You're not a member? Good god, not so loud. Someone might hear. After all, everyone's fed up with traffic jams, tired of being afraid on the streets of their own neighborhoods, sick of dirty air, and done with spending the vacation money on a new transmission. So they've all joined the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and are making a difference (and getting discounts on maps, at bike shops, and events to boot). So carefully now, slip off with this issue of Bike Traffic (another member benefit) and call us or join on-line at www.biketraffic.org. That was close, but it's gonna be okay.
Be
My Velo-tine
Mr.
Bike says the bike’s the best way to get anywhere, especially with
him
San
Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s (sfbike.org)
Leah Shahum recently asked Mr. Bike, author of Urban Bikers’ Tricks
& Tips, how dating by bike can lube the labors of love. Considering
you were planning to catch up on some wall spackling on February 14, we
thought we better pass his insights along.
LS: As an everyday bicyclist, is it important to you that someone you date also bikes?
MB: For me, it came down to: Do you, or will you, bicycle at all? I mean, not all the time, mind you, but sometimes I will no-way wanna go to the restaurant/bar/party/friends’ house in a motor vehicle (whether owned by her, Hertz, or the transit agency). Do we have potential for such a trip? Ever? If not, then that saps my interest.
What do you do if you really like someone but they don’t bike for transportation?
Not long ago I met someone who really got, as Frank Sinatra sang, under my skin. We had lots in common, including a very physical nature, but an injury prevented them from ever bicycling, transportation or otherwise. I didn’t pursue it. I still wonder if I made the right decision.
What are advantages to dating by bike, as opposed to other modes?
Driving your date in a car gives you control. That appeals to some in a romantic encounter, but not me. Having them on a bike can put them on equal footing about route choices, how fast you go–heck, even about leaving without you. On the downside, if you date by bike you have to leave your ego at home with the driver’s license.
What’s the most memorable bike date you’ve been on?
The one I find most memorable seems that way cuz it happened most recently. We met for dinner at a Thai restaurant, after which I suggested a bar whose location I sort of knew, but we never found. But while we searched the dark, winterized city streets, I learned a bunch about my date. Like, how she communicates during a conflict (in this case, around how to organize a search). Or the limits of her patience. And her ability to rebound after getting stressed. I don’t think I woulda learned any of that stuff in a car or on a bus, at least not so soon.
What are some tips on successful bike dating that you’ve passed on at workshops? Which tip usually gets the most interest from the audience?
Tips about compromise, definitely. Those of us who bike a lot can get kinda righteous and really turn off dates. For example: If you both bike, let your lesser-experienced date lead, to set the pace. Or, if you haven’t yet gotten to that point, agree to meet your date at your destination; then put your bike in their car and let them drive you home. Putting them in the driver’s seat can score you lotsa points. For example, once I met someone in a bar who’d driven there in a convertible, and...
...well, you get the idea.
We’re Number
Two!!
By Michael
LaVolpe
So says Bicycling magazine in its November 2001 issue, rating Chicago as the second best city in North America for biking. (Toronto got the top spot.)
Why are we number two in the NAFTA zone? According to the article:
1) The mayor is overtly pro-bike
2) Bike lanes, routes, paths and racks "are now as common as six-packs of Old Style."
Great PR for the city, eh? But do Chicago’s bike riders believe their city is bike-friendly? Or, in relation to other major U.S. cities, is Chicago just the fastest runner on a team with its feet on backwards?
"The mayor does talk ‘pro-bike’ in public," said Craig Ludington of Logan Square. "I’m always able to park my bike. There are racks everywhere."
However, he said, the city still insists on furthering our dependence on the automobile as opposed to developing bicycle infrastructure. "For every bit of ‘boosterism’ for bikes, it does far more for cars. I mean, we’re still building strip malls. How absurd is it to have a strip mall in a city?!?" he added.
Lakefront dweller Melissa McAtee thinks Chicago is a rather pro-bike town. The Lincoln Parker said "Chicago has a great cycling community and network. I think it does a pretty good job encouraging cycling. The CTA allows bike transport, new bike lanes and bike racks are being added to our streets, and we have a ‘bike to work week’ in the spring."
