Take a two-wheeled ride into the future

The recent announcement of Mayor Daley's planned cross-country bicycle trip vividly demonstrates the recreational and health benefits of cycling, as well as Daley's altruistic nature in using the trip to raise money for charity. However, Chicago's cycling community may well wonder why the mayor is willing to ride the highways from coast to coast but will not ride the streets of his own city.

Even though the Daley administration has provided many amenities for cyclists, including the omnipresent bike racks and miles of new bike lanes, these efforts have failed to confront a harsh reality--Chicago's car-clogged streets discourage many would-be urban cyclists, including the mayor himself.

While Daley enjoys bike riding on the quiet back roads near his Michigan cottage or his cross-country trip, the city transportation system worsens with the malignant neglect of CTA and the increase of downtown traffic.

To be fair, Daley inherited a city with a long history of transportation inequity and skullduggery. Back in the '40s, Chicago's streetcars, which provided clean, cheap and convenient transportation, were bought up by General Motors and destroyed in order to force consumers to buy its vehicles. The company was let off with a token fine of $5,000, but 50 years later we still live with this legacy of government complicity in corporate abuse as road infrastructure proliferates and public transportation crumbles.

As Daley begins the new millennium with his two-wheeled journey, Chicago transportation advocates also want to inspire a new era of transportation dialogue. There is a better way, a transportation policy that promotes bicycles and public transportation: modes that pollute less, cost less, save time and resources--and just plain make more sense. To dramatize their concerns, Chicago cyclists and public transportation advocates have targeted the most blatant symbol of our Byzantine transportation system--the Chicago Auto Show. Hundreds will cycle from Daley Plaza at noon Feb. 12 and farther for a demonstration at the entrance to the show at McCormick Place.

It's time to take the exit ramp from a bankrupt transportation legacy and blaze a new path into the 21st century, where bikes and public transit prevail, improving the quality of life for all.

Michael Burton, chairman, Chicago Bike Winter

Jim Redd, treasurer, Critical Mass Legal Defense Fund

January 10, 2000 Chicago Sun Times
Letters to the Editor
401 N. Wabash
Chicago, IL 60611

To the Editor:

The recent announcement of Mayor Daley's planned cross country bicycle trip vividly demonstrates the recreational and the health benefits of cycling, as well as Daley's altruistic nature in using the trip to raise money for charity. However, Chicago's cycling community may well wonder why the Mayor is willing to ride the highways from coast to coast, but will not ride the streets of his own city.

Even though the Daley administration has provided many amenities for cyclists, including the omnipresent bike racks and miles of new bike lanes, these efforts have failed to confront a harsh reality-Chicago's car-clogged streets discourage many would-be urban cyclists including, apparently, the Mayor himself.

While Daley enjoys bike riding on the quiet back roads near his Michigan cottage or on his cross country trip, the city transportation system worsens with the malignant neglect of CTA and the increase of downtown parking spaces.

To be fair, Daley inherited a city with a long history of transportation inequity and skullduggery. Back in the 1940s, Chicago's street cars, which provided clean, cheap and convenient transportation, were bought up by General Motors and destroyed in order to force consumers to buy its vehicles. The company was let off with a token fine of $5,000, but fifty years later we still live with this legacy of government complicity in corporate abuse as road infrastructure proliferates and public transportation crumbles.

While GM got off cheap, Chicagoans continue to pay dearly for this crime. Cars are the major source of Chicago air pollution, causing countless respiratory illnesses, especially in children and the elderly. Chicago families spend two to three times as much on transportation as their European counterparts. Forty percent of Chicago's land area is wasted on asphalt to accommodate cars while drivers waste millions of hours stuck in traffic gridlock each year. But by far, the biggest price is the one we pay in the form of violent automobile deaths (40,000 nationwide annually) and injuries (2 million).

As Mayor Daley begins the new millennium with his two-wheeled journey, Chicago transportation advocates also want to inspire a new era of transportation dialogue. There is a better way, a transportation policy that promotes bicycles and public transportation-modes that pollute less, cost less, save time and resources, and just plain make more sense. To dramatize their concerns, Chicago cyclists and public transportation advocates have targeted the most blatant symbol of our Byzantine transportation system-the Chicago Auto Show. Hundreds will cycle from Daley Plaza on February 12 at noon and gather for a demonstration at the entrance to the show at McCormick Place.

It's time to take the exit ramp from a bankrupt transportation legacy and blaze a new path into the twenty-first century, where bikes and public transit prevail, improving the quality of life for all!

Michael Burton
Chair
Chicago Bike Winter