Another brilliant Aldermanic proposal-- $25 license and mandatory safety course for all cyclists in Chicago

Got a call from a Trib journalist for a reaction.... 3rd ward alderwoman, no time to look up the name which I'm blocking on. Sometimes this job interferes with my internet usage...

Anyone got anything?

How many times have we been here before....

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Permalink Reply by Andy J on October 24, 2013 at 6:03am

As a former city guy turned suburbanite, I would feel the same way I do about not having to line aldermen's pockets with fees from city wheel tax stickers - relieved.

Permalink Reply by Tom Dworzanski on October 24, 2013 at 6:41am

Probably the same way they enforce city stickers: ticket everyone without a sticker and make people prove their innocence.

Chitown_Mike said:

And how we would enforce it since they don't live here.

Permalink Reply by Sean Phalen on October 24, 2013 at 7:00am

You guys are thinking about this much more than the Alderman who proposed it. Sadly, these are not things she is required to think about before stating her proposal in a public forum where its taken seriously enough that it is covered. 


Chitown_Mike said:

I wonder how suburban cyclists would feel about having to register their bike in Chicago.  And how we would enforce it since they don't live here.


Marcus Moore said:

I wonder how a required "rules of the road" class would work for Divvy usage?...

Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on October 24, 2013 at 10:20am

Thanks for linking to our first blog post about this, Echo!

We just posted this blog (copied/pasted below) in response to the Kassh#le (subtle? professional?).

Thanks,

Ethan Spotts, Active Trans

John Kass: “Big newspaper man” at it again.

Kass-ti-gate /ˈkastəˌgāt/ verb, to reprimand (someone) severely in order to sell newspapers, i.e., "He was kasstigated for being a little bike person.”

Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass must have been beside himself with glee when Chicago Ald. Dowell, a real fan of cycling, got frustrated over a proposed cable TV fee and made an off-the-cuff remark about charging a $25 fee for bikes. 

Kass has championed this idea before as a way to make “little bike people” pay for all the benefits we give society by biking, and he seized upon her remarks in his column today. 

We like the alderman and support her goal to increase safety and to pay for transportation, but a bike fee doesn’t improve safety and will make little if any money once you pay to collect the fees. 

Check out our blog on this and my previous blog post in response to a similar rant from Kass. 


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Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on October 25, 2013 at 5:48am

You're absolutely correct, Lisa.

This is just more click bait for the Trib.



Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:

Frankly, I think that is one of his most obviously tongue in cheek pieces in recent time.  And he is quite grateful to Alderman Dowell for giving him the opportunity to jump back on this bandwagon.

Permalink Reply by Bryce Sabin on October 25, 2013 at 6:35am

You should pay a tax if you own a car and do not own a bike. As a carbon offset. 

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on October 25, 2013 at 6:40am

Could we also propose a tax credit for every bike we own?

Permalink Reply by djm on October 25, 2013 at 6:40am

Not to be outdone, East side alderman Frederic Ripley (51st) has proposed that all pedestrians in Chicago, both residents and non-residents, be required to purchase an annual pedestrian license and display it on the front of their outermost piece of clothing at all times when not traveling by vehicle within the city boundaries.  Ripley said, "A $20 pedestrian license will easily balance the city budget given Chicago's resident population and the many millions of visitors to our city.  Since the airports are owned by the city, all travelers disembarking flights at O'Hare and Midway airports will have to purchase a pedestrian license before entering the terminal even if they are only in transit."

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on October 25, 2013 at 6:44am

Had me for a second, there! Well done.  I suspect that Alderman Ripley is all wet.

djm said:

Not to be outdone, East side alderman Frederic Ripley (51st) has proposed that all pedestrians in Chicago, both residents and non-residents, be required to purchase an annual pedestrian license and display it on the front of their outermost piece of clothing at all times when not traveling by vehicle within the city boundaries.  Ripley said, "A $20 pedestrian license will easily balance the city budget given Chicago's resident population and the many millions of visitors to our city.  Since the airports are owned by the city, all travelers disembarking flights at O'Hare and Midway airports will have to purchase a pedestrian license before entering the terminal even if they are only in transit."

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on October 25, 2013 at 6:47am

Tanning Enthusiasts, hands down.

Cameron 7.5 mi said:

Looks like it's time to for our annual game of find a way to nickel and dime the other guy. What group without a large political power base is going to end up paying more this year? Cyclists? Smokers? Cable TV Viewers? Alcoholics? Drivers? Tourists? Tanning Enthusiasts? Junk Food Eaters? The list of possible narrowly focused fees that aren't technically tax increases is limited only by the aldermanic imagination. Coming up with creative new fees is way more fun than honestly discussing the city's finances.

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on October 25, 2013 at 6:54am

In fact a *lot* of Chicagoans do not either pay to register their car here nor do they buy the sticker.  Excuses regularly made are:

  1. I park in a private garage and the sticker is only for those who park on the streets overnight
  2. My car is registered at my parents house.
  3. My parents own the car (and it's registered at their house)
  4. I don't wanna.  Make me. 

A while back the Sun Times actually sent some investigative reporters into Gold Coast high-rises, I can't find it, but it is referenced here:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/sticker-stalkers/Content?oid=9...

notoriousDUG said:

You don't pay for registration for your car?  Or a city sticker?

Ava Ensign said:

This is proposed as a yearly fee. You don't even have to pay that to drive a car! I think it's ludicrous. Also, she states in the article that she wants it to replace the cable television tax hike. Yet again, I am disappointed to an extreme degree in the politicians of Chicago.

Paul Gnarlo said:

I would happily pay this fee to ride my bike in chicago if we had a full comprehensive dedicated/protected bike lane system throughout chicagoland just as cars do for roads. Because after all, bikes are just like cars right?

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on October 25, 2013 at 7:30am

If they install an elevated bicycle transportation system, then I will gladly fork over $$.$0 for the licensing of my pony to ride those rails through the wild west side protected from a blistering cold snowy day. 

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