Checking in on the status of Chicago's ambitious plans to add 645 miles of bike lanes by 2020, one journalist finds a number of bikers who are questioning some of the choices made by planners.
"Chicago is hustling to reach the finish line next spring on Mayor Rahm Emanuel's promise to complete 100 miles of bicycle lanes that are shielded from traffic," according to a report by Jon Hilkevitch, but there are still voices of dissent on the build out of the lanes.
"And the sprint toward the goal of building 100 miles of protected bike lanes is a mere warm-up to Emanuel's marathon plan to offer a total of 645 miles of regular and protected bikeways by 2020, when a bike lane would be within a half-mile of every city residence, according to the mayor's office." As for the cost of this rapid progress: "The city spent about $2.7 million last year designing and building bike lanes, at a cost averaging $67,000 per mile."
But here's the but: "But some of the city's most avid bicyclists are questioning the selection process that goes into the creation of the network consisting of neighborhood bike routes on residential streets, crosstown routes that use collector and arterial roads, and spoke routes that connect all areas of the city to downtown."
Read the full story: Getting Around: Chicago gets closer to mayor's bike lane goal
Winter Cyclists Test Out New Chicago Bike Lanes
A new protected bike lane in the Logan Square neighborhood is seeing significant use, even in below-freezing temperatures.
Chicago Had a Banner Year for Bike Infrastructure
The city built more bike lane miles in 2023 than in any previous year.
Chicago Bike Lanes To Get Concrete Curbs
The city plans to upgrade its entire protected bike lane network with concrete barriers by the end of 2023.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
South Chicago development proposal would 'upzone' neighborhoods to increase density
The South Chicago Land Use Framework plan also aims to promote pedestrian and transit-oriented developments.
Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight
While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello