Bike Traffic - April 2006

April 2006

The latest attempt to reverse the negative effects of the 1998 Illinois Supreme Court ruling on Boub v. Wayne Township was derailed in the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly.

Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and its partners, the League of Illinois Bicyclists, will regroup after this legislative session and look for new opportunities to restore sound bicycling policy in Illinois.

According to Rep. Elaine Nekritz, sponsor of the Bicycling Safety Restoration Act (HB 4907), the legislation does not have the votes to move forward in the Illinois House. The bill, drafted by the village of Skokie and strongly supported by the Northwest Municipal Conference, passed out of the House Local Government Committee in early February on a close 6-4 vote. The bill was a genuine attempt to combine sound public policy encouraging safe bicycling with a reasonable liability burden for local governments.

Efforts by Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen and his legal staff were skilled and heroic. It is unfortunate that the effort was never fairly considered.
Reactionary opponents blitzed the bill with same set of false accusations used against previous proposals without regard to the new content and intent of HB 4907. Thanks to CBF members’ calls and faxes most legislators who supported bicycling last year held. But we were not able to hold our narrow margin of support.

City of Chicago opposition also loomed as a major barrier to success in the Senate. Negotiations with the city did not reverse strong opposition, which is a curious reversal from city support two years ago. The Chicago Corporation Counsel's office feels that the current liability situation protects them from litigation and does not prevent the city from pursuing bike lanes under Mayor Richard M. Daley's initiatives.

The rights of cyclists and the provision of bicycle facilities should be a matter of law and public policy. Illinois remains the only state where these rights and facilities are dependent on the tastes and whims of local leaders.

Thank you for contacting your representatives about this crucial issue. Your effort will have a lasting impact on the receptivity to future bicycle initiatives. Do make it a point to contact your representative and thank them if they have been supportive.

CBF and our partners at the League of Illinois Bicyclists are grateful to the efforts of Rep. Elaine Nekritz, Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen, the village of Skokie, and the Northwest Municipal Conference.

Evanston Police and the Evanston Bicycle Club joined CBF in a late February press conference calling for an end to reckless driving after a Northwestern University student was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in the intersection of Lake Street and Sherman Avenue.

Speakers included EPD Chief Frank Kaminski, Evanston Bicycle Club President Neal Ney and CBF Healthy Streets Campaign Coordinator Randy Neufeld. Police seek the public's assistance in identifying the driver of the yellow HUMMER H2 that struck Archana Sriram, 22, of Chicago on Feb. 16. She is recovering from leg, pelvis, jaw, and palate fractures.

The EPD Traffic Bureau requested a listing of registered yellow HUMMER H2s from the Secretary of State. The EPD asks that any citizen with information that might lead to identification of the driver or vehicle call (847) 866-5000.

Metra recently increased the number of bicycles permitted on designated cars from two to three. Older Metra Electric cars continue to allow only two bicycles per train. Visit the "Schedules" tab at www.metrarail.com for details. Metra also reduced the age requirement to 16 for individuals traveling solo on Metra with a bicycle. All cyclists must remember to be responsible for securing bicycles while on Metra trains. This can be done with a medium to long bungee cord which, incidentally, are not supplied by Metra.