Alderman Danny Solis talks about protected bike lanes, smog-eating lanes and his trip to Amsterdam

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Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on October 5, 2011 at 4:02pm

Bravo.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 5, 2011 at 5:29pm

Excellent topic, and thanks for bringing up Martha.

I'll give this another bump when I've had time to read.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on October 5, 2011 at 8:13pm

I'm glad that Martha Gonzalez and her death by a hit-and-run driver is still on people's radar. I was an almost-witness to that tragic crash. I arrived on the scene, going home to my apartment in Bridgeport, about 5 minutes after the collision. 

I wrote about the event in December 2009. 

 

I also love the bit about taking his bike on the water taxi. I thought the trip was $4, but $2 is a steal. I'm gathering thoughts on a future article about water transportation in Chicago. 

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 5, 2011 at 9:11pm

OK, read it now.

Very nice John. I agree with Danny on his stated priorities.  16th street would be my own personal dream for a dedicated bike/pedway of some sort exactly for the reasons he laid out.

It seems to be popular to rag on Solis but I've had consistently positive experience with him, including help from his office to get various things done (e.g. get businesses to keep there walks clear in wintertime, cleanups) and I get a friendly wave from him whenever I see him out and about (usually passing his house on my bike).

Blue Island is kind of an odd choice for the streetscape project.  The proximity to industry and commercial zoning means the population density is much lower along that stretch than most other roads, and it's dominated by truck traffic. I'm sure there are reasons it was chosen.  I heard a while back (?6 years ago) that Damen in the 25th ward was supposed to get this treatment and speculation about it was driving inflated property values east of Western.

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Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on October 6, 2011 at 1:10am

Thanks guys. Yeah, I was surprised that Solis has his fingers in more bicycle-related pies than I thought, in a good way.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 6, 2011 at 1:20am

Ugh- did I really?

h' said:

 (e.g. get businesses to keep there walks clear in wintertime

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Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on October 6, 2011 at 1:34am

The permeable pavement on Cermak will be great for absorbing emissions from the coal-burning power plant.

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Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on October 6, 2011 at 1:36am

We talked about the plant a bit. During the last election Solis endorsed the Chicago Clean Power Ordinance which would require the plant to close or switch to natural gas.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on October 6, 2011 at 1:45am

The "smog eating" bike and parking lanes only help with nitrous oxides, not the other junk that smoker spews. Here's what the paver looks like up close:

Dan Korn said:

The permeable pavement on Cermak will be great for absorbing emissions from the coal-burning power plant.

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