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City peddling new proposal for 500-mile network of paths to
be finished by 2015 By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah and James Janega Tribune staff reporters Published June 11, 2006 The new Bike 2015 Plan wastes little time on breezy rides in
the park. Instead, the city's Department of Transportation is bent on getting
people to bike to work, to school, to stores and to mass transit stops,
cobbling together a 500-mile network of designated routes. Understanding that bicyclists' greatest enemies--aside from
sloth--are car doors, right-lane passers and other street perils, planners
looked around the world for new safety ideas. From In Like its predecessor in 1992, the new strategic plan lays
out the city's vision to make bicycling an integral part of Chicagoans' daily
lives. It offers few details and specifies no costs, though it does
point to federal grants and private funding. The plan does not say where the new miles of bike lanes and
improvements would be located. But, with a strong track record of delivering for cyclists,
the city is thinking big: a bike route within a half-mile of every resident; a
50-mile circuit of bike trails, with some off-road paths to be announced later
this year; 185 miles of new bikeways altogether. By 2015, planners hope, 5 percent of all trips shorter than
5 miles long will be made by bike. "It's truly putting Chicago on the forefront of
improving cycling across the country," said Andy Clarke, executive
director of the Washington D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists, adding
that unlike most cities where bike plans are shelved, they frequently are
implemented in Chicago, with the backing of Mayor Richard Daley, an avid biker. But for new bike lanes to lure new cyclists, riders say a culture
change needs to take root among drivers. The biggest threat isn't animosity,
they say. It's ignorance--most drivers seem not to realize cyclists are even
vying for road space. "I've been doored," said Greg Ehrendreich, 31,
describing most cyclers' worst fear--a car door opening suddenly in their path.
"I've been almost doored a couple of times." "You've got to get people to think a different
way," said Scott Parrish, 50, who has biked Of course, he said, cars are not the only deterrent:
"Try to get a girl to go on a date with you on a bike." Global inspiration As the city and its consultant, Chicagoland Bicycle
Federation, began researching the plan three years ago, the mayor encouraged
them to seek inspiration across the globe. Next year, planners hope to shut down a network of streets
for biking on a Sunday morning, as pioneered in In When asked to describe the perfect urban biking, " "Shanghai," sighed Ehrendreich. "Whole
streets are bikes only." Closer to home, the city is currently working on a Mapquest
of sorts for bikers, laying out online bike routes to a person's destination. To encourage students, the city hopes to build bikeways for
up to 70 schools by 2010. They want to teach students at 500 schools all about bike
safety. The city even hired an intern to ride the streets, looking
for bike lanes that need work and pavement that needs repair. The key step to encouraging more cycling, experts and riders
agree, is making riding safer. As an opening bid, the city hopes to try the teal markings
at 10 locations, including Current bike lane markings are not sufficient, said Joseph
Schofer, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Higher ground The city could also try raising bike lanes in two or three
undetermined locations as early as 2008 to see whether that may deter speeding
motorists from entering the bike lane. But that could have drawbacks, according to Christopher
Hagelin, senior research associate for the Center for Urban Transportation
Research at the At some intersections in That's an idea ---------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
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