You can also view this issue at www.biketraffic.org/biketraffic/BT0105/
or download the PDF at www.biketraffic.org/biketraffic/BT0105.pdf.
Keep your kidneys in, pardner.
We're talking about year-end, tax-deductible contributions that give Chicagoland
Bicycle Federation programs a running start on 2005's Top 10 List of bicycle
advocacy priorities.
Priorities like promoting Complete Streets that accommodate all road users. Increasing bicycling among women and people of color. Combatting aggressive driving by educating motorists. Fighting for bicycle service on Metra trains. Read the full list at biketraffic.org.
Then give us a hand. And get back a Chicagoland made better for bikes. Donate on-line at biketraffic.org.
Priorities like promoting Complete Streets that accommodate all road users. Increasing bicycling among women and people of color. Combatting aggressive driving by educating motorists. Fighting for bicycle service on Metra trains. Read the full list at biketraffic.org.
Then give us a hand. And get back a Chicagoland made better for bikes. Donate on-line at biketraffic.org.
Celebrates with five parties, ten top initiatives
The
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has started celebrating its 20th year! We
want your help in taking a moment to savor this milestone and to help us
capitalize on the energy and excitement that such a festive occasion brings.
We've planned five special events for 2005 that we hope will excite you:
April 1-2: The 2nd Annual Healthy Streets Conference
April 2: The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's 20th Anniversary Gala: A Tribute to Randy Neufeld
May 29: Bike the Drive: A Celebration of Active Living
September 11: The Boulevard Lakefront Tour
October: Bike Town Bash - A Halloween Party
So, open up your calendar or write it on the palm of your hand. Come onboard and join us for a yearlong celebration of promoting active living through bicycling. As the year moves on you will hear more about these exciting events.
2005's Top 10 Initiatives
Announced at our annual Member Meeting on October 28, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's 2005 "Top Ten Initiatives" expands our efforts into pedestrian and public transportation programs that aim for accessible and safe travel for everyone. The list embodies the dynamic strength of CBF.
1. Position bicycling/walking as key prescriptions for an active and healthy Chicagoland
2. Promote a policy for 'Complete Streets,' where all streets routinely accommodate travel by all modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling and public transit
3. Combat dangerous driving through motorist education and safety campaigns such as Share the Road
4. Establish regular service for passengers with bicycles on Metra commuter trains
5. Pilot an individualized marketing campaign, based on the TravelSmart model pioneered in Europe and Australia, which seeks people willing to make voluntary changes in their travel behavior, and provides them with the personalized information and motivation they need to drive less and bicycle more
6. Increase the level of bicycling and participation in the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation among women
7. Increase the level of bicycling, and participation in the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, among people of diverse ethnicities
8. Ensure that bicycle and pedestrian projects are included in the reauthorization of the nation's transportation bill (TEA3)*
9. Introduce more Chicagoans to bicycling with Sunday Parkways, a new event featuring car-free bicycling on city streets
10. Reverse the 1998 Boub decision--which discourages towns from adding bike facilities--and restore liability protection for on-road cyclists
If any of these ten initiatives moves you to get involved, give us a holler. Our events have many opportunities for pitching in and I promise you as the Executive Director that your participation will be engaging, enjoyable and rewarding. So once again, just give us a holler and help us celebrate our 20th year!
Rob is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Executive Director.
Driver Guilty of Reckless Homicide
"Yeah. That's what they all do. They all slump," the investigating officer was saying. It was October 20. I had called police headquarters to let the officer know the jury's decision in the trial of Samuel Staples, who had been accused of killing a bicyclist.
The
officer had taken a keen interest in this case. Last time he'd seen Staples,
Staples was trying to pin the July 2003 killing of 50-year-old Robert Heinbockel
on his own brother. He wanted to know what Staple's reaction was to the jury's verdict: guilty of reckless homicide.
Hours before the verdict was read, the officer and I had been sitting in the courthouse cafeteria. The cop told me that Staples - who was already serving a 3-year sentence for lying to a grand jury - "could be paroled by Christmas."
