Bikers welcome in Chicago
City provides cyclists with good roads, ample facilities, bike education

Andrew J. Scott/The Chronicle Named the best city for bicycling with a population of more than 1 million, Chicago hosts Bike Chicago during the month of May, giving bicyclists opportunities to ride and to discuss biking issues.

By Alicia Dorr
Staff Writer

With May as National Bike Month and Bike Chicago 2004 already underway, the city is flexing its bike-friendly muscles.

After almost two decades of work on the city, Bicycling magazine named Chicago the best city for bicycling with a population of more than 1 million in the United States in 2002. The magazine wrote, “Chicago has made incredible strides to become a great cycling town.”

Those strides are evident with every pedal. In the past decade ,Chicago has improved everything from bike lanes to its lakeshore path. Chicago is on its way to putting the 10,000th bike rack in the city, about double the amount in New York City.

According to Dan Korman, director of membership and communications for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, Chicago is the friendliest large city when it comes to bicycling.

“Not only has the city made huge strides in improving its roads and parking for bikes, but there is also a significant bicycling community in Chicago,” Korman said.

Chicago boasts everything from monthly rides with Critical Mass Chicago, the local chapter of a worldwide group, to the numerous clubs and organizations that cater to bikers. These groups work closely with the city and Mayor Richard M. Daley, a bicycling enthusiast himself, to continue changing the city.

In 1991, Daley established the Bicycle Advisory Council to better meet the needs of bikers in the city.

According to Brian Steele, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation Bike Program, the council and CDOT concentrate on three main areas—physical improvements, bicycling education and advocacy.

“It is a good investment on everyone’s part to make it easier, safer and more efficient for bikers,” Steele said. “The city wants to make biking a viable alternative to cars.”

One of Chicago’s ways of doing this is hosting Bike Chicago 2004, a three-month festival for bikers.

Throughout May, the city has scheduled panels on relevant problems bikers face, such as where the best paths for commuting are, as well as organized rides. The most notable ride is the annual Bike the Drive, where on May 30 the city will shut down Lake Shore Drive and allow bicyclists to ride it for almost five hours.

CDOT also takes suggestions on where the next bike racks should be put, which are free as long as they are installed by the city. The Bike Program receives many of their requests from business owners.

Beyond the bicycle racks, however, a new addition to Millennium Park will offer even more for bicyclists downtown. The Millennium Park Bike Station, a $3.1 million project, will offer storage for more than 300 bikes, a bike repair shop, showers and lockers for those who commute on bikes. Steele said the station will be the largest of its kind in the Midwest and is part of an ongoing campaign to advocate bike riding.

“Riding bikes reduces congestion, it improves air quality and promotes health and fitness,” Steele said.

Despite all of the things being done to improve Chicago for bicyclists, there are still challenges to riding in the city. Many bicyclists complain to CDOT about the metal grated bridges, which according to Steele cannot always be fixed because they are part moveable bridges. A continuing survey by the CBF has found that the biggest concern for bikers is motorists being unaware of them.

The city provides ongoing bicycling education and awareness classes through a group of volunteer bicyclists called the bicycle ambassadors. Matt Maloney, a bicycle ambassador and planning assistant for the CBF, said most reported bike crashes occur when a motorist opens their door into the bike lane, commonly referred to as “dooring.”

Maloney said suggestions have been made to better educate motorists to the fact that they are sharing the road, but in the meantime, bicycling activists are concentrating on educating children and interested adults on the dangers of biking in the city.

“Bicyclists need to be aware of the common ways they can be injured when riding, so they know what to do when they are on the streets,” Maloney said.