Drivers who park their cars in dedicated bicycle and bus lanes, as well as crosswalks, bus stops and no parking zones, will be ticketed if the infraction is captured by city cameras mounted on poles and on the front of buses and other city vehicles, officials said.
Cycling
Designed to “create safer streets and a better transit experience,” the new initiative is set to last two years, and would target scofflaws downtown, between the lake, Ashland Avenue, Roosevelt Road and North Avenue.
The Chicago City Council could vote on what the mayor’s office called a “small scale” pilot program as soon as Feb. 1 — less than a month before Election Day.
The City Council’s Transportation Committee advanced the measure six months after 3-year-old Lily Shambrook died while riding in a carrier on her mother’s bicycle.
Authored by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) and Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward), the measure would give employees of the Department of Finance — not just members of the Chicago Police Department — the authority to order the vehicle blocking the bicycle lane to be ticketed and towed.
While the Chicago Department of Transportation encourages residents to submit complaints of blocked bike lanes to 311, “requests sent to 311 are not sent to Administrative Hearings for ticketing,” CDOT said in a statement.
Cyclist and pedestrian safety advocates rally for change after two toddlers are killed by drivers on Chicago streets.
Michael Salvatore, a fifth-generation Chicagoan, opened Heritage Bikes & Coffee in Lakeview in 2012. The business combines two things he loves while paying homage to his family and the city’s cycling history.
Cyclists of color in Chicago get a disproportionate number of tickets from police, according to reports by the Chicago Tribune. Bike advocates hope a new city initiative can help address the problem but say it’s not just about infrastructure.
The city’s transportation department has been installing a new grid of bike routes in Belmont Cragin and Hermosa as part of the Chicago Works Capital Plan to modernize infrastructure and improve access to and safety of transportation.
The industrial history of Chicago’s Southeast Side has drawn criticism for its impact on the environment and residents’ health. Some say it also makes it difficult for residents to get around by foot or bike. How one South Deering program is working to change that.
Have you ever thrown out a broken bike or any of its spare parts? There’s a chance a local bike club scooped up that trash to make a work of art on wheels. We visit Logan Square to learn about the city’s bustling custom bike culture.
Bike lovers, get your rides ready. After it was canceled in 2020 over coronavirus safety concerns, the hugely popular Bike the Drive event is scheduled to return on Sunday, Sept. 5.
The project’s many delays – some due to unexpected maintenance, some to funding availability – became a source of both frustration and humor for trail users and observers, who joked about the flyover taking longer than engineering marvels like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Sears Tower.
The long-awaited, sometimes-maligned structure carrying the lakefront trail over Grand Avenue, Illinois Street and the Chicago River has missed its latest target to wrap up in April. But the Chicago Department of Transportation says it’s “very close” to completion.
Chicago bike shops say they’ve never experienced anything quite like 2020. Sales skyrocketed as the pandemic forced more and more people to exercise and commute outdoors. But the surge in demand, on top of supply chain issues, led to lingering shortages still being felt in Chicago’s cycling community.
