Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by dan brown on September 7, 2012 at 8:52am

interesting. I used to live in Lombard (just north of oakbrook) and cars are treated like UFOs out there.

public transportation is 99% non-existent; and that suburb is so pedestrian un-friendly it's embarrasing.

 

kind of reminds me of what L.A. is probably like.

 

once I had to take a PACE bus to sears auto center at oak brook mall and was treated like a prisoner.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 7, 2012 at 9:08am

Sounds like it's worth a few letters or a petition to Oakbrook Mall management by anyone who needs to ride there halfway regularly.  It may be worth trying to get a bunch of folks ask for a few bike racks. 

The Merchandise Mart used to be this bad - no racks anywhere and warning notes or stickers from security to the effect that offending bikes would be confiscated if locked there again.  I'm not sure if it was requests, change of management, or a mix of the two, but now the Mart has bike racks in multiple locations.

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Permalink Reply by Heather on September 7, 2012 at 9:11am

I work across the street and noticed this situation. One of the things I hate about it here is how pedestrian and bike un-friendly it is. Ironically there's a bike trail not too far away.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on September 7, 2012 at 9:14am

I can't even imagine how you could get a bicycle to Oakbrook Mall without a helicopter.

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Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on September 7, 2012 at 9:20am

I sometimes take a bus to Lincolnwood Town Center and proceed from their on the bicycle.   They actually have a single rack (at least all that I have seen) of the "new Chicago double U" style.    It was chock-a-block and no other spaces were available.  I wasn't parking, so it wasn't an issue.  I have noticed, however, that bicycle parking is getting tighter and tighter and those "double" racks on CTA, PACE and the RTA are beginning to look "inadequate" to handle the demand....

As for the Oakbrook Mall, I guess we should just take our bicycles to the security office and ask them to watch them when we shop.   Might be an interesting "Critical Mass" outing to a Shopping Center and ask why they don't have racks.   It doesn't hurt to ask.  My old office building didn't have racks.  I asked, they installed one.  A nice long multiple U rack.  The management company changed and half of the rack was cut away.   (I have since moved and since I am on the ground floor, the bicycle comes inside and spends the day at work....)

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Permalink Reply by Will on September 7, 2012 at 9:26am

Haha, Kevin! It's actually not that difficult to ride a bike through there, if you didn't also put yourself in danger of getting tazed by mall security.

Kevin C said:

I can't even imagine how you could get a bicycle to Oakbrook Mall without a helicopter.

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Permalink Reply by bk (aka: Dr. Mambohead) on September 7, 2012 at 3:16pm

ok.... be honest beloved!!!... what would have happened to those 'oakbrook' bikes if the were 'properly' parked in the loop for a couple nights?

Cook, Kane, DuPage, McHenry, and Lake county... I've rolled them all. Oddly? I have observed advantages and disadvantages in every chicagoland locale... turns out we live in an imperfect world. Shocking. Crazy talk, as usual... I know!

Us... them.... theirs.... ours.... Arbitrarily defined, self-imposed boundaries and labels are historically a fantastic and productive source for getting lots of things done... Ask any gang-banger... the Aztecs... or Poland... Or what is left of of Native American culture!

Either we are in this thing together or we are not.

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Permalink Reply by Gerry G on September 7, 2012 at 4:00pm

+1

bk (aka: Dr. Mambohead) said:

Either we are in this thing together or we are not.

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