John Greenfield
@johngreenfield.bsky.social
Streetsblog Chicago editor. Creator of the Mellow Chicago Bike Map and the Iconic Chicago Restaurants Map. He/him/yinz. jgreenfield (at) streetsblog (dot) org.
Here's more on the subject of public safety issues on CTA, including data, and an ill-informed Chicago Tribune op-ed by Trump's transit czar, implying that they might do a National Guard crackdown on Windy City transit.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/30/y...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/30/y...
Yes, CTA needs to be and feel safer. But despite what the U.S. transit czar implied, Trump shouldn't use that as an excuse to send in National Guard. - Streetsblog Chicago
Yesterday, Trump’s Federal Transit Administration chief Marc Molinaro scolded Chicago leaders about crime on public transportation in a Tribune op-ed titled, “The CTA has become a rolling symbol of ab...
chi.streetsblog.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Here's more on the subject of public safety issues on CTA, including data, and an ill-informed Chicago Tribune op-ed by Trump's transit czar, implying that they might do a National Guard crackdown on Windy City transit.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/30/y...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/09/30/y...
Yes, while there may be an element of overcompensation on Gardiner's part, data shows that we need to make the CTA be and feel safer. Here are some public safety strategies included in Illinois' new transit reform/funding bill that passed last month.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/04/e...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/04/e...
November 25, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Yes, while there may be an element of overcompensation on Gardiner's part, data shows that we need to make the CTA be and feel safer. Here are some public safety strategies included in Illinois' new transit reform/funding bill that passed last month.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/04/e...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/11/04/e...
Sorry, when I posted that, this song was going through my head.
Old 97s- Champaign, Illinois
YouTube video by PatrickHenryism
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Sorry, when I posted that, this song was going through my head.
Members of the rock band R.E.M. lived and played their first gig at an Episcopal church in Athens, GA that had been turned into housing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M.
November 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Members of the rock band R.E.M. lived and played their first gig at an Episcopal church in Athens, GA that had been turned into housing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.E.M.
Dr. Richard Kimble: due in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fug...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fug...
November 16, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Dr. Richard Kimble: due in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fug...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fug...
"The most annoying man in cycling advocacy." LOL, do you mind if I adapt that as my social media bio, kind of what we did with the Streetsblog Chicago bio when someone wrote me, "Stop making the city worse"? Cheers.
November 14, 2025 at 4:49 PM
"The most annoying man in cycling advocacy." LOL, do you mind if I adapt that as my social media bio, kind of what we did with the Streetsblog Chicago bio when someone wrote me, "Stop making the city worse"? Cheers.
All right, I hear you. But if you feel like it, in a month or two, please let me know if you think driver behavior has improved here. Thanks.
November 14, 2025 at 4:44 PM
All right, I hear you. But if you feel like it, in a month or two, please let me know if you think driver behavior has improved here. Thanks.
Yes, "one or 2 of your photos aren't completed PBLs, but construction zones." If/when curbs or other concrete are installed here, drivers will be much less likely to illegally park here. Even flexi-posts will make it more obvious where they're supposed to park. A "P" symbol here would also help.
November 14, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Yes, "one or 2 of your photos aren't completed PBLs, but construction zones." If/when curbs or other concrete are installed here, drivers will be much less likely to illegally park here. Even flexi-posts will make it more obvious where they're supposed to park. A "P" symbol here would also help.
Agreed. Although it's nice that one drops me off just west of SBC HQ!
November 14, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Agreed. Although it's nice that one drops me off just west of SBC HQ!
Once the bikeway is fully completed, more people will bike and scoot in it, and the learning curve for drivers will improve – it will become more obvious that if they illegally park, they will endanger and inconvenience people, so fewer folks will do that.
This will get concrete, or at least posts.
This will get concrete, or at least posts.
November 14, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Once the bikeway is fully completed, more people will bike and scoot in it, and the learning curve for drivers will improve – it will become more obvious that if they illegally park, they will endanger and inconvenience people, so fewer folks will do that.
This will get concrete, or at least posts.
This will get concrete, or at least posts.
