Episode 22: Transitized: Chicago transit, bikes, pedicabs

I sat down with Shaun Jacobsen, Chicago resident and author of the local blog, Transitized.  We learn about the city's transit system which consists mostly of elevated trains, a comprehensive network of slow buses running in mixed traffic, and an infant bike network consisting mostly of sharrows and "weasel lanes". Shaun explains how to redesign our streets for people and tells us where to find the money we're always told we don't have (hint: stop expanding highways and subsidizing car parking). Minku Sharma of the Vegan Pedicab Podcast is back in the second half to talk more about transit, street design and our pedicab experiences (including the big tire blowout).

This week's music is provided by the Weakerthans from Winnipeg.

Visit criticaltransit.com to find out more, follow the blog, make a donation or sponsor an episode to support this work and my ongoing Sustainable Transport Tour.  Spread the word and follow my work on facebook and twitter.  Please contact me if I may be passing through your city, or if you have suggestions on places to go or people to meet.

Libraries are a traveler's best friend

One of the difficulties of traveling while running a web site is the need to have regular internet access. A smartphone and wifi from the local cafe is usually sufficient, but sometimes you need an actual computer. I travel without a data plan so I need reliable wifi to make phone calls (from outside the quiet areas of course). Even small town libraries always have free wifi and a computer you can use for anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. And they can be good places to get work done on a rainy day since you can zone out and don't need to buy anything. This post comes to you courtesy of the Logan Square branch library in Chicago.

Transit & Chicago's United Center

Last night I visited the United Center -- home arena for the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, Bulls basketball team and many concerts -- for the first time. While I was mainly there to drive a pedicab, I did take note of the transportation network as I am known to do. What struck me most about the United Center is its poor access to transportation facilities. It is located two miles west of downtown and surrounded by giant parking lots (the grey areas on the map).

Even though it was built only 20 years ago, in one of the largest cities in North America, no provision was made for a rapid transit connection. The closest station is Illinois Medical District on the Blue Line but that's a pedestrian unfriendly 15 minute walk (from parking lots to an expressway median). The Pink Line travels within two blocks of the stadium but does not stop nearby.

The CTA runs a bus shuttle before and after the game -- Route 19, United Center Express -- to the downtown area for rapid transit and regional transportation connections. Yesterday there were four articulated buses staged to load as the game ended. That's a capacity of only 400 people. What about the rest of the 20,000 attendees?

It seems that, as a direct result of this built environment, most of them drive. There is no incentive to visit anything nearby and thus no disincentive to driving. In fact, both of the pedicab rides I got after the game were to nearby parking lots.

The developer of the stadium should have been required to build a Pink Line station on Madison Street, make pedestrian improvements on the route to the Blue Line, and pay for increased service before and after the game. I don't know if they pay for the bus shuttle but experience elsewhere suggests it's unlikely. The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ is an example of a stadium built recently with no parking facilities and funding for transit service.

Episode 21: Bikes & Pedicabs in Chicago

I've arrived in Chicago!  First up is my good friend and fellow bike nerd and pedicab driver, Minku Sharma, host of the Vegan Pedicab Podcast. We talk winter biking, rickshaws and other transportation related matters.

Enjoy our thoughts on some current events including the ongoing New York City school bus drivers strike (Citizen Radio), privatization of public services and parking meters, car sharing, red light cameras. We explain why bike advocates should not be excited about Obama's nominee for Secretary of the Interior and why it makes no sense to prevent his new Chief of Staff from biking to work.  The Colorado Supreme Court recently struck down one town's attempt to ban bicycling.

Please visit criticaltransit.com, follow me on Twitter @JeremyInTransit, at like the facebook page. Please support my Sustainable Transport Tour fundraising campaign on Indiegogo if you get something from this show and want to see it get even better and more frequent.

Down with the slush puddles

It's been a weird week. My former host cities in the northeast are seeing record snowfall and all I have here in the midwest in a bunch of slush. We tend to this of snow mounds, slush puddles and ice and necessary evils, but they don't have to be. It's only because we live in a society where cars come first and everyone else is an afterthought if even a thought at all. Notice how the street is completely clear but puddle and uncleared slippery sidewalk makes pedestrian facilities unavailable.

Slush (and rain) puddles can be essentially eliminated by raising the street up to the sidewalk level instead of ramping the curb down to the motor vehicle area. The rest of the hazards can be eliminated by expanding public snow clearing responsibilities to include public walkways. The current arrangement wherein we expect property owners to maintain abutting walkways causes snow to be dealt with in a haphazard fashion, unevenly and unpredictably, with some places being clear and others becoming a skating rink. I love to play hockey, just not on my way to the bus. Rarely do you see an entire street block cleared. It would be so much more efficient and effective if the city just drove a narrow snow plow down the sidewalk, for a miniscule fraction of the current auto-only snow clearing budget. Such a system would also motivate us to spend a summer fixing all the broken sidewalks so we could easily plow them.