Having easy access to the lakefront path, McAtee admits, influences her opinion of Chicago’s bike-friendliness.
"Facilities have improved a lot," said Thomas Hall of Bucktown, however he also added, "if we’re number two, I feel bad for the rest of the country."
Hall said that he is able to function pretty well by bike. The downside to bicycling in Chicago, he noted, are the "overly-aggressive" drivers.
Pilsen resident Dan Korn sided with the opinion that Chicago isn’t necessarily that good but that everyone else sucks so much more.
"If you’re stranded with a lot of people starving and you have a candy bar, sure, you’re a little better off but still are going to starve like everyone else," he mused. "The mayor is pro-bike, but there is a whole society still built on cars."
The general consensus, then, from the biker-on-the-street seems to be that bike accommodations are improving and the pro-bike mentality in the mayor’s office is for real. Chicago, it seems after all, may really be this nation’s best big city for bicycling.
But all the bicyclists pointed out that Chicago’s aggressive driving and unabated car-centric attitudes toward development underscores that we’re the most bike-friendly city in a nation that, when ranked against other nations around the world, is a long way down the list.
Mayor
Daley Wants You
Bicycling
Ambassadors Needed for Summer Outreach
by Dave
Glowacz
Wanna
hang outside this summer, talking to Chicagoans about bicycling, and get
paid for it?
This spring, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation will hire a team of bike-savvy talkers for its popular program, Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors.
The Ambassadors teach bike riders and car drivers to better share city streets. They do this in face-to-face conversations wherever they can reach lots of people–including neighborhood festivals, city parks, the lakefront, and even among cars stopped in traffic.
The Bicycling Ambassadors work full-time, including evenings and weekends, from April through September. We also have open a permanent, full-time staff job in support of the Ambassadors, starting in February. All positions work for Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, which operates the program for the Chicago Dept. of Transportation.
Do
you like to bicycle, and communicate well with people of all kinds? Then
have a look at the Ambassador job descriptions at www.biketraffic.org/ambassador/jobs.
To learn more, come to our Ambassador information session on March 2,
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. at Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, or contact Heather
Convey at 312/427-3325 ext. 25 or heather@biketraffic.org.
And you can learn how Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors reached nearly a million people in 2001 by going to www.biketraffic.org/ambassador/report.
Measured in Miles
Bike Program
builds on bike lane, parking successes
By Steven
Buchtel
Bike Traffic caught up with Ben Gomberg, the Chicago Department of Transportation’s Bicycle Program Coordinator, in mid-January to chat about the program’s efforts over the past year and its plans for 2002.
BT: Let’s start with some numbers. How many miles of bike lanes were installed in 2001?
BG: We established or reestablished 14 miles of bike lanes this year.
Where the lanes went in, what’s the neighborhoods’ reactions been?
Very
positive! Thanks to our outreach to Aldermen and communities, we’ve
implemented some designs that don’t interfere with traffic or parking.
How many lanes will you establish in 2002?
We have federal funds for more than 50 miles of bike lanes, with at least 21 miles getting striped for sure this year and the rest in 2003. We’ll also get at least another 12 miles done in 2002 as part of other road repair and resurfacing projects.
Bike lanes get built through other road projects?
Installing a bike lane is really a negligible cost when it’s part of a planned resurfacing project. [CDOT Bike Program employees] T.C. O’Rourke and Beth Meier have worked very hard at arranging for bike lanes to be installed as part of CDOT, IDOT and Cook County Highway Department projects. It’s cheap, and you get bike lanes on great pavement.
I imagine the process is a bit clunkier getting bike lanes on state routes in the city than on city routes.
A lot of what the Bike Program is doing IDOT’s never seen before. But they’ve been receptive. Two IDOT engineers recently visited Chicago to see what we’ve done with the Halsted and Armitage bike lanes. They were impressed!
The more we work with IDOT, the more cooperation we get. It’s a lot about learning to speak IDOT’s language [regarding roadway design]. It’s forced us to become more sophisticated.
