Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 27, 2011 at 11:27am

After Stone's past actions against cycling infrastructure, that race is of particular interest to me.  I'd love to see what could happen in the 50th ward with fresh leadership.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 27, 2011 at 11:50am

In the 24th and 25th wards, I confess that I'm not familiar with all the candidates.  Solis is certainly a familiar name.  I do remember an act of personal stupidity by Dixon.

 

Bike infrastructure improvements (racks, lanes and routes) could make a difference in boosting bike use in these wards.  I've noticed the increase in bike use there in recent years, which is very encouraging.  Perhaps some outreach to the candidates between now and the runoff election could make a difference in putting cycling on the candidates' agendas.

 

If I remember correctly, the downzoning in the 25th ward was billed as an anti-gentrification effort.  Howard - I get your point about density and community character.  I also understand Pilsen's fear of gentrification.  Balancing the two is definitely a challenge.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on February 27, 2011 at 2:07pm

Thanks for posting that. It made me read Stone's biography. It appears to me that Daley Meigs field actions were inspired by Berny's Wall. It would also put his actions to block the bridge over the North Shore Channel in perspective.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Fitz, Scrabblor on February 27, 2011 at 7:02pm

I don't follow your thoughts on the 25th ward election.  Morfin was in favor of the ward being down-zoned and you feel that that harms biking in the community.  Please explain further. 

 

Morfin has a firm line on midwest generation + stood with the parents of whittier.  Also, the man speaks as well of bicycle infrastructure as Solis seems to.  He still has my vote. 

H3N3 said:

Anne Alt said:

If I remember correctly, the downzoning in the 25th ward was billed as an anti-gentrification effort.  Howard - I get your point about density and community character.  I also understand Pilsen's fear of gentrification.  Balancing the two is definitely a challenge.

 

Ultimately the downzoning did absolutely nothing to fight gentrification-- all it did was give the alderman more power by increasing the percentage of zoning variances developers would need to seek, and the folks pushing it were not interested in having a broader understanding of the implications. Frustrating to watch.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on February 27, 2011 at 7:43pm

Paul Fitz, Scrabblor said:

I don't follow your thoughts on the 25th ward election.  Morfin was in favor of the ward being down-zoned and you feel that that harms biking in the community.  Please explain further. 

 

Morfin has a firm line on midwest generation + stood with the parents of whittier.  Also, the man speaks as well of bicycle infrastructure as Solis seems to.  He still has my vote. 

 

First, let me say that, if I were still living in the 25th Ward, I wouldn't vote for Solis, for many reasons, not the least of which is his blocking of the Clean Power Ordinance.  I hope that, regardless of the outcome, the runoff campaign draws more attention to that issue.

 

That said, however, I don't agree with his opponent on every issue, especially the downzoning proposal.  As Howard noted, it was completely counterproductive to its stated goal of preventing gentrification.

 

But to answer your question, the reason why downzoning hurts the cycling community, and the larger group of us who are working towards more equitable transportation options, is because low density encourages driving cars.

 

Below is a letter which appeared in the Chicago Journal back in March 2006, when the downzoning proposal was being debated.  It's signed by me but was the collective work of several Break the Gridlock members.

 

While we understand the goal and applaud the underlying message of the
Pilsen Alliance, development without displacement, we are disappointed
in the referendum proposed for the March 21st election suggesting that
Pilsen be down-zoned to RS3, which is a zoning classification intended
for single-family homes with a minimum lot size of 2,500 square feet per
unit. While this was introduced purportedly to "slow gentrification," we
believe that an RS3 zoning for Pilsen would actually cause
hyper-gentrification and destroy the current character and charm of the
Lower West Side faster than any other single development. The already
high land and building costs in Pilsen call for higher density, when
affordable units are included, not a decreased population density in
ever more expensive housing, which would result from their proposed
change.

Pilsen’s character has always stemmed from its dense population, created
by the preponderance of multi-unit dwellings, street life, vitality, and
small family-owned businesses. When you take away that density you lose
a "critical mass" of residents to support a corner store. Streets become
less safe because there are fewer eyes to watch out for problems.
Housing becomes more expensive and people stop walking because
everything is too far away.

Transit options also dry up because not enough people live along a bus
route or near a train station to support it. Residents are then forced
to drive to a national chain store engulfed by a sea of asphalt to get a
gallon of milk.

Instead of a vibrant urban community with street life and vitality, you
have a lifeless suburb within the city. We do not want to be a
nondescript part of town that you drive through quickly to get from one
place to another. While the intent of this referendum is well meaning,
it has been so poorly thought out that the result is counter to the
stated goal.

