South Side Critical Mass ride comes to Beverly on Fri. 8/1

 

A few Divvy tips

I'm glad to see people riding Divvy bikes in Beverly, Morgan Park and other nearby neighborhoods. Unfortunately, some folks seem to need a refresher on how to lock up bikes at the end of their trips.

Pedal-only Divvy bikes need to be docked in a Divvy station (91st St. Metra, 99th St. Metra, 107th St. Metra, Beverly Arts Center and other locations). 

E-Divvy bikes can be locked up at other locations, but they need to be locked to a fixed object - Divvy station, bike rack, sign post, fence, etc. Because our ward has fewer stations, there is no additional fee for ending a trip in a location other than a Divvy station.

In the street or in the middle of a sidewalk is NOT a valid place to leave a Divvy bike at the end of a trip. Leaving the bike in Evergreen Park or another location outside the service area (Chicago and Evanston) can get you dinged for $25.  If a bike is left outside the service area at the end of a trip, it is disabled until retrieved by a Divvy employee.  

Please lock up the bike the right away at the end of your trip to help prevent damage, sidewalk blockage, or unavailability. A little courtesy goes a long way.

miracles can happen

I reported previously about the lack of bike racks at the newish Whole Foods store at Evergreen Plaza. I hadn't been there in a while, because walking there is so miserable and driving isn't any better.

Of course, it would be better without merchandise partially
blocking the rack. I'm just glad to see the rack.

It was a nice treat finding this rack after requesting one for months.  If you want to ride there, safest bike access is from 99th St. via Campbell, Maplewood or Artesian to 98th, then across the parking lot.

tomorrow night - community conversation about Divvy on 10/30

next week - community conversation about Divvy on 10/30

Could you spend a minute or two taking a survey to give the Divvy folks a bit of info about where you like to ride and how you might use Divvy?  Here's the link.

Divvy survey

The team working on Divvy community outreach has created a survey to get information from people in the neighborhood - how they might use Divvy, what they know about the program so far, where they'd like stations, etc.

Click here to take the survey. It only takes a minute or two.

Thank you for offering information to help Divvy bring us the best experience for our neighborhood.

save the date - Divvy community conversation on Wed. 10/30

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail meeting on Monday 9/16

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail will meet at Ridge Park fieldhouse, 1817 W 96th St., from 7-8:30 pm on Monday 9/16. Topics will include recent events, trail improvements, proposal for new bike parking and Divvy expansion.

Anyone is welcome. Bring your ideas. We'd love to see more people get involved.

fundraiser for Major Taylor Trail on 8/10

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail, with help from Community Neighborhood Improvement Project, will be having a fundraising event on Sat. 8/10. The date of the event marks the 120th anniversary of Marshall "Major "Taylor winning the world 1-mile championship in Montreal, defeating Boston rival Tom Butler.

Choose from ride options of 5, 26, 30, 44, 50, 64, or 89 miles -- mix and match your choice of five segments to customize your experience.  

If you enjoy the trail, please sign up to help support our efforts to improve it.

Registration link for the event:
https://www.active.com/chicago-il/cycling/major-taylor-trail-keepers-2019

Registration and check in is from 7-7:30. A tribute to Major Taylor and special presentation is from 7:30-7:55am. All rides start at 8:00 a.m. at 115th St. just west of Halsted. All riders follow the Major Taylor Trail south and cross the Little Calumet River Bridge -- featuring the largest Major Taylor mural ever created -- into Whistler Woods.

At the start/finish location, there will be a bike rodeo for the children, a health awareness expo with free screenings and information, and a back-to-school festival.

Starting at 10 am at 115th and Halsted, you can test ride one of the new style Divvy bikes, talk to Divvy reps about where you'd like to see stations, and talk to CDOT reps about where you'd like to see bike routes in your neighborhood.

Intelligentsia Cup bike race in Beverly on Friday 7/19

Hard to believe it's July already and time for the Intelligentsia Cup bike races in Beverly.

The first race starts at 4:15 pm and the last one at 7:25 pm. Like last year, the festival (with food and drink vendors and live music) will be in the St. Barnabas parking lot - east side of Longwood at 101st Pl.

Click here for more info (full schedule, etc.).

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail meeting on Mon. 7/15

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail will meet at Ridge Park fieldhouse, 1817 W 96th St., from 7-8:30 pm on Monday 7/15. Topics will include upcoming events, trail improvements, proposal for new bike parking and Divvy expansion.

Anyone is welcome. We'd love to see more people get involved.

Ride of SIlence on Wed. 5/15

Ride of Silence is an international event that commemorates the loss of bicyclists' lives from traffic violence. There are rides at several locations in the Chicago area on Wednesday evening.

The Chicago ride starts at Daley Plaza in the Loop. Click here for info.

The Oak Lawn ride starts at the Metra station on 95th St.  Click here for info.

You can find other locations and information here.

No one deserves to die in a crash. Let's remember those who were lost in crashes. With more awareness and safer street designs, I hope that we have fewer deaths in future years.

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail meeting Mon. 9/17

If you're interested learning more about future events and helping to work for better conditions on the Major Taylor Trail, please join us on Monday night (9/17, 7 to 8:30 pm) at Ridge Park fieldhouse.

https://www.thechainlink.org/events/friends-of-the-major-taylor-trail-meeting-732

98th and Winchester update #3

I previously posted about a sinkhole at 98th and Winchester that wasn't properly covered, creating a hazard.