Mayor Daley’s Bike 2000 Plan calls for 300 miles of bikelanes to be established. How close are you to reaching that?
The plan calls for 300 miles of bikeways, which can be bike lanes, or signed bike routes, or off-road paths. At the end of 2002, we’ll have 27 of the 29 Bike 2000 Plan recommendations implemented. We have 100 miles of bikeways established, with hopefully another 100 completed in 2002 which includes the improvements to the lakefront path that [Bike Program employee] Trisha Sternberg is coordinating.
What then? Are you done?
We’re beginning work on a successor we’re calling the Bike 2010 Plan.
Even if you weren’t doing bike lanes, the bike program staff would be busy.
Eric Anderson and John Greenfield will arrange the installation of 750 bike racks this year. The bike rack program is maturing into a bike parking program that considers indoor parking facilities as well. We have National Highway Traffic Safety funding to promote traffic safety for bicyclists and drivers, and CMAQ funding for a Bike to Campus program targeting college students and staff. And we’re helping the Mayor’s office plan a 2002 Bike Month that we think eclipses 2001’s, which League of American Bicyclists called the best in America.
What else about 2001 makes you proud?
We’ve got the best bike program staff in the world. Every staff member here is a bike rider, and feels they have a personal stake in the work we do. Under Mayor Daley’s leadership, we’ve just had tremendous cooperation with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, CDOT departments, the CTA, and the Park District. I really think Chicago’s unique among cities because of these great relationships.
Bikes
on Buses Program Expands
By John Greenfield
The pilot has landed. The Chicago Transit Authority, under the leadership of president Frank Kruesi, has determined its Bikes on Buses demonstration project was a success. Now the CTA is preparing to permanently equip its entire bus fleet with bicycle racks and give cyclists round-the-clock access.
In the Spring of 2001, the CTA installed 85 Sportswork racks on two of its bus routes on a test basis. The racks are quick and easy to use, and each holds two bikes securely. The #72 North Avenue and #63 63rd Street lines were chosen because they provide access to beaches and the Lakefront Path.
The experiment was a success, according to Bill Platt, manager of the CTA’s Chicago Avenue Garage, which services the #72 buses. "I’m an avid cyclist myself. That’s why I pushed to get the program over here. I knew I’d take good care of it because I have a vested interest."
"It’s
no longer a pilot program," said Peter Fahrenwald, the CTA’s
manager of facilities planning. "We learned what we needed to learn.
There were no major problems and no design changes needed before we go
systemwide." He said the CTA will soon be soliciting bids for 2000
racks and every bus in the city could be bike-ready by October.
The loaded racks add an extra three feet to the length of the buses, which can be distracting but the drivers quickly get used to them, said Fahrenwald. "In the end the operators were happy about the program because their passengers liked it and it provided a positive image to people that the CTA is trying something new."
Kevin Hagen, who wrenches at Rapid Transit bike shop on North Avenue said a few of his customers raved about the new bus racks. "They said it was really cool that the racks were there. But not too many people knew about them. It was mostly a word-of-mouth thing."
Platt confirmed that bus rack use was modest last summer. "We didn’t have huge numbers at all. We did a couple of surveys and found that usage was in the low teens each week."
Fahrenwald said this was par for the course. "We didn’t expect a lot of use before the program goes network-wide," said Fahrenwald. "But we’re confident that once there are racks on all the buses, people will be more aware that they’re there and will start using them as a substitute for a car for shortening commute times.
"If you can cut travel times, you can increase ridership," Fahrenwald added. "The real advantage is for people who live far from a bus line. We figure that people will walk a quarter of a mile before they start considering other options. In conjunction with allowing bikes on trains, bikes on buses will help us expand the population that uses the CTA.."
Defective
Driving
By
Steven Buchtel
The
limits of safe cycling were laid as bare as bone when two Chicagoland
Bicycle Federation members were seriously injured not two weeks apart
in separate crashes at the hands of inattentive—and in at least one
case horrifyingly callous—drivers.
