Cycling in Chicago
Since the advent of the bicycle in the 1860s, Chicago has been distinguished as one of the premier cycling locations in the United States, with such public cycling destinations as Grant Park, Burnham Park and the Chicago Park District's Lakefront Trail.
History
Early bicycles arrived in Chicago in the 1860s. By 1900, there were 54 bicycle clubs with more than 10,000 members.
Mayor Richard J. Daley, like Harrison, was a supporter of bicycling. When he was inaugurated, the city had a limited number of bike paths. By the 1970s, Daley's administration had built a large network of lakefront bike paths, bicycle lanes on the road, a 34-mile (55 km) bicycle route and rush-hour bicycle lanes on Clark Street and Dearborn Street.
In the 2000s, Chicago roads and trails saw an increase in the number of bicyclists.[2] This can, in part, be attributed to mayor Richard M. Daley. Daley said, "My goal is to make the City of Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the U.S." Daley created a Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council (MBAC) in order to encourage bicycling in the city.[3]
The Council created the
Bikes and transit
All
Most CTA rail stations have indoor, outdoor or outdoor sheltered bicycle parking. The Chicago Bicycle Program's Bike Parking website displays all stations and denotes the quantity and type of bicycle parking available. Most Metra stations have bicycle parking available.
Starting in 2008, high capacity bike parking was constructed at four CTA rail stations:
Bike sharing
Facilities
According to the CDOT, Chicago has just over 111 miles (179 km) of dedicated bike lanes covering much of the city. There are also several miles of roads signed and marked with shared lane markings (consisting of bike and chevron symbols, or bike symbols and arrows). As of August 2008, there are approximately 27 miles (43 km) of these types of shared bike lanes throughout the city. The Milwaukee Avenue bike lane and marked shared lane is one of the most popular on-street bikeways in the city: between 2003 and 2008, the number of bicyclists riding on the street has increased 377%.[2] CDOT is counting the number of bicyclists on other city streets in 2008 and 2009.[2]
The City of Chicago publishes a Bike Lane Design Guide. The Bicycle Parking Program within the CDOT Bicycle Program lists almost 8,000 bike racks at over 4,000 locations in the city limits.[15] More than half of the CTA 'L' stations have indoor or sheltered bike parking available to protect bicycles from inclement weather.[16]
The McDonald's Cycle Center in Millennium Park was opened on July 16, 2004, just east of the Pritzker Pavilion. The building has indoor parking for bicycles, bicycle repair, showers, rental, lockers, and a cafe.[17]
The
Organizations
- The Active Transportation Alliance, formerly known as the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, was founded in 1985 and is the largest member-supported bicycle organization in the Chicago region. ActiveTrans works heavily with the Chicago Bicycle Program.
- The Illinois Cycling Association focus on competitive cycling with links to several Chicago based racing clubs.
- The Chicago Cycling Club holds regular rides.
- The UIC College of Cycling promotes cycling at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
- Several grassroots organizations also exist to promote cycling in Chicago. The Cycling Sisters work to encourage women to ride more. Break the Gridlock works to reduce auto-dependence. West Town Bikes teaches kids and adults how to maintain their own bikes. Bike Winter holds workshops and fun events to keep people biking all year round. The Pilsen/Little Village Bicycle Alliance works to increase bicycling in those neighborhoods.
- The Evanston Bike Club has rides for every skill and level on the north side of the city.
- Bike Lane Uprising is a group that promotes safe bike riding in the city, including giving out thousands of bike safety lights for free and developing an easy to use website and phone app that allows anybody to submit a picture and information about unsafe biking infrastructure in Chicago and across the US.
Events
The monthly Critical Mass ride draws thousands of participants in the summer months. Participants gather at Daley Plaza on the last Friday of every month at 5:30 PM for a free ride.
The
Each summer, the Mayor's Office of Special Events (MOSE) hosts Bike Chicago,[18] a series of bike friendly events around the city. MOSE and CDOT jointly operate the online calendar of events.[19]
References
- ^ Encyclopedia of Chicago
- ^ a b c September 2008 MBAC meeting minutes
- ^ MBAC meetings happen four times a year in March, June, September and December. Meeting minutes are posted online for 2007 and 2008. The first public involvement meeting was held on June 17, 2009. See Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council - Public Meeting
- ^ Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council - Past Meeting Minutes
- ^ Bicycling Magazine, article text
- ^ CTA's Bike & Ride website
- ^ "Tips & other things you should know" section of the CTA's Bike & Ride website
- ^ "Bikes on Trains". Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- ^ "Bike parking planned at four CTA stations"[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Meet Divvy". www.divvybikes.com. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
- ^ "Divvy expansion to bring 75 new stations and nearly 1,000 bikes to 10 more locations". 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2016-07-20.
- ^ "Year in preview: Housing, Crown, safety to command city's attention in 2016". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
- ^ Inklebarger, Timothy (2018-01-17). "Oak Park ends Divvy program". Wednesday Journal. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ Brettman, Allan (2005-06-23). "Official Recruits Portland To Build Bike Center". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- ^ Bike Parking website Archived 2009-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sheltered and Indoor bike parking at CTA stations Archived 2009-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Chicago Pedals Fast to Boost Reputation as Bike-Friendly City" A Fresh Squeeze Archived 2011-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bike Chicago
- ^ Bike Chicago 2009 Archived 2009-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Chicago Department of Transportation Bicycle Program - official website for the city's Bicycle Program. Report an abandoned bike, request a bike rack, request a bike map or other publication. Download informational brochures and read information on state and local cycling laws.
- Active Transportation Alliance - Major bicycle advocacy group, formerly known as Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
- The Chain Link Social network for Chicago cyclists.
- Chicago Critical Mass Archived 2013-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Decades-old massive monthly ride.
- ChicagoFitnessReport A local guide on various cycling clubs and events offered in Chicago.
- Chicago Bike Shop Database A listing of all bike shops in Chicago. Browse via list and Google Maps; leave rating and comments.
- McDonald's Cycle Center (formerly Millennium Park Bicycle Station)
- Chicago Bike Racing - information about amateur bike racing in the Chicago area
- Bike Winter Events and classes for riding in the winter
- Chicago Cycling Club
- Working Bikes Cooperative
- Chicago History Museum's article on early bicycling
Maps
- MassUp.us - Multi-function WebApp for Chicago cyclists.