate the wide support of the campaign so far. You can get involved by taking the steps below:

1. File a 311 report. If you observe a dangerous construction zone blocking a sidewalk or bike lane, poor pavement or sidewalk conditions, or parked cars illegally blocking bike lanes and crosswalks, report the situation to 311. In addition to calling, you can file a report on the city website or via the Chicago Works mobile app. For illegally parked cars, 311 callers are often transferred or told to call 911 to report the incident due to the immediate danger these situations present. For reporting dangerous construction zones, use the No Building Permit & Construction Violations category.
2. Take a photo. Without putting yourself or others in harm’s way, snap a photo of the situation.
3. Send it to Active Trans at cleartheway@activetrans.org. Share your photo with Active Trans along with a brief write-up of what you encountered. We'll be sharing some of your photos on our blog and on social media.