Joe Ferguson rode north on Clark St. in Chicago the evening of December 20th when he was struck from the side by a southbound Dodge Ram pickup turning left into a parking lot. The crash threw Joe to the middle of the sidewalk, and left him with 11 stitches in his left hand, a concussion, and an enormous lump on his left hip. When he was struck, Joe was using two 6-watt headlights, flashing lights, reflective clothing, working Christmas lights strung through his bike frame, and fake reindeer antlers on his helmet.
Joe returned to work on January 7th, and as of the 14th was seeing a physical therapist twice a week. The police ticketed the driver, and Joe has hired a personal injury lawyer. "I have apartment insurance that covers my bike at replacement value," says Joe. "I have health insurance, and short term disability insurance. Fortunately my accident didn’t result in activating my life insurance."
Alan Stern has none of the insurance coverage that’s helping Joe recover, and even worse has no driver to hold responsible. On January 3rd, Al rode north on California when, while approaching Devon, a westbound car turned left at speed onto California and into Al’s lane. The car struck Al — who had taken the lane to make himself more visible to overtaking cars — shearing his right shin bone, snapping his left ankle, breaking both wrists, and busting his left collarbone and numerous ribs.
Then the car drove on.
The 911 caller described the car as a dark-colored, late ‘80s Buick. Paramedics took Al to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston where surgeons saved his leg. Al now is beginning rehabilitation at the Northwest Home, a long-term convalescent facility at 6300 N. California.
When struck, Al was using a headlight, a front-mounted white flashing light, a reflective vest, reflective pantleg straps, and reflective tape on his helmet.
We’re investigating the identity of the driver who struck Al, and we’ve started a fund that Al can use to offset the staggering medical expenses. If you’d like to give, call or go to ww.biketraffic.org. If you can help with the investigation, please call CBF’s Dave Glowacz or e-mail glow@biketraffic.org.
Pie
a là Mode Share
Outside
America, "bike friendly" means more bikes, less cars. Not more
of both
By Steve Buchtel
What makes an unqualified bicycle-friendly city? One thing: mode share.
Mode share is the percentage of all trips made within a given area by a particular mode of travel. Gains in one mode cause reductions in other modes, like cutting some pieces larger in a pie. It’s common in Europe to use mode share to determine how to shift transportation funding around, encouraging some modes, discouraging others.
You can feel differences in mode share as well as measure them. In Amsterdam, 28 out of every 100 trips made in the city are by bike, for a mode share of 28%. In Copenhagen, bicycle mode share is above 20%. Both seem to American tourists as Velo-Valhallas.
The best numbers we have for Chicago's mode share come from the U.S. Census, which only measures trips to and from work, and actually are for the entire state. However, the 2000 census tells us that bicycle mode share in Illinois jumped more than 65% since 1990!
From .26% to .43%, or 14,922 to 24,574 trips.
Meanwhile, mode share for single-occupant driving crept up only 4.7%!
From 70% to 73.21%, or 3,741,715 to 4,186,794 trips.
Chicago boosts the state's bicycle mode share a little: best estimates of the city's share of trips by bike hover around 1%. But no large American city can do better than that.
America never looks at mode share as something it wants to manipulate, because it would mean encouraging some projects at the expense of others, and we don’t like trade-offs. When transportation budgets go up, all modes get more money, and you wind up with bike riders thankful for the new facilities, but also frustrated by more cars on the streets.
Most of America doesn’t have the political will to start managing mode share. That’s changing somewhat in Chicago: the Mayor’s Bike 2000 Plan called for 10% of short car trips to be replaced by bike, and the 2010 plan will likely call for a mode share change as well. If Chicago deserves its Bicycling magazine ranking as America’s most bike-friendly city, it’s for finally starting to talk about mode share, even when its mouth is full.
Two
Down, Four to Go
By
Patricia Weismantel
Tour da’Chicago races that is.
I innocently stumbled onto these races this winter and now I’m hooked. Sponsored by Yojimbo’s Garage and in their fourth year, the series started as a gathering for bike messengers and has since evolved into winter training for members of XXX racing team. However, the races are open to all biking levels, you just need to be able to pedal (it does help to go fast).
