Is coronavirus changing biking in downtown Chicago? - The Chainlink2024-03-29T12:04:15Zhttps://thechainlink.org/forum/topics/is-coronavirus-changing-biking-in-downtown-chicago?commentId=2211490%3AComment%3A1135823&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThe optics of this are an abs…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-04-13:2211490:Comment:11364442020-04-13T22:23:46.247Zketoguychicagohttps://thechainlink.org/profile/ketoguychicago
<p>The optics of this are an absolute disaster:</p>
<p>Pandemic and death = cycling</p>
<p>What's happening is that we get the correlation of lost jobs, lost businesses, wide-spread illness and a few trillion more in the national debt, but hey, "Hurray for us on our bikes!"</p>
<p>Cycling is better off if we don't have it portrayed as something that happens at the expense of life and prosperity. "A welcome reclamation moment?" as that New York gridlock guy is quoted? He actually said…</p>
<p>The optics of this are an absolute disaster:</p>
<p>Pandemic and death = cycling</p>
<p>What's happening is that we get the correlation of lost jobs, lost businesses, wide-spread illness and a few trillion more in the national debt, but hey, "Hurray for us on our bikes!"</p>
<p>Cycling is better off if we don't have it portrayed as something that happens at the expense of life and prosperity. "A welcome reclamation moment?" as that New York gridlock guy is quoted? He actually said "<em>welcome</em>" if we've to believe the NYTimes. </p>
<p>It does make sense to make emergency re-use of certain space (McCormick Convention Center is a FEMA hospital for instance) and while schools, parks and the lakefront trails are closed in part because the city doesn't want to look like the Florida news footage of people mobbing the beaches on spring break. So there's an opportunity to get kids out of the house and walk around a bit since the city can't manage the parks or the lakefront, and can grasp these broader points.</p>
<p>However the context here is 10% rising unemployment, colleagues, family and friends dying, and from the looks of that picture, people doing anything but keeping 6 feet apart, never mind that the guideline might soon be revised. <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/small-study-finds-coronavirus-travels-on-shoes-may-be-found-in-the-air-up-to-13-feet-from-patients/">https://wgntv.com/news/coronavirus/small-study-finds-coronavirus-travels-on-shoes-may-be-found-in-the-air-up-to-13-feet-from-patients/</a></p>
<p>When things blow over, it sort of begs for curtailing walking and cycling in the name of economic growth with the shoe on the other foot. Meanwhile, we can just hear the people in the suburbs clapping back at urban planners who criticize suburban sprawl. </p>
<p>As has been noted elsewhere in this thread (and with the congested trails thread) we already have had drastic reduction in car traffic, and can ride with so many fewer cars with little intervention at all unfortunately, given all that's happening. </p>
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<p></p> Cities Close Streets to Cars,…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-04-13:2211490:Comment:11363192020-04-13T12:35:56.966ZBob Kastigarhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/BobKastigar
<div class="css-1vkm6nb ehdk2mb0"><h1 class="css-1s4ffep e1h9rw200" id="link-60d39f7c">Cities Close Streets to Cars, Opening Space for Social Distancing</h1>
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<p class="css-ns7wfp e1wiw3jv0" id="article-summary">Boston, Minneapolis, Oakland and other cities have temporarily banned through traffic on streets, giving pedestrians and cyclists extra elbow room during the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
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<div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">With…</p>
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<div class="css-1vkm6nb ehdk2mb0"><h1 id="link-60d39f7c" class="css-1s4ffep e1h9rw200">Cities Close Streets to Cars, Opening Space for Social Distancing</h1>
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<p id="article-summary" class="css-ns7wfp e1wiw3jv0">Boston, Minneapolis, Oakland and other cities have temporarily banned through traffic on streets, giving pedestrians and cyclists extra elbow room during the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
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<div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">With roads cleared of traffic because of the coronavirus pandemic, some cities across the country have repurposed streets into car-free zones, giving pedestrians and cyclists extra room to spread out and practice social distancing.</p>
<p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">Cities including Boston, <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://www.minneapolisparks.org/news/2020/03/27/minneapolis-park-and-recreation-board-announces-lake-harriet-parkway-and-lake-nokomis-parkway-closures-to-help-trail-users-maintain-social-distancing/" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Minneapolis</a> and Oakland, Calif., have closed streets to through motor traffic. Others <a class="css-1g7m0tk" href="https://twitter.com/BlineTransport/status/1248048199601999875" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">are extending sidewalks</a> to make more space for pedestrians looking to stay at least six feet apart. And some municipalities are considering adopting similar measures.</p>
<p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">Samuel I. Schwartz, a consultant and former New York City traffic commissioner known as Gridlock Sam for his traffic-curbing efforts, supports the idea of car-free zones in the city.</p>
