Writing about cities
Go read my first-ever article published in a magazine!
Turn to page 48 of Momentum, a magazine for people who like bikes. You can view it in its print form here or read the article on the magazine website.
A photo of the review. The printed photo was taken by Stefano Rini.
Carrying three bags of recycling to the drop-off center in Bridgeport. My goal was to get a bike that can carry as much as possible.
Via EcoVelo and Noel Hidalgo, the UK’s Telegraph plots (see their chart) rainfall against temperature and the number of Barclays Cycle Hire bikes in use.
The conclusion: When it’s warm and clear, the bikes are in use!
Photo by Charlene Lam.
The most bikes recorded in use over the 4 days for which data is shown was 1,650. If Chicago suddenly had 1,650 new bikers*, it would make the bicycle mode share jump by 11 percent!
*It would be interesting to know exactly how many users of bike sharing programs did not prevoiusly ride a bike. See statistics on Chicago commuting modes on the American Fact Finder, a service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Everyone asks, and I always tell. But I’ve never blogged about it.
I’m the Bicycle Parking Program Assistant at the Chicago Bicycle Program, in the Chicago Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Division of Project Development.
According to the Chicago Municipal Code, I tag abandoned bikes. After 7 days, a CDOT crew removes them to Working Bikes Cooperative.
I arrange for…
I also manage the Chicago Bicycle Program website, Facebook Page, Flickr account & group, and Twitter.
No, not plans with friends for dinner at Ian’s Pizza in Wrigleyville (which was great last night, by the way).
I graduated in May 2010 and I’m just now figuring out why we should make plans. What did I come up with?
Plans are to give a basis for the future so that the future is shaped from what people collectively need and want. They keep you on track so you focus on what’s most important and not the things that will derail the path to the plan’s stated goals.
(You can quote me on that. But I wouldn’t rely on that statement to stay the same – it’s still a work in progress.)
For example, you go out and survey the bike parking situation at all transit stations in your city. You collect data on how many bike parking spaces are available, how many bikes are present (both on bike racks and other objects), and bike rack type.
You then gather information like ridership, access mode, and surrounding residential density. From this you can list the stations in order of which ones need attention now, which ones need attention later, and which ones won’t need attention. Talking to people who work at the stations, who use the stations, and others will help you fine tune the ranking.
That’s the plan. The plan might also include narratives about the rationale for having high quality, sheltered, upgraded, or copious bike parking at transit stations (hit up the Federal Transit Administration for that).
Then the plan sits. Two years later, someone reads the plan and decides to apply for funding to build bike parking shelters at the transit stations in most need.
What stations are those? Oh, the plan tells us.
There are 17 construction projects listed here and none are about automobiles. Additionally, there is information about 2 studies for bus rapid transit-like projects.
Download all of these into Google Earth with this KML file.
A couple of these projects are being held up by the current Illinois roadway construction workers’ strike. UPDATE: Apparently a deal has been reached to end the strike.
Rendering from the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) showing context-sensitive design. See the full presentation (PDF)Â for architectural influences.
Rendering of the Navy Pier Flyover as it travels over the Lakepoint Tower condominiums as seen at the Cities and Bicycles forum with David Byrne in June at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Rendering of the 31st Street harbor concept plan. As seen in the contractor’s presentation to the Public Building Commission of Chicago.
Although not construction projects, two additional proposals merit your attention. The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority each received grants this month to study and develop two corridors with bus rapid transit-like features. CDOT’s plan is to develop a priority bus lanes for up to seven routes between the Metra stations and Navy Pier and North Michigan Avenue (the Miracle Mile). Thank you to Kevin Z for the update.
CTA’s grant money is to fund the development of a speedy bus service from the southeast side to the West Loop via the north-south Jeffrey Avenue.