Chicago — Nation’s Best Bicycling City? July 5, 2006
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago , trackbackJULY 2 — Chicago has become quite bike-friendly in the last few years and we are working to make our new church building bike-friendly as well. Park Community Church’s 1,200 people are mostly a group of energetic folks in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s who love Chicago and its parks and lakefront, and love to bike all around the city. Being bike-friendly is an important value to them and to us.
Mayor Richard Daley is solidly behind initiatives to create a 500 mile network of bike paths and bicycle-friendly streets in Chicago. He wants chicago to be the most bicycle friendly city in the United Stwates. The Bike 2015 Plan is the City of Chicago’s vision to make bicycling an integral part of daily life in Chicago. The plan recommends projects, programs and policies for the next ten years to encourage use of this practical, non-polluting and affordable mode of transportation. The Bike 2015 Plan has two overall goals:
• To increase bicycle use, so that 5 percent of all trips less than five miles are by bicycle.
• To reduce the number of bicycle injuries by 50 percent from current levels.
These are the sorts of steps that need to be taken by all global cities to ensure that the city continues to remain livable. There are a number of environmental benefits to bicycling, including:
Did you know that:
• A short, four-mile round trip by bicycle keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe. (WorldWatch Institute)
• Air pollution contributes to the deaths of 60,000 people nationwide. In urban areas with poor air quality, asthma is becoming a more significant health concern. (Harvard
University School of Public Health).
• The health benefits of regular physical activity are far-reaching: reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases; lower health care costs; and improved quality of life for people of all ages. Regular exercise provides a myriad of health benefits for senior adults including a stronger heart, a positive mental outlook and an increased chance of remaining indefinitely independent – a benefit that will become increasingly important as our population ages in the coming years.
• Many of the trips that Americans make every day are short enough to be accomplished on a bicycle, on foot or via wheelchair. The 1995 National Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) found that approximately 40% of all trips are less than 2 miles in length – which represents a 10-minute bike ride or a 30-minute walk. In fact, a 1995 Rodale Press survey found that Americans want the opportunity to walk or bike instead of drive: 40% of
U.S. adults say they wouldcommute by bike if safe facilities were available.
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