The 39-year-old Staples was a reported multiple-DUI offender and ex-con who had recently returned to Chicago after serving time in Arizona. Staples had taken a plea back in February, and Judge Vincent Gaughan had given him seven years for reckless homicide and aggravated leaving the scene of an accident. Three weeks later, Staples reconsidered and asked for a trial.
The trial was a grim affair. It stretched over three days in late October, during which jurors heard the gruesome details of how Staples had pushed Heinbockel's body off the windshield of Staples' white Ford Taurus and into the street.
At one point in the trial, things looked bad for the prosecution. The defense had successfully impugned the state's assertions that Staples was drunk and ran a red light - aggravating factors that many prosecutors believe necessary to finding reckless or negligent behavior. But then the jury upended conventional wisdom: It embraced the argument that speeding through a crowded intersection is, in itself, an act of homicidal recklessness.
Heinbockel was returning home that evening from his job at O'Hare International Airport where he'd worked for 20 years as a maintenance crew chief. He wasn't an avid cyclist. But he used his bike for short hauls and to get to and from the Jefferson Park CTA station, about a mile from his Northwest Side home.
He would ride out of the station, southbound on the sidewalk toward Gale Street, where he would then turn right and proceed home. On July 9, his path would converge with Staples who, according to testimony, had spent the day drinking beer and loafing with his half-brother, Steve Burns.
Staples had met up with Burns at 9 a.m. in a liquor store taproom outside the Jefferson Park station known as Thirsty's. Burns was the first customer that morning, settling in to continue an all-night binge. But Staples had some business to take care of: He had bought a second-hand car and needed plates, so he was going to put them in his brother's name.
After two beers, Staples was ready to go to the Secretary of State facility. He and Burns left the bar, got the plates and then returned to Thirsty's for another round. Minutes after they arrived, Burns' girlfriend called the bar and the two paid up and left. They spent the next several hours driving around town, drinking beer.
About 4 p.m., Staples was headed back to Burns' house in the 5300 block of Winnemac Avenue. Burns testified that he had passed out in the passenger seat.
Heinbockel had just hopped off the el and was biking toward the intersection of Milwaukee Ave. and Gale St. Witnesses testified that the light was red for Milwaukee Ave. traffic. A CTA bus was stopped in the left lane, poised to turn into Gale.
William Weinmann, 57, a retired truck driver who was walking south toward Gale, described how Staples passed the bus on the right and slammed into Heinbockel as the cyclist came off the curb. "He was accelerating very fast, coming off the line, trying to beat everyone else. He was traveling so fast, the man [Heinbockel] went 20 feet into the air, like being shot from a cannon. He looked like a giant rag doll," Weinmann said of the 230-pound Heinbockel. "He was just flopping. He came down on the windshield."
Staples' reaction was chilling. He "pushed him out [of the windshield], like nothing," testified witness Ashley Bober, 19. When Heinbockel fell off the Taurus on the passenger side , Staples allegedly drove over his legs, crushing them.
Staples took off and the brothers ditched the Taurus in an alley about one-and-a-half blocks away from the crash, behind Burns' girlfriend's house.
But because the plates had been registered that morning in Burns' name, police singled out Staples' brother, whom they found in an adjacent yard.
And while Heinbockel was fighting for his life at Lutheran General Hospital, witnesses back at the scene identified Burns as the driver. As a result, Staples was never even given a blood-alcohol test.
To prove that the manner in which Staples had driven was "likely to cause death or great bodily harm to some individual," prosecutors Jim Lynch and Andreana Turano asked the jury to look beyond the accusation that Staples was drunk and ran the red light.
Instead, they drew attention to photos of Heinbockel's body. The horrid condition of the body, they argued, showed the wanton and reckless nature of Staples' act.
The jury agreed.
David is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Crash Victim Assistance Advocate as well as the Front Desk Guy. He also writes Police Beat for biketraffic.org. Busy guy, David.
