A column in the Trib by John McCarron on Chicago's alleged "war on cars" is not to be missed. He's not really "anti-bicyclist" as much as he is "anti-everything-but-cars". In this short column, he ridicules Gabe Klein (who has the audacity to confess he's "making the city easier to traverse by cyclists and pedestrians"!!), biking to work, bike lanes, dedicated bus lanes, making decisions that are beneficial to health, and more. 

 

Very forward-thinking.

 

And this guy says he teaches a graduate level seminar in urban issues at Northwestern? NU might want to rethink that relationship. 

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"And this guy says he teaches a graduate level seminar in urban issues at Northwestern? NU might want to rethink that relationship."

 

Uh, yeah. 

 

Never heard of this troll before, but considering the fact I could get more profound insights from a half-drunk relative at Thanksgiving dinner who loves to hear themselves talk, why should I care what this idiot thinks?

 

I'm sure if you looked at this guys annual salary and how he spends his time, this rant would make perfect sense.  He's likely older in age, conservative, plenty of money, a little (a lot?) on the chunky side, and I dunno...loves to drive?  How else could you explain a piece with so few ideas and so much misguided angst towards exercise and cycling.  Or maybe he thought his cycling suit jokes were just too good not to be printed for the masses to enjoy? 

It's a poorly written opinion piece, which correctly identifies a serious problem; i.e. automobile congestion in the City in general, and the Loop in particular, but offers no practical solution for alleviating it. The author seems to discount bicycles, rapid CTA busses and back-door automobile "congestion pricing" as proposed solutions which won't work, but offers no alternative that will work. It's a rant that generates all heat and no light. I wouldn't worry about it.

I was hoping no one would honor the author by posting any comments at all, but of course, there are comments now. Happily, many of them are in favor of bicycling. Personally, I'm kind of over all aspects of the whole debate, but it will NEVER go away and likely will only intensify as our streets go more toward the complete streets ideal.

How do people who are that bad at writing and who are unable to support a point in a positive manner get jobs writing?

 

Simple, they simply write OPeds for the Trib.

notoriousDUG said:

How do people who are that bad at writing and who are unable to support a point in a positive manner get jobs writing?

 

 

hey -there is a great piece online in the New York times opinion page that is a perfect antidote to the thing in the Trib!

It's typical McCarron jackassery.  At least he's consistent in lacking a clue.

 

For a change, most of the comments are good ones.

ActiveTrans is asking people to write letters to the editor. 

Please send a letter to the Chicago Tribune today!

Truthfully, I was annoyed when Active Trans posted this request to the Discussion thread and I was annoyed when I got the email from Active Trans requesting that I send a letter. I do not believe this is an opinion piece which requires a response. 

Steven Vance said:

ActiveTrans is asking people to write letters to the editor. 

Please send a letter to the Chicago Tribune today!

Kevin C!  You took the words right out of my mouth. 

Now if the request was for letters with the intention of a whole new article, maybe.  I agree with H, that the article did not deserve the attention, and also.....that article was so "47 seconds ago" news, Michelle Stenzel saw it on Friday the 25th.

Now if the request was for letters with the intention of a whole new article, maybe.


I like that idea a whole lot better.  One of my biggest problems with the Trib is the lack of balance in opinions represented there.  I'd love to see a guest op-ed piece by someone who is NOT one of the usual cast of characters on their pages, and someone who isn't an Active Trans staffer, to help get the idea across that there are many regular people at the opposite end of the opinion spectrum from McCarron's views.

I love this comment "I don't think tourists come to Chicago to drive around in the Loop; that would be a pretty lousy vacation."

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