A battle is brewing over Chicago's street space.
Bike lane projects in Chicago are sparking conflict between cycling advocates and business owners and residents. As Jake Sheridan explains in Governing, in some cases, residents worry that bike lanes will exacerbate traffic. In others, business owners believe a loss of street parking will be detrimental to them. In April, CDOT restored 17 parking spots on Archer Avenue after backlash.
According to Alderperson Daniel La Spata, "for the longest time in Chicago, we only considered one user of the public way, and that was the car. And we are changing that to arguably the benefit of everyone."
As Sheridan notes, "A CDOT study of six recent bike lane projects published this month found the areas where they were put saw neutral or positive changes in sales tax revenue, property values, employment and storefront vacancy."
FULL STORY: Chicago Bike Lanes Spark Growing Political Fight Over City Streets
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