From Grate to Great
CDOT gets a grip on Wells Street's slippery bridge
The
Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) has recently completed construction
on the Wells Street Bridge of a test product expected to improve existing
conditions for bicyclists in the City of Chicago. Slip-resistant metal sheets
have been bolted to the existing bridge grating to provide a more bicycle-friendly
riding surface. The plates are five feet in width, comparable to the width
of a traditional on-street bike lane.This experiment on the Wells Street Bridge is part of a larger CDOT study of bicycle safety on metal grate bridges. CDOT received federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funding to improve 5-7 bridges for cyclists. CDOT will evaluate the test application on the Wells Street Bridge to determine if this application is appropriate for additional metal grate bridges in Chicago. The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is part of the consultant team for this project.
Send your comments about the Wells St. bridge to me, Beth Meier, at 312/742-3815 or bmeier@cityofchicago.org.
Beth is the Bikeways Program Manager at the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Kathy Schubert on the Wells St. Bridge
Long-time Chicagoland Bicycle Federation member Kathy Schubert initiated the grassroots campaign that led CDOT to look critically at bicycle accommodation on Chicago's bridges. Bike Traffic asked her about her role in the effort and her thoughts on Wells St.
Thanks for remembering my role in this fix. It all started when I fell on the LaSalle St. Bridge on New Year's Day 2002. I took 18 stitches and it really got me angry. I was just trying to move over on the bridge so I wouldn't have to put my cleated shoe down on the grate in order to stop behind a car. So I went on a slant to get in the next lane. That's a no-no. You have to take these bridges straight on.
So I made up a stack of post cards addressed to [CDOT] Commissioner Miguel d'Escoto and passed them out to cyclists and even motorcyclists to send in to complain about the bridges. That started the ball rolling.
As for my opinion of the Wells St. test - I like it! I'm crossing my fingers that it will remain as it is today.
We were told that the bridge on Cortland would receive a different experimental treatment, but as of yesterday [December 7], it's not done.
That's supposed to be several feet of "half-thickness" concrete. [CDOT's Beth Meier confirms that the city's Bureau of Bridges will outfit the Cortland bridge with this treatment.]
It's especially needed there because there's a slit between sections of metal grate that several people have had their very skinny tires get caught in.
It's Cold, Not Gold
Winter Bike to Work Day celebrates 20th Anniversary of -93)()( day
Come
to Daley Plaza at Dearborn & Washington in Chicago on January 20, 7-9 a.m.
for warm drink, sweet treats and a chance to win prizes!The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation invites you to celebrate the anniversary of Chicago's coldest day - -93)()( windchill in 1985! - with a bicycle ride to work.
Sound crazy? Well, maybe just a little, but there are more people than you probably think who commute to work by bike all winter long. It really isn't all that difficult if you are properly prepared.
While Chicago winters tend to be cold, they also tend not to be all that snowy. Streets are rarely covered in snow thanks to lessons taught by the Ghosts of Mayors Past. The Chicago Park District is even doing a much better job keeping the Lakefront Trail clean during the winter.
Driving is certainly more difficult in the winter: street parking's more restricted. Public transportation tends to be more packed than ever when the weather's ugly. For winter viruses, packed trains and buses are like shooting fish in a barrel.
So why not ride your bike to work this winter at least on January 20? Check biketraffic.org for more information and lakefront path conditions, and skate over to bikewinter.org for more winter riding fun than you can shake your shriveled, stick-like, frostbit finger at.