Again, we send a very clear message by plowing the way for cars preemptively or within hours yet leaving everyone else to risk injury on hazardous walkways.

Protected (and unplowed) bike lane in downtown Chicago

I was happy to see this nice protected bike lane in the Chicago Loop today. Upon first glance it seems to be well designed, for two-way traffic with special signals and decent separation from motor vehicles. Unlike the Manhattan experience, nobody was walking in this lane when I rode through.

The only problem is that the city apparently forgot to clear the snow, which is unfortunate because it feeds the myth that you can't bike in the winter. It's clear that people are using this lane though.

UPDATE: Well, I guess it's not so well designed or enforced. Note the bicyclist in front of the cab arguing with the driver and passengers.

Many more posts are coming from Chicago but for now I'm just happy to see snow again. If you have any suggestions for post topics, including places I should go or people I should meet, please share.

Episode 20: Urban Rail Exploration with Adham Fisher

If you like riding transit as much as I do, you will enjoy my conversation with Adham Fisher, who travels to different cities to attempt record journey times on rapid transit systems. Adham held the Chicago L record until last year. He has also been to New York, Toronto, London, Newcastle, Paris and Barcelona, and tried his luck on the UK regional rail network. Follow Adham on Twitter @DirectionTravel.

This episode was put together on the Lake Shore Limited train. I am now in Chicago covering the local and regional transportation network and beginning my sustainable transport tour. More info on that in the coming days.

Episode 19: Time's Up bike activism, driving a pedicab, and the big tour announcement

After a brief recap of my experience driving a pedicab in Washington, DC during the presidential inauguration, I stopped by the Time's Up bike coop in Brooklyn to chat with Keegan about how bike activists can create the change we want to see in the city. Time's Up is an all-volunteer grassroots direct action environmental organization working to ensure access to safe, sustainable, affordable transportation for everyone. Get involved with Time's Up by joining rides, fixing bikes, and helping and networking with other activists in the broader struggle for social and economic justice. Learn more about bicycles, rickshaws and social justice from the Vegan Pedicab Podcast.

Lastly, an exciting announcement about the future of the show as a component of my sustainable transport tour.  The next stop is Chicago.  Please get in touch if you have anything to share with readers and listeners, and consider supporting my upcoming fundraising campaign if you like the idea and enjoy learning about sustainable transportation.

Episode 18: Washington, DC & Bikes on BART trains

This week I am at the annual TRB conference in Washington, DC, so I begin with a brief update on the city's newest transportation options. Most of the episode is my conversation with Steve Beroldo, a daily bike commuter and Manager of Access Programs at Bay Area Rapid Transit, about his efforts to better facilitate multimodal travel by integrating bikes and trains. We hear about some innovative secure bike parking facilities, a pilot program to lift the rush hour bike ban, and some insights into the challenges of accommodating bikes and other large objects on a busy subway system.

BART is the only rapid transit link between San Francisco and the east bay cities of Oakland and Berkeley, a distance of over 7 miles for which no bike route exists.  Cyclists must use BART to make the trip, but bikes are not allowed on any rush hour trains to San Francisco. The alternative is being stuck in traffic on the limited Caltrans bike shuttle or a crowded AC Transit bus, not great for sustainable transportation.

Washington, DC - Transit, Bike Sharing, Pedicabs ...

I am in Washington, DC for the annual conference of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), learning about the latest research on transportation policies and practices. There's a lot going on here, so much that it's impossible to see half of what I want to see, but I look forward to presenting you the most interesting research over the coming months. Washington is becoming easier to get around each time I visit.  The DC Circulator bus system continues to grow since its start in 2005, filling gaps in Metro service for short trips within the central city with service every 10 minutes for only $1. My regular route skirts the trendy Adams Morgan area en route from the conference hotel to the Columbia Heights Metro station; I wish it would go through Adams Morgan to Dupont Circle, but it does provide a convenient link from the Red Line to the Green Line.

Capital Bikeshare launched just a few years ago and continues to expand both in geographic coverage and density (number and proximity of stations), now offering 1,670 bikes at 175 stations in DC and Virginia. After buying a three-day pass ($15) I have taken about a dozen convenient rides so far during short conference breaks.

Metro added peak period service this summer to increase capacity at both ends of the Blue Line and on the northern end of the Green Line. They are now busy preparing for the presidential inauguration this weekend, focusing on efforts to mitigate overcrowding everywhere, reduce congestion in major downtown transfer stations, and ensure buses keep moving in a useful way.

Over the inauguration weekend I will be busy driving a pedicab around downtown and other parts of the city. No one really knows what it will be like but we all hope it's easier than driving one in New York. If all goes well I can have some fun and meet people while bringing in some funds to support my work on this site.