Mayoral Bike Plans

Chicago’s 125 miles of bike lanes cover a small portion of the city’s 5000 miles of roads. Rahm wants to dramatically increase the number of miles added each year – from 8 to 25 – and prioritize the creation of protected bike lanes. His plan is based on a simple premise: create a bike lane network that allows every Chicagoan – from kids on their first ride to senior citizens on their way to the grocery store – to feel safe on our streets.

Under the plan, Chicago would be a pioneer in the creation and expansion of protected bike lanes, which are separated from traveling cars and sit between the sidewalk and a row of parked cars that shield cyclists from street traffic. He will prioritize the lanes on major thoroughfares that link communities to downtown and each other.

The Bloomingdale Trail will be a 2.65-mile multi-use recreational trail built along an elevated rail line along Bloomingdale Avenue on Chicago’s northwest side. The tracks, which are currently unused, will be converted into a safe greenway that accommodates both pedestrian and bike travel, and connects the west side to existing bike lanes that feed into the Loop. There will be multiple access points that double as neighborhood parks and link the trail to existing bike and transit routes. The Damen and Western stops on the Blue Line, the Clybourn Metra station, and the North Avenue, Fullerton, Western Kedzie, Kimball, California, Milwaukee and Ashland busses all pass under, over or nearby the Trail. Thousands of Chicagoans will be able to use the trail to commute to work each morning, and it will serve as a safe route to school for thousands of children who attend one of the 12 public and parochial schools within easy walking distance.

The Trail will be the world's longest elevated trail and a major tourist draw, but more importantly it will significantly increase transportation options for residents on Chicago’s north west side. The cost – $75 million – will be shared by local, federal, corporate and non-profit partners.

Rahm is committed to having the trail built and functional during his first term. He will ensure the City is expediting review of all related permits, and will co-chair the committee to raise private capital for that portion of the fundraising effort. Because the Trail offers safe routes to schools and fits under the Obama administration’s sustainable communities initiative, Rahm will work to leverage federal dollars that are intended for these types of innovative pilot projects.

Safe bike lanes will help Chicagoans travel through the neighborhoods, but businesses and offices need places to safely store bicycles. Rahm will push an ordinance to change building codes for all office buildings with more than 200 tenants, requiring that they offer protected bike storage facilities at the rate of one spot for every 20 employees in the building. Under the plan, buildings will be able to work together to expand bike parking in the most cost-effective way possible. For new developments, Rahm will work with city departments and local developers to draft a change in the building code that would require secure bike parking based on the square-footage of the development, and offer incentives for increased bike parking, including a reduction in required car parking slots in exchange for enhanced bike parking facilities. He will also task his budget office with devising a plan to offer tax incentives for any company that offers shower and locker facilities on-site for bicycle commuters.

Rahm will also work to replace the bike parking that was lost in neighborhoods when 40,000 parking meters were removed and replaced with the current pay boxes. The meters served the dual purpose of providing a secure base to lock a bike. There are currently 12,000 bike racks, providing 24,000 spaces. Rahm will work to double that number by adding racks and sheltered bike parking in the neighborhoods and downtown to increase convenience and security for bikers who do not have parking at their buildings. Bike parking will be expanded at transit facilities, and co-planned with new car-sharing sites and walkability improvements to make it as easy as possible to get around without a car.