Randy is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Program Director.
| The Bike Shop Ride In September, Steve Marsala suggested that he and I ride our bikes to every bike shop in the city of Chicago, all 41 of them. Our mission took us to every corner of the city, from Rogers Park to Mount Greenwood, Edgebrook to Hegewisch. Over three days we covered 110 miles. Steve interviewed the managers and mapped out the routes and I took snapshots of each shop. We've documented our project with a display at The Handlebar [2311 W. North Ave., Chicago], "Support Your Local Bike Shop," a portrait of Chicago's neighborhood bicycle stores. On the right are three photos you'll see at the Handlebar. Click to see larger pictures. But go to the Handlebar to see the whole display. |
   |
Slush Fun
On
Saturday, November 13, approximately 100 people attended a free class on
winter bicycling put on by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. Chicago's
own Mr. Bike taught the class.The two-hour class - called "Slush Fun: Winter Cycling Tricks & Tips" - came as one of the many bike events that comprise Bike Winter, the annual celebration of Chicagoland's most redoubtable cycling season. Quenchers Saloon, a North Side tavern that has long supported cycling among its patrons, hosted the event.
"The enthusiastic turnout buries under a huge snowdrift the tiresome myth that Chicagolanders fear winter riding," said Lisa Phillips, co-chair of Bike Winter 2005.
Although most arrived at the class on foot, the day's moderate weather prompted many attendees to bicycle. Howard Kaplan, Bike Winter parking monitor, stood outside Quenchers Saloon ready to help the cycling arrivals as the available bike-parking racks became filled. But "I was a bit surprised at their autonomy," Kaplan said. "They seemed to have an innate awareness of all bike locking possibilities within half a mile."
Attendees learned how to dress warmly and cheaply for cold and wet; how to handle their bikes in snow, slush, and ice; and keep their rides running after onslaughts of salt and sleet. Live models provided fetching insights into the subtleties of cycling undergarments. One clothing perspective came from Bike Winterite Todd Gee. Gee biked, toastily dressed, into the room amid a flurry of snowflakes that streamed inexplicably from the upper part of one wall.
As he and Mr. Bike discussed clothing selections for his bike ride, Gee gradually took off almost all of his garments for the crowd's inspection. Later, having literally given the shirt off his back for the cause of winter biking, Gee surrendered the stage to Bike Winterite Kelly Sampson, who gave a woman's perspective on seasonal cycling attire.
Judging by the flurry of questions coming from the audience, those present seemed eager to get out and ride in the winter weather. Attendees said they found especially helpful Mr. Bike's list showing where to buy inexpensive winter accessories (available on-line at www.mrbike.com/winter%20source.php).
The end of the class featured a surprise appearance by none other than Santa Claus - looking a bit trim before his traditional pre-holiday weight gain. Because his elves had not yet built enough toys for everyone present, Santa opted to give out the winter-cycling accessories offered as raffle prizes. The prizes came from sponsors Patagonia, Boulevard Bikes, Gin Kilgore, Quenchers Saloon, and Mr. Bike.
Practically Anti-Car
The biggest improvement to cycling in London in the past decade is not a cycling project.
It is a $10 a day charge for the privilege of driving in central London - a charge that has reduced motor traffic by 30%.
The
charge is a tremendous boon to cycling because it has created space for
bicyclists on the clogged streets, and many people looking for a way to
avoid the charge have taken to two wheels.No new bike lanes. Just fewer cars and a financial incentive, and the number of cyclists in London goes way up.
As cool as it might be, I'm not going to recommend such as scheme for downtown Chicago. Congestion in central London was so horrific that everyone agreed something had to be done. We aren't there yet. But we can learn from the lesson that cleaning up the excesses of the motoring environment can make the cycling environment more attractive.
We can only go so far by doing things for bikes without messing with cars. New cyclists are scared away by the scene on the streets: fast cars, clogged roads, crazy and impatient drivers.
It's really hard to curb car use in this country. In Chicagoland, 85% of travel is by car, and there isn't much of an alternative choice for many trips. Most people drive for most trips. That means restrictions on driving are restrictions on the majority, and that's a tough position to be in politically.
Chicagoland tactics will need to be practical. For instance, people agree that traffic in shopping, residential areas, around parks and schools should be slow and calm. Most agree that people should be able to safely cross even the busiest streets. Everyone agrees that speeding on local streets, aggressive driving and running red lights are bad.
