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On the tenth anniversary of the opening of Chicago’s first protected bike lane, Active Trans will be hosting a rally for safer streets for biking on Friday, June 25 at the Thompson Center at 5:00 p.m. Please join us by showing up by bike and wearing green if possible!

Our goal is to shine a light on the lack of progress we have seen towards a citywide bike network for all ages and abilities and to call on the city to deliver more protected bike lanes now. Protected bike lanes are proven to save lives, reduce injuries, and encourage more people to use bicycles as everyday transportation. Ten years ago today, the city installed the first protected bike lane on Kinzie Street. Shortly afterward, it published a plan to install a connected network of protected bike lanes throughout the city. 

What has happened since is a familiar story. Only 25 miles of protected bike lanes have been installed, a fraction of the network envisioned in the city’s community-informed bike plan. And what has been built is largely concentrated in and around downtown.  

The city’s new capital plan is providing a chance to change this story by providing an unprecedented level of funding for new bike lanes.  

But we haven’t heard anything about how the city will use these funds to build the network of protected bike lanes we were promised 10 years ago.  

We can’t wait any longer. It’s time to stop making excuses and starting building.  

We urge Mayor Lightfoot, CDOT Commissioner Gia Biagi, and aldermen across the city to: 

  1. Upgrade existing protected bike lanes so they're better protected and more comfortable 

  1. Install 10 miles of protected bike lanes on Chicago spoke routes by 2023 

  1. Install 30 miles of protected bike lanes on Chicago spoke routes by 2026

 

Questions? Email jim@activetrans.org