Will Evanston be the first suburb with a protected bike lane?

If all goes well, the answer to this question could be a resounding "yes."

The protected bike lane on Kinzie Street in Chicago.

Evanston aldermen voted 7-2 earlier this week to seek a federal grant to turn Church Street into a model of "best practices" for an urban roadway.

The roadway would include off-street and on-street bike facilities and a separate lane for bike traffic shielded from auto traffic by a parking lane. The city would provide local matching money.

Rest assured, your Active Trans North Suburban coordinator spoke on behalf of this application at the city council meeting.

While this highly competitive federal grant is certainly not a done deal, it's great to see firm support from the Evanston City Council. Our fingers are crossed.