While the result of the referendum is not binding and is likely to be
dismissed as uneducated posturing by the alderman and city, we still
urge the residents of Pilsen to take pause. Please think about the
qualities that grant Pilsen its unique charm. Let’s make a commitment to
an educated approach to preserving Pilsen’s character as we move
forward. We call upon the Pilsen Alliance to inform, educate, and
empower the people of Pilsen rather than continue to mislead them.

Dan Korn
Break the Gridlock

 

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Permalink Reply by Paul Fitz, Scrabblor on February 27, 2011 at 9:04pm

Thanks for posting that, Dan.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 28, 2011 at 6:15am

It's unfortunate that the downzoning measure worked out that way.  As you've described it, the current zoning could open the door to more pay-to-play action by developers and ultimately more corruption if the alderman was open to this.

H3N3 said:

Anne Alt said:

If I remember correctly, the downzoning in the 25th ward was billed as an anti-gentrification effort.  Howard - I get your point about density and community character.  I also understand Pilsen's fear of gentrification.  Balancing the two is definitely a challenge.

 

Ultimately the downzoning did absolutely nothing to fight gentrification-- all it did was give the alderman more power by increasing the percentage of zoning variances developers would need to seek, and the folks pushing it were not interested in having a broader understanding of the implications. Frustrating to watch.

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Permalink Reply by J.P. on February 28, 2011 at 7:54am

I live in the 50th, and have suffered under Stone for quite a while now. I know about the whole cycling overpass Stone blocked (presumably because he wasn't properly included in the decision process). The current setup is a mess, because if you come from the north down the North Canal trail you have cross the bridge by Lincoln Ave, either on the sidewalk, on the street against traffic, or cross the 4 lane street, cross the bridge (with traffic) and cross the same 4 lanes again. Very unfortunate however that the runner up now is same type of crony, Silverstein's wife, whose only qualification is that she sleeps with the state senator.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 28, 2011 at 8:00am

Walk Bike Transit's work is ongoing.

H3N3 said:

Well, I live a few feet outside of the 25th so I don't really have a need to choose a candidate (would be perfectly happy to support an opponent of Solis if that opponent promised to be better in any way) but we do have an opportunity to make sure they're thinking about and talking about issues that matter to us.

Anyone had any contact with Walk Bike Transit? Anyone know of any further plans, or does that effort go on hold now?

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 28, 2011 at 8:03am

We can only hope that Silverstein isn't as much of an ostrich as Stone.  It sounded like Brewer had the potential to be a big improvement on bike and ped issues.  Too bad he ended up in 3rd place.

J.P. said:

I live in the 50th, and have suffered under Stone for quite a while now. I know about the whole cycling overpass Stone blocked (presumably because he wasn't properly included in the decision process). The current setup is a mess, because if you come from the north down the North Canal trail you have cross the bridge by Lincoln Ave, either on the sidewalk, on the street against traffic, or cross the 4 lane street, cross the bridge (with traffic) and cross the same 4 lanes again. Very unfortunate however that the runner up now is same type of crony, Silverstein's wife, whose only qualification is that she sleeps with the state senator.

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Permalink Reply by jennifer james on February 28, 2011 at 8:39am

ALderman Solis has absolutely stepped up to growing cycling in the 25th ward. At coffees I attended last month he talked about cycletrack through the 25th possibly along Blue Island from his new Arts district to the UIC-even in a room that could care less about bikes. He seems very excited since he held his first ward ride this fall to see that cyclists are a real part of his ward and that  businesses would benefit greatly from growing infrastructure in the ward. I think that this is a surprising opportunity. I've lived in the ward for ten years and find that I care about the election for the first time in a while. I think this is a good time for anyone that cares about bikes in the 25th to seek out an opportunity to ask Solis where he sees the role of cycling in his ward and consider which candidate might be committed to growing cycling now not only in the ward but in greater Chicago as well.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on February 28, 2011 at 3:35pm

Not trying to get off-topic, but the situation you describe can be easily avoided by going east on Devon, and then south on Kedzie. No need to twice cross 4-lanes of traffic

J.P. said:

I live in the 50th, and have suffered under Stone for quite a while now. I know about the whole cycling overpass Stone blocked (presumably because he wasn't properly included in the decision process). The current setup is a mess, because if you come from the north down the North Canal trail you have cross the bridge by Lincoln Ave, either on the sidewalk, on the street against traffic, or cross the 4 lane street, cross the bridge (with traffic) and cross the same 4 lanes again. Very unfortunate however that the runner up now is same type of crony, Silverstein's wife, whose only qualification is that she sleeps with the state senator.

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