Conscious Choice: Ride Notes, Illegal Update and Gridlock

November 2001 | Midwest Biking

Ride Notes, Illegal Update and Gridlock

by Floyd and Tobi Mittleman

We started last month’s column with the lines "Many thanks to those of you who joined us on our ninth annual Bike Outing. We hope that you had as much fun as we did." Those of you who rode with us on September 23 must know that those words were written before the ride. We did have fun, but those who were there know that it rained — it was a drencher. Congratulations to those fifteen brave souls who made the first thirteen miles in a real downpour: Rhonda Benner and Karen Hermann, Nicole and Tiffany Felician, Ivy Firestone and Kevin Rodgers, James Holmes, Lawrence and Zachary Just, Chad Miller and Gary Toomire, Lauren Pohn, Jean and Richard Wunrow, and Larry Roth. And very special thanks to Marilyn Drury-Katillo for her generous support of our efforts toward future rides.

The ride went just as planned despite the rain. We started in Wheaton and rode to the Valley Model Railroad Association Headquarters in South Elgin along the Illinois Prairie Path Elgin Branch.

Paul and Jean Mooring told us about the history of the trail at the water stop (although we didn’t need more water!) at the Army Trail Road along the Illinois Prairie Path, and Joe Dibella and Duane Tuma showed the model railroad setup at their headquarters. The model is still being assembled but it was fascinating to see what goes into making a complex model railroad system. Many, many thanks to each of them for making this adventure as exciting as it could be.

Illegal Biking

In the September issue we wrote about the offensive against illegal bike riding. We talked about cyclists who are riding on the sidewalks along Sheridan Road just beyond the north end of the Lakefront Bicycle Path. There are signs posted there that state "No Bicycle Riding." The local alderman has proposed an ordinance that would have the bicycle booted by police at the scene of the crime so that the bicycle could not be ridden. This ordinance would also impose a heavy fine on the cyclist. But before this ordinance is passed Ben Gomberg, the Department of Transportation’s bicycle program coordinator, has come to the rescue of the cyclists.

This is the plan as described by Nick Jackson, the bicycle program consultant at the Chicago Department of Transportation. The Lakefront Bicycle Path’s north end is at Ardmore Avenue just to the east of Sheridan Road. It is here that cyclists must make the decision to head west to Kenmore Avenue before continuing north. Although there are signs saying no riding on the sidewalk along Sheridan Road, the intersection of Sheridan and Ardmore should be more clearly signed. Ardmore east of Sheridan Road is being reconstructed. New signs there will direct the rider west to Kenmore Avenue. Markings on Sheridan Road will direct the rider to cross Sheridan and continue west to Kenmore. Both Kenmore Avenue (for northbound travel) and Winthrop Avenue (for southbound travel) will have a bike lane painted on the street. Hopefully, these changes will make it unnecessary to enact the new ordinance. We will keep readers updated on the outcome of these actions.

Break the Gridlock

The Break the Gridlock II conference was held in late September. The theme: overcoming car dependency. We attended the meeting and heard some very interesting speakers’ views about potential solutions to problems related to gridlock. Fact: there are more cars on the roadways of this country than can be accommodated, and building more roadways is not a solution to this problem. We heard from Dr. Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Columbia, and currently a visiting scholar at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University; Jacob Allderdice, a Toronto architect interested in the design of car-free environments; and Brian O’Connell, the Milwaukee city planner.

Dr. Peñalosa was instrumental in establishing a car-free day in Bogota. Bogota has a population of 6.5 million, a good transit system, parks in the central city, wide sidewalks, bike routes, and greenways; but most importantly it now has a car-free day established by public referendum. There is only one car-free day each year, but the concept won the Stockholm Challenge Prize for the Environment in 2000. There is a 20 percent tax on gasoline in Bogota and the money is devoted to improving public transportation. Do you suppose that we could ever have a car-free day in Chicago?

Jacob Allderdice has completed plans for a car-free Grant Park. Southbound cars exit Lake Shore Drive at Ontario and northbound cars exit Lake Shore Drive at I-55. Columbus Drive will take cars into the loop. The parkland east of Columbus has canals, restaurants, bike paths, and walking paths. It is quite lovely as depicted by Allderdice in his drawings.

Brian O’Connell is responsible for developing a plan to deconstruct a portion of the Milwaukee expressway. The plan will develop a new section of Milwaukee called Park East. The elevated Park East Spur of the expressway will be removed, releasing a minimum of twenty acres of land for development. Yes, it is possible to remove a roadway! This, of course, is exactly what the Campaign for a Free and Clear Lakefront is seeking.

Do you want more information? Check out www.breakthegridlock.org or www.foreverfreeandclear.org. There are more and more people recognizing the need to reduce automobile traffic. As the world’s population increases this will become a more urgent worldwide matter. Do your part. Leave your car in the garage, get out your bike, ride, and improve your health and the health of our environment.

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