Chicago’s streets can have an impact on much more than the way we get from one place to another. That was the message from Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi in a speech to the City Club on Wednesday.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, electric scooters are back on Chicago streets. What you need to know about this year’s program. 

Ridership across CTA trains and buses, Metra commuter trains and Pace buses are down about 70% compared to this time last year. With that dramatic decline in ridership comes lower revenue and strains on operational funding.

So far this year, 21 pedestrians have been killed by drivers, according to city data and media reports. That puts Chicago on pace to match last year’s 40 pedestrian deaths

The three firms will scatter 10,000 scooters across much of the city — four times as many allowed during the summer of 2019 — but the scooters will not be allowed downtown or along the Lakefront or 606 trails, according to the city’s rules.

The Chicago Police Department can no longer impound cars that may have been used to commit a crime following a unanimous vote Wednesday to rein in the program in an effort to ease the debt burden imposed on low-income residents.

Aldermen agreed on Monday to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the city’s impound program was unconstitutional, and made it impossible for Chicagoans to get their cars back after they were towed away.

The family of Issac Martinez and members of Chicago’s cycling community announced plans to gather Saturday to remember the 13-year-old killed last month and to push for safer conditions for cyclists.

Aldermen endorsed a measure Friday that would scale back the power of the Chicago Police Department to impound cars that may have been used to commit a crime, as city lawyers recommended officials settle a lawsuit claiming the program is unconstitutional.

The CTA’s ambitious Red and Purple Line modernization program will impact service for riders on the North Side for a four-week period starting Friday. And the agency’s plan to relocate a historic building takes a step forward.

Some 10,000 scooters will be scattered throughout Chicago when the city’s second pilot program starts next month. It’s designed to settle once and for all the question of whether scooters should be allowed on Chicago’s streets.

Chicago residents who don’t have a city sticker will get another two weeks before they risk seeing that dreaded bright orange envelope on their windshields.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Illinois Tollway projected its revenues in 2020 would reach $1.5 billion, a 3% increase from 2019. But with people staying at home, that means fewer drivers on the roads – including the tollways.

Car owners have been getting a pass in 2020 when it comes to ignoring street sweeping signs, but that ends Wednesday.

As Chicago increasingly reopens for business and pleasure, the question remains how people will move around the city, and whether riders will feel comfortable using public transportation.

The CTA has outlined the steps it’s taking to keep riders safe, but passengers say the agency is dropping the ball on the biggest precaution: forcing riders to wear masks.