- Chicago's cycling community has exploded in recent years, and the city plans to add 150 more miles of lanes to accommodate this growth.
- However, the cycling boom has come with an increase in accidents and a spotlight on the lack of equal access between neighborhoods.
- These initiatives are working in tandem to connect communities that were historically underserved and overlooked by city planners.
Chicago has always been one of the most popular cycling cities in the country. However, it has not always been considered among the safest US cities to bike in, nor among the most equitable, particularly on the South and West sides of the city. Just along Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago's "Hipster Highway," there have been 50 reported crashes and three deaths since 2020 due to an uptick in traffic, neighborhood density, and reckless driving.
A recent study found that on average, Chicago's white neighborhoods had 50% more bike lanes than Black neighborhoods. In a September 2021 study, Jesus Barajas, an assistant professor of environmental science and policy at the University of California, Davis, found that from 2017 to 2019, cyclists riding in Chicago's Black neighborhoods were eight times as likely to be ticketed by police as those riding in white neighborhoods.
As a result, initiatives are underway to make cycling safer, more equitable, and fun for all Chicagoans.
Chicago cycling boom prompts changes in strategy
According to the Active Transportation Alliance, Chicago has experienced huge growth in bicycle commuting over the years, going from about 2,000 commuters in 1980 to nearly 24,000 commuters in 2018. Furthermore, Chicago saw a 34% increase in cycling amid the pandemic, and cycling continues to remain popular in the city, with over 16,500 riders having attended the 21st Annual Fifth Third Bike the Drive in 2022.
The new, ambitious Chicago Cycling Strategy from the Chicago Department of Transportation, worth over $17 million, includes expanding Chicago's bike network by designing and implementing 150 miles of low-stress bikeways over the next several years.
"CDOT recognizes that neighborhoods will not experience the vast benefits of biking until people have safe and convenient access to the places they need and want to go," Gia Biagi, CDOT's commissioner, said. "This approach has already been implemented in several West-side communities, where CDOT was able to triple the mileage of bikeways in Belmont Cragin and North Lawndale in just two years."
But while residents feel the strategy is a step in the right direction, some point out that it's going to take more than an ambitious plan from the city to make cycling more equitable.
"I think it's great that CDOT wants to engage the communities in which they are working for input, even calling themselves out for being too top-down in the past," Kevin Womac, the owner of Boulevard Bikes in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, said. "But it's also about changing attitudes and becoming more compassionate. Bikes are seen as not cool by too many folks. Cycling is seen as something rich white folks do on the weekend. And if you're cycling in the city as a commuter, you must be a loser/too cheap to buy a car. We need a paradigm shift."
Safety concerns keep cyclists on edge
Safety means more than implementing guardrails and cyclist-friendly trails. "I love cycling and use it as an escape," a 30-year-old Black cyclist who asked to remain anonymous said. "But I have to be careful when I'm out and very aware of my surroundings. It's always good to be aware of who and what is around you, in case you need an exit plan. Ride routes you know you'll be seen or heard if there's any trouble."
A 28-year-old Black cyclist agreed, adding: "Ride only in parts of the city you're familiar with. If you have friends that ride, ride together, if you have family members that are willing to ride, especially older ones, ride with them. And always share your location."
"I rarely see Black folks riding on our trails here," the 30-year-old cyclist added. Both cyclists asked to remain anonymous to maintain the privacy of their personal bike routes. Their identities are known to Insider.
Bike giveaways to eligible residents encourage lifestyle change
That said, data indicates that demand for bikes and adoption of the cycling lifestyle is expanding to more demographics in more regions of the city.
Earlier in the pandemic, Chicago launched a program to give away 5,000 bikes to eligible Chicago residents by 2026.
"More than 19,000 residents applied to the Bike Chicago program, demonstrating a clear demand for bikes and interest in cycling in every Chicago neighborhood, but a majority of applications having come from areas where residents face higher mobility hardship in Chicago," Biagi said. "CDOT has given away nearly 1,000 free bicycles and safety equipment already."
Furthermore, initiatives such as Learn To Ride also help encourage new cyclists to adopt biking as a lifestyle by providing free classes every summer for both adults and children to learn how to ride. Streets Are For Everybody ambassadors provide education and outreach to program participants. Junior ambassadors engage with 6- to 12-year-olds throughout the city at camps and community events, teaching kids biking and safety skills.
Green Corps provides an outlet for sustainable action
These programs have an overall positive impact on the community beyond cycling itself. Green Corps is a summer jobs program that connects Chicago youth with career and service opportunities in sustainability, which includes cycling. Green Corps participants have helped to assemble the bikes in the Bike Chicago program.
Womac said, "I understand that the bikes are being assembled by young mechanics at the bike co-op Working Bikes in Bridgeport. Here on the north side, West Town Bikes is also training 'at-risk youth' how to work on bikes and how to work in a shop with others. I know many alumni have gotten jobs maintaining the Divvy fleet, which is just about the best example of getting the community involved."
The future of Chicago cycling relies on an attitude shift
The success and longevity of these programs will rely on not only funding — whether it's keeping up with demand from the Bike Chicago program or meeting the initiatives laid out in the Chicago Cycling Strategy — but also overall support.
"The strategy is full of things to spend money on," Womac said. "These efforts are great things to talk about and lobby money for, but an attitude adjustment needs to happen across the whole country to really make cycling safer and more equitable."