The
races start Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. with the locations varying. For
Stage 1, we all rode together up to the Ba’Hai Temple in Wilmette.
After a rest, the race back to Yojimbo’s was on. We left in 30-second
intervals and the return route was up to each biker. Being the unknown
rider to the group, I was first, but in retrospect having the other riders
pass me was an inspiration to keep up the pace and pedal harder. It took
the first three men 37 minutes to travel the 13 miles. The top female
finisher came in at 43 minutes, while I solidly won the women’s mountain
bike division (if only there were such a category).
On December 30 the cold became a factor for stage 2 – it was 11 F when we started out. I continued knowing that the course was going past my house and I could bail at any moment if I started to freeze to my bike. This time the race was three 8-mile loops through Lincoln Park, up to Irving Park Road and back via Clark St.
The first loop we all rode together and then the race started. I’m sure my muscles never warmed up, but luckily this race wasn’t timed – you earned points for how many laps you finished and where you were in the pack. It was a struggle to finish that third lap, but I was glad I had pushed myself beyond my normal bike-commuting pace. My left foot took an hour to thaw out, but it was still a gratifying experience.
There are prizes for each stage as well as the series overall, but you’ll feel just as much a winner knowing you have braved the Chicago winter and raced your way through it.
The next races are Jan. 27, Feb. 9 with the finale being on the night of Saturday, February 23. There is a $10 fee for each race. For more information, contact Marcus Moore at Yojimbo Garage, 1310 N. Clybourn, at 312/587-0878.
As a bike commuter, pushing myself once every two weeks to go faster has been a fun challenge, It’s hard to get up so early on a Sunday morning, but knowing that there are 40 other people doing the same thing helps.
Bicycle
Ambassadors are hiring. Ride. Get paid.
Get paid riding.
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
Laura
Devine
Heather Convey
Patricia Weismantel
Dave Glowacz
Layout
Steve Buchtel
Carnell Fitzpatrick’s sentencing hearing has been moved to February 20 from January 15. Watch for news on biketraffic.org.
Dahling, are you maad? The Bike Town Bash is March 9, and you KNOW I don’t like to rush the dress designer. You simply MUST buy the tickets today at www.biketraffic.org!
Bike parking racks 45% off of wholesale! Public entities (‘cept fer Elvis) can load up on bike parking cheap through the Council of Mayors’ Bike Rack Program. Two deadlines for orders: February 15 and April 1. Call Chicagoland Bicycle Federation or look yourself at www.biketraffic.org.
5th Annual Critical Mass Art Show is February 9 at Heaven Gallery, 1550 N. Milwaukee, 7 pm, same day as the 5th Annual Car Show Protest which leaves Daley Plaza at noon. Be bike-sotted all day! More info at www.bikewinter.org.
Deadline for the April Bike Traffic is March 5. The days will be longer, the ground will be softer, and soon Crocuses will push their tender buds up through the snow that still lingers. Why suffer under the dark cloud of despair and self-hate? Meeting deadlines: the first step towards a healthier whole!
Buy the Chicagoland 7-County Bike Map! Only $6.95! (Less than a dollar a county!)
Get our FREE
Bike to Work Guide!
Bang bang bang!!!
Chicagoland
Bicycle Federation
Staff Directory
At 650 S. Dearborn:
Randy
Neufeld
Executive Director
Pamela
Brookstein
Membership Director
Steve
Buchtel
Communications Director
Heather
Convey
Research Coordinator
Dave
Glowacz
Director of Education
Anne
Nepokroeff
Office Manager
Nadia
Oehlsen
Program Assistant
Lauren
Strickler
Director of Events
Randy
Warren
Program Director
At Chicago Department of Transportation:
Mark
Counselman
Bikeways Technician
John
Greenfield
Bike Rack Technician
Milda
Grigaite
Outreach Assistant
Nick
Jackson
Bike Lane Program Manager
T.C.
O'Rourke
Bikeways Technician
Copyright
2002, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
650 S. Clark, Ste. 300, Chicago, Ill. 60605
Ph: 312/427-3325 Fax: 312/427-4907 E-mail:
cbf@biketraffic.org