But in fact, not much is done about these universally disfavored transgressions. If something effective were done - so that the typical person riding in the typical community was assured that surrounding traffic was slow and orderly - cycling would grow exponentially.
It is my belief that we can achieve calm, orderly and welcoming street corridors. The tools are police enforcement, photo enforcement of speeding and running red lights, traffic-calming street designs, marketing to create peer pressure, and bike lanes.
These tools will have an impact on the speed, volume and behavior of motorists. And these tools are winnable in Chicago area communities if supported by an organized coalition of cyclists, pedestrians, transit users, seniors, youth, disabled persons, local retailers, and other community groups.
And these changes are going to benefit motorists as well. Most motorists are sick of crashes and stress. Why should some cowboy get to blow by the patient, kinder, gentler drivers because he's willing to risk airbagging your family? We all know people whose lives have been dramatically altered by road deaths or injuries. We should be able to move people to do something more about the 42,000 plus motor vehicle deaths per year - or the equivalent of fourteen September 11ths.
We can and should do something about it.
Our Healthy Streets Conference, April 1-2, provides an opportunity to move into action right away. We want you to encourage your elected officials and their staff to attend the Safe Routes to School sessions on Friday, April 1, which are full of the nuts and bolts on changing the way streets are designed and finding the money to make it happen.
On March 31, the day before the conference, there will be a workshop for planners and engineers that will focus on designing an intersection that does more than encourage driving. Participators will learn how to best balance car, bike, pedestrian, transit, disabled, and green space needs.
You should make plans now for joining the Saturday session geared toward people who want to transform the streets around us into places comfortable for biking and walking. We'll map out at simple ways you can combat aggressive driving, get streets closed for car-free events, and move our community toward programs that win safe routes and practices that build healthy streets.
Registration begins January 21, 2005, at biketraffic.org. Chicagoland Bicycle Federation members get a registration discount. Scholarships are also available.
Randy is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's Chief Strategy Officer.
Support bicycle advocacy clear to Timbuk2. Make the Federation part of your year-end giving and get a Timbuk2 messenger bag. Click for more.
April 1-2, 2005
Enjoy a two-day conference helping of crispy pedestrian
and bicycling planning goodness! Registration opens January 21 @ biketraffic.org!
Give a gift membership, get a year of Bicycling Magazine FREE!
Federation ringer Ts in ultra-mod brown and baby-blue for $10 at biketraffic.org under "shop." Old "Join the Colony" Ts clearing out at $5, but won't get you on the catwalk, on the catwalk, yeah.
When you drive, you're still a bicycle advocate. Or you could be. Click the sign above to take the pledge. Or read about the Driver's Pledge in the December 2002/January 2003 Bike Traffic.
Volunteers Have a Good Time, Apparently
At the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation Volunteer Appreciation Party, November 19th, Ryan Dickey and Derek Sherman received the "Important Cog Award" for their extraordinary volunteer contributions to the organization's "Join the Colony' marketing campaign. Dickey and Sherman spent more than 640 hours developing three images used in direct mail campaigns, posters, point-of-purchase materials, print advertising, and advertising cards displayed on Pace buses and Chicago Transit Authority transit lines.
Our second annual party for volunteers, sponsored by:
applauded 1,044 volunteers donating more than 12,600 hours in 2004, including John D'Ambrose [pictured] who traded his pants at the party for this hat. Join the volunteer effort at biketraffic.org.
Bike Traffic is published by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, a nonprofit, volunteer advocacy organization that is improving the quality of life in Northeastern Illinois by making cycling safer, more convenient, and more fun. All material that isn't copyrighted may be reprinted. Advertising rates available on request.
Managing Editor
Steve Buchtel
Editors
Rob Sadowsky
Dan Korman
Hedy Helfand
Randy Neufeld
Christopher Hinton
David Callahan
Dave Glowacz
Layout
Steve Buchtel
January 13 - Bike Culture
Lecture - Roll Film, LIVE: Bicycles in Movies. 12:15-1:00 p.m. at Chicago
Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph.