Last night there was a bigger steel plate and construction horses, forcing traffic around the plate. This morning there was a crew working to fix the sinkhole - yeah!!!

Vincennes update

I posted recently about a hazard created by a half-finished project along the Vincennes bike lane.  A few days I noticed that one of the spots was fixed. I took a trip over the weekend and confirmed that ALL the trenches have been filled. 

Thank you to Alderman Brookins and CDOT for taking care of this hazard..

Major Taylor Trail ride on Sat. 10/21

Join us for a bike ride on Sat. 10/21.

Facebook event link - please respond here to let us know you're coming!

Map link here

Link for Wild Blossom grand opening, including ticket info.

98th and Winchester update #2

It's been a week and the plate is already starting to move. Soon the sinkhole will be uncovered again. There are no bolts holding it in place, only the ridge of asphalt. Why can't they put some bolts in already?

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I got a response from the alderman's office yesterday. This morning I found that the plate had been moved. There's a ridge of asphalt around it. Can't tell if they anchored it with any bolts, but I'm guessing that they didn't. We'll see how long this lasts before the plate moves again.

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If you're passing through the intersection of 98th and Winchester in the near future, watch out for this.

A sinkhole opened up recently.  The city obviously knows about it, because it got covered by a steel plate. Unfortunately they didn't properly secure the plate - in this intersection with no stop signs and plenty of speed-through traffic - so the plate shifted. This is how it looked around 6 p.m. on Thursday night.

I emailed this to the alderman's office first this this morning, but they're taking a 4-day weekend, so nobody responded to email or a phone call attempt. I reported it through 311, but I'm not counting on anyone getting to it right away.

Use caution if you're walking, biking, jogging or driving through this intersection.  Hitting this the wrong way could cause serious injuries.

hazard in Vincennes bike lane - or - a job half done

A few weeks ago, I spotted something on my Metra ride home that was baffling and disappointing.

In some spots along the east side of Vincennes, there are little areas of concrete that aren't connected by any sidewalk. They look like they might have been bus stops at some point. Are these used at all now, or are they just remnants?

One of several new ADA ramps with unfilled trenches in the northbound bike lane

At several locations along the northbound side of Vincennes from 95th to 89th, new ADA curb ramps were installed at these concrete remnants. There's a narrow trench along the right edge of the bike lane at each of these locations. Someone threw a bit of loose asphalt in the trench right at the bumpy part of the ramp, but the rest of each trench is unfilled - a potential hazard if someone riding in the bike lane doesn't see it before they hit it.

The thing that makes it more baffling is that the curb ramp installations on the west side of the street were completed with asphalt that was properly packed down, as seen in the photo below.

Vincennes at 89th St

I reported this to contacts at CDOT and never got any response. This week I reported it again - to CDOT and the 21st ward office. No response so far.

C'mon folks, can't this job be finished properly before winter to eliminate this hazard? Please make the northbound Vincennes bike lane safe again before we reach days of early darkness, when those most likely to get hurt are low income people of color who are riding for transportation.

If you're bothered by this, please share - on Twitter, Facebook or both. If you ride Vincennes or live in the 21st ward, please contact the 21st ward office.

a missed opportunity on 91st St.

After all the water and sewer work along 91st St. this summer, I hoped that the traffic diverter that was temporarily removed at 91st and Leavitt might be replaced with a smarter, more bike friendly design. Nope, same old STOOPID design.

These openings are wide enough for a confident bike rider, or perhaps a less confident one when the pavement is clean and in good condition. For a less confident rider in less favorable conditions, or for a senior riding a utility trike, these are less than adequate. A number of seniors in our neighborhood ride utility trikes like this one below for basic transportation. They should be able to ride safely through this intersection and others with diverters.

These Portland examples are much more suitable for accommodating bike traffic.

When infrastructure like these traffic diverters gets removed for construction, there should be an opportunity for public input for potential improvement.  We definitely need to see improvement at 93rd and Damen and at 94th and Leavitt whenever water and sewer work reaches those locations.

I'd love it if the diverter at 94th and Leavitt could be moved to 93rd. The fact that so much traffic is concentrated at 94th, only 1 block from the stoplight at 95th, causes a LOT of traffic conflict and often creates hazardous conditions for cyclists. This is one of only 2 direct street crossings with stoplights to get across 95th, so it's very important for bike use - and for everyone else trying to get across 95th.

bikes for basic transportation and as mobility devices

I was having a conversation with someone yesterday about the problem of drivers who think that bikes are only for recreation and should be out of their way, off the street. People who only drive and don't ride often fail to grasp the basic reasons why many people ride.

I know quite a few people who use bikes as their primary transportation and don't own cars. For them, a bike is for visiting friends, hauling groceries, taking young children to day care or school, and many other purposes.

Some people I know choose bikes for other reasons. If someone has a medical condition that makes it unsafe for them to drive (such as epilepsy or poor vision), they may ride because driving is not an option. Riding a bike gives them freedom and allows them to get around without having to depend on someone else to give them a ride.

A growing number of seniors use utility trikes as an alternative to driving - for grocery shopping, going to socialize with friends, to visit the library, etc.

Utility trike

Recumbent trike

I recently met a woman with multiple sclerosis whose ability to walk is very limited. She rides a recumbent trike and straps her cane on the side for use when she gets off the bike. She is able to drive, but she likes having another option that lets her gets some aerobic exercise and enjoy fresh air. A friend with epilepsy uses a recumbent trike as her favorite form of exercise and transportation.

Our bike infrastructure and traffic laws should accommodate all types of riders, regardless of what they ride and why they ride.