Back in 2001, Bicycling Magazine named Chicago the best city for bicycling in North America. Instead of standing still and lauding this accomplishment, city officials saw this as an opportunity to do more for cycling. In 2002, Mayor Daley began to formulate the Bike 2015 plan. Bringing civic groups, cyclists and government agencies to the table, the plan was officially instituted by the City Council on September 1, 2005.
Since Mayor Emanuel took office, Bike 2015 has been of prime importance in his agenda. In the mere months Mayor Emanuel has been in office he has already overseen Chicago’s largest bike path on Kinzie Street, increased numbers of bike rental stations, and the recent 18th Street bike path. Mayor Emanuel has stated on numerous occasions that he plans to build 25 miles of protected bike lanes each year in the city.
The Bike 2015 plan however is far more ambitious. In May of this year, Mayor Emanuel reorganized the Bicycle Advisory Council in order to focus more time and energy on Bike 2015. Since May, there have been monthly meetings at City Hall to gauge the progress of the plan, and to bring new ideas to the Council.
For more information on Bike 2015, visit their website. The website is full of information about the goals and plans of Bike 2015, and provides information on past meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Council.
The next meeting of the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council is December 14, 2011, at 3:00 P.M. in room 1103 at City Hall. All are invited to the meeting and representatives from Keating Law Offices will be in attendance.
If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact the Illinois Bicycle Attorneys at Keatinjg Law Offices at 312-239-6787 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All e-mails and phone calls are returned promptly. All initial consultations are confidential and free.