January 13 - Bicycle Club Presidents Roundtable. 6-8 p.m., location undetermined, but will be, just ask dan@biketraffic.org.
January 20 - W-W-Winter Bike t-t-to Work D-D-Day. Southeast corner of Daley Plaza, Washington & Dearborn in Chicago, 7-9 a.m. randy@biketraffic.org can fill you in, but you warm your own toes.
March 31 - Extreme Intersection Makeover. Peds, drivers, bicyclists, transit users redesign a real, live street intersection, while the Amish once again are shut out. Tell Randy Neufeld, randy@biketraffic.org that you want in. Especially if you're Amish.
April 1-2 - Second Annual Healthy Streets Conference. Registration begins January 21 on biketraffic.org.
All these events and more, to be shore, on biketraffic.org's Calendar of Events!
January 13 - Bicycle Club Presidents Roundtable. 6-8 p.m., location undetermined, but will be, just ask dan@biketraffic.org.
January 20 - W-W-Winter Bike t-t-to Work D-D-Day. Southeast corner of Daley Plaza, Washington & Dearborn in Chicago, 7-9 a.m. randy@biketraffic.org can fill you in, but you warm your own toes.
March 31 - Extreme Intersection Makeover. Peds, drivers, bicyclists, transit users redesign a real, live street intersection, while the Amish once again are shut out. Tell Randy Neufeld, randy@biketraffic.org that you want in. Especially if you're Amish.
April 1-2 - Second Annual Healthy Streets Conference. Registration begins January 21 on biketraffic.org.
All these events and more, to be shore, on biketraffic.org's Calendar of Events!
Buy the 4th Edition Chicagoland 7-County Bike Map! Still $6.95! (Less than a dollar a county!)
This Man Wants to Install
YOUR Bike Rack! John Greenfield and
the CDOT Bike Rack Program have dozens of shiny new racks ready to install
RIGHT NOW at the site of your choosing. THEY COST YOU NOTHING, and beautify
any establishment. Request one! Request a dozen! Fill out the
on-line form at chicagobikes.org!
on-line form at chicagobikes.org!
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
Staff Directory
Staff Directory
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
Board of Directors:
President
Corey Coscioni, Chicago
Treasurer
Arthur Gilfand, Chicago
Vice-President
Derrick James, Chicago
Secretary
Mary DeBacker, Chicago
Directors
Aaron Freeman, Chicago
Cyd Curtis
Jane Healy
Jim Kreps, Chicago
Matt Longjohn, M.D.
Philip Martin
Ellen McKenna, Oak Park
Mike Mercuri, Chicago
Wayne Mikes, Palatine
Elaine Nekritz, Northbrook
Susan Plassmeyer, Chicago
Judith Rice, Chicago
David Seglin, Chicago
Al Sturges, Park Forest
Craig Williams, Oak Park
President
Corey Coscioni, Chicago
Treasurer
Arthur Gilfand, Chicago
Vice-President
Derrick James, Chicago
Secretary
Mary DeBacker, Chicago
Directors
Aaron Freeman, Chicago
Cyd Curtis
Jane Healy
Jim Kreps, Chicago
Matt Longjohn, M.D.
Philip Martin
Ellen McKenna, Oak Park
Mike Mercuri, Chicago
Wayne Mikes, Palatine
Elaine Nekritz, Northbrook
Susan Plassmeyer, Chicago
Judith Rice, Chicago
David Seglin, Chicago
Al Sturges, Park Forest
Craig Williams, Oak Park
Copyright
2004-2005, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
650 S. Clark, Ste. 300, Chicago, Ill. 60605
Ph: 312/427-3325 Fax: 312/427-4907 E-mail: cbf@biketraffic.org
650 S. Clark, Ste. 300, Chicago, Ill. 60605
Ph: 312/427-3325 Fax: 312/427-4907 E-mail: cbf@biketraffic.org