Outside the Loop Radio interviews Danny Resner & “Urban Flow” author

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Outside the Loop Radio recently interviewed my CTA ‘L’ riding record-setting partner-in-crime Danny Resner about the nuts and bolts of our trip. Listen to the interview here (press the play button at the bottom of the post; Danny is featured in the last third of the segment), or download the MP3 directly.

The broadcast also includes a short interview with former record holder Adham Fisher of Leicester, England. Earlier in the segment there’s an interview with Jeff Kidder, the author of Urban Flow: Bike Messengers and the City, who was quoted in Alex Weaver’s recentguest post on Grid Chicago about Chicago couriers.

Talking transportation with 7th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson

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Moving forward with our projectto interview all 50 Chicago aldermen about their views on sustainable transportation, I recently met with 7th Ward Alderman and Committeeman Sandi Jackson at her office, 7123 S. Yates, directly across from a Metra station. Her district includes parts of the South Shore, South Chicago, and Calumet Heights communities on the Southeast Side.

After defeating incumbent Darcel Beavers in 2007, Sandi took her place in Chicago’s influential Jackson family dynasty. Her husband is Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., representing Illinois’ 2nd district, which includes the 7th Ward, and her father-in-law is civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson Sr. As alderman, Sandi has been a strong supporter of the proposal to redevelop the former U.S. Steel plant site, located on the lakefront between 79th and 92nd. The proposed housing and retail development, called Lakeside, would include the Chicago Velo Campus indoor velodrome and multisport complex.

We discussed her commuting habits, the importance of providing multiple transportation options to Lakeside residents, and why she’s excited about the velo campus idea. We also talked about why she’s supporting the city’s Streets for Cycling and bike sharing projects, as well as her own plans to encourage positive pedestrian activity on the ward’s business strips by hiring security guards to patrol the areas.

Continue reading Talking transportation with 7th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson

Tackling the hard stuff

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Ever hear the phrase, “low hanging fruit“? It is the most annoying phrase in planning circles, and it abounds in all industries. It means to accomplish the easy stuff first. And I think it presumes that when the easy stuff is accomplished, then the hard stuff will be attempted next. Right?

That. Rarely. Happens.

The City of Chicago settled a lawsuit in 2007 that required it to spend a $50 million over 5 years (2007-2011) in “new money” (not previously budgeted to repair sidewalks) to fix curb ramps at crosswalks to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It turns out that what’s accessible to people with disabilities really makes things accessible to everyone. In each construction season, Loop workers saw many curb ramps change in a matter of days. And it happened all around the city. Continue reading Tackling the hard stuff

I’m raising money so more people on bikes can Get Lit

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Educating cyclists and distributing lights in Wicker Park in 2010. 

I started the Get Lit: Use Lights at Night campaign last year because I thought too many people in Chicago cycled in the dark without headlights. Not only do city and state laws require the use, but it’s helpful for two other reasons: drivers in cars behind windshields and other distractions are more likely to see you; they can save your butt in court if you’re involved in a crash (the “I didn’t see the cyclist” defense can’t work if you’ve got a flashing white light).

In my experience being involved with two bike light distributions, recipients weren’t aware of the laws, or of the other benefits of having lights. In other words, this was the first time anyone had ever told them about using lights while cycling.

What is Get Lit? Continue reading I’m raising money so more people on bikes can Get Lit

Notes from the Underground: A Subterranean Safari in the Pedway

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[This piece also appears in Newcity magazine.]

As I make my way through the blizzard to the Blue Line’s Logan Square stop, seven pigeons are huddled on Evelyn Longman’s giant eagle sculpture atop the Illinois Centennial Monument. It’s a Thursday afternoon in early January, the streets are lined with slush and cars move at a cautious crawl. A scruffy, bearded guy in a hooded jacket trudges across the street toward me with wet snow blowing into his face. “No, it ain’t s—ty out,” he says with a grin. Me, I’m planning to take a pass on this nasty weather and spend the rest of the day in warmth and comfort as I go urban spelunking in the Chicago Pedway, an overlooked layer of Chicago’s transportation system.

Continue reading Notes from the Underground: A Subterranean Safari in the Pedway

Is this the first ever bike book commercial?

Updated: Eben Weiss will be on a bike ride from TATI Cycles in Hyde Park to Cellar and 57th Street Books in Lakeview on March 29, 2012. Details are here.

Lots of books have commercials, but they’re often for books by Stephen King, Sue Grafton, or some other soon-to-be national best seller. This is the first commercial I’ve seen for a book about cycling. Thanks to BikePortland for the tip.

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The book is The Enlightened Cyclist, by BikeSnobNYC, or Eben Weiss, the most sharp-tongued (and spot-on) bike blogger in America. The book will be released in March, but you can pre-order it on Amazon.

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Eben Weiss singing books in Seattle by Gene Bisbee. 

See earlier: A Chicago bike shop posts a commercial for its fix a flat on the fly service.