<p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0">“There is no more important resource in New York City and in all the dense cities after people than space,” he said on Saturday. “And cities are now dedicating 30 to 40 percent of their land areas to cars. This could be a welcomed reclamation movement.”</p>
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<p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/coronavirus-street-closures.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/coronavirus-street-closures.html?action=click&module=Latest&pgtype=Homepage</a></p>
<p class="css-exrw3m evys1bk0"><a href="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/04/12/multimedia/11xp-virus-streets1-print/11xp-virus-streets-pix1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/04/12/multimedia/11xp-virus-streets1-print/11xp-virus-streets-pix1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp&profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>
</div> back on topic- I rode to w…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-04-06:2211490:Comment:11362892020-04-06T21:41:01.668ZDavid Barishhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/DavidBarish
<p>back on topic- I rode to work today for a change of pace after two weeks of working from the dining room table. At a stop light on Kinzie from a distance of about three meters, I told the young woman in front of me that she was the first cyclist I had encountered at a light in 13 miles. There were few bikes cars, scooters, pedestrians and even dogs on the street. It was kind of weird, a little lonely, but certainly the safest commute I have had in a long time.</p>
<p>back on topic- I rode to work today for a change of pace after two weeks of working from the dining room table. At a stop light on Kinzie from a distance of about three meters, I told the young woman in front of me that she was the first cyclist I had encountered at a light in 13 miles. There were few bikes cars, scooters, pedestrians and even dogs on the street. It was kind of weird, a little lonely, but certainly the safest commute I have had in a long time.</p> Mayor Lightfoot should enact…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-04-04:2211490:Comment:11362012020-04-04T14:26:25.600ZDerferMarkhttps://thechainlink.org/profile/DerferMark
<p>Mayor Lightfoot should enact something like this:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.twincities.com/2020/04/03/st-paul-temporarily-converts-three-streets-to-bike-and-pedestrian-trails-during-stay-at-home-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.twincities.com/2020/04/03/st-paul-temporarily-converts-three-streets-to-bike-and-pedestrian-trails-during-stay-at-home-order</a></p>
<p>Mayor Lightfoot should enact something like this:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.twincities.com/2020/04/03/st-paul-temporarily-converts-three-streets-to-bike-and-pedestrian-trails-during-stay-at-home-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.twincities.com/2020/04/03/st-paul-temporarily-converts-three-streets-to-bike-and-pedestrian-trails-during-stay-at-home-order</a></p> Today I was on Damen approach…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-04-04:2211490:Comment:11360622020-04-04T00:50:10.124ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>Today I was on Damen approaching 95th on a green light. I was about to enter the intersection when some dumbass driver (who had been at a full stop) suddenly decided to run the red in front of me. Charming, eh?</p>
<p>Today I was on Damen approaching 95th on a green light. I was about to enter the intersection when some dumbass driver (who had been at a full stop) suddenly decided to run the red in front of me. Charming, eh?</p> That's great!tag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-29:2211490:Comment:11357532020-03-29T12:03:39.398ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>That's great!</p>
<p>That's great!</p> I'm seeing a mixed bag here i…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-29:2211490:Comment:11360322020-03-29T12:03:21.882ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>I'm seeing a mixed bag here in Beverly and Morgan Park - increased speeding, increased running of stop signs and red lights (often without slowing down at all for intersections), but also more drivers stopping to yield for peds in crosswalks and more drivers letting me go first at 4-way stops when I'm riding.</p>
<p>I'm seeing a mixed bag here in Beverly and Morgan Park - increased speeding, increased running of stop signs and red lights (often without slowing down at all for intersections), but also more drivers stopping to yield for peds in crosswalks and more drivers letting me go first at 4-way stops when I'm riding.</p> Sorry to hear it. Hope you ca…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-29:2211490:Comment:11357512020-03-29T12:01:35.469ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>Sorry to hear it. Hope you can stay safe Ernesto.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear it. Hope you can stay safe Ernesto.</p> Not a bad idea.tag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-29:2211490:Comment:11360732020-03-29T12:00:34.251ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>Not a bad idea.</p>
<p>Not a bad idea.</p> If people push the envelope a…tag:thechainlink.org,2020-03-29:2211490:Comment:11360312020-03-29T11:59:49.866ZAnne Althttps://thechainlink.org/profile/Anne91
<p>If people push the envelope and continue to have group rides in spite of public health recommendations, we may end up this way. Just my $0.02...</p>
<p>If people push the envelope and continue to have group rides in spite of public health recommendations, we may end up this way. Just my $0.02...</p>