Agreed, Chicago PBLs needs some upgrades and better maintenance (issues with narrowness, flooding, debris, always using curbs instead of just flexi-posts etc.) But in fairness, one or 2 of your photos aren't completed PBLs, but construction zones. Patience please!
chi.streetsblog.org/2023/11/27/p...
chi.streetsblog.org/2023/11/27/p...
Patience is a virtue: Parking situation on Clark PBLs between Montrose and Berteau is a hassle right now, but will soon improve - Streetsblog Chicago
It appears that in the future we can expect 3-D infrastructure, not just paint, any time CDOT says they're installing PBLS.
chi.streetsblog.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Agreed, Chicago PBLs needs some upgrades and better maintenance (issues with narrowness, flooding, debris, always using curbs instead of just flexi-posts etc.) But in fairness, one or 2 of your photos aren't completed PBLs, but construction zones. Patience please!
chi.streetsblog.org/2023/11/27/p...
chi.streetsblog.org/2023/11/27/p...
Jinx, buy me a Coke!
November 13, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Jinx, buy me a Coke!
But let me check in with the agencies and see if they can tell me exactly what the rules are. Stay tuned...
November 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
But let me check in with the agencies and see if they can tell me exactly what the rules are. Stay tuned...
Is it really "forcing someone through" for a permanent job position if they've being doing that role on an interim basis for [checks notes] up to 17 months?
November 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Is it really "forcing someone through" for a permanent job position if they've being doing that role on an interim basis for [checks notes] up to 17 months?
Is there a connection between individual car layouts and train surfing? Fortunately, that potentially deadly stunt doesn't seem to be that common in Chicago, Chance the Rapper videos notwithstanding.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eede...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eede...
Chance The Rapper ft. Saba - Angels
YouTube video by Chance The Rapper
www.youtube.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Is there a connection between individual car layouts and train surfing? Fortunately, that potentially deadly stunt doesn't seem to be that common in Chicago, Chance the Rapper videos notwithstanding.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eede...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eede...
I had a fun sub-24-hour visit. It seems like an underrated city, and of course it's a Mecca for Abe Lincoln fans.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/15/l...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/15/l...
Live from Springfield: Environmental advocates urge lawmakers to "fix and fund public transportation" at Climate Action Day at the Capitol - Streetsblog Chicago
On Tuesday, I hopped on my bicycle and high-tailed it from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois, the state capital, in an effort to sample my first-ever horseshoe sandwich. In case you’re not familiar wit...
chi.streetsblog.org
November 3, 2025 at 1:15 AM
I had a fun sub-24-hour visit. It seems like an underrated city, and of course it's a Mecca for Abe Lincoln fans.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/15/l...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/15/l...
OK, for a $100 purchase, paying an extra quarter in tax is not a big hardship.
November 1, 2025 at 7:32 PM
OK, for a $100 purchase, paying an extra quarter in tax is not a big hardship.
Everybody wants better transit, but you get what you pay for. It's reasonable to ask Chicagolanders to chip in an extra penny on a $4 purchase. But, sure, I agree with you that the proposed "billionaire's tax" would have been preferable, discussed a bit here.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/29/t...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/29/t...
In the early hours of Halloween, Illinois General Assembly passed $1.5B transit bill that's anything but horrific. Pritzker will likely sign it. - Streetsblog Chicago
Update Friday 10/31/25, 9:00 AM: It was scary when the Illinois General Assembly floor debate over transit legislation entered the Halloween witching hours. But thankfully it looks like we’ve avoided ...
chi.streetsblog.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Everybody wants better transit, but you get what you pay for. It's reasonable to ask Chicagolanders to chip in an extra penny on a $4 purchase. But, sure, I agree with you that the proposed "billionaire's tax" would have been preferable, discussed a bit here.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/29/t...
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/29/t...
Ah, by Joe Ferguson, the guy who blamed the transit cliff on irresponsible management (and granted, CTA was run poorly under Carter) rather than, say, the fact Chicagoland transit operations only got 17% state funding, as opposed to up to 50% in peer cities?
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/09/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/09/o...
Joe Ferguson: How Chicago transit is governed requires reform before the state rescues it with cash
For years, poor governance has doomed the Chicago region to an inefficient transit system that fails to adequately serve its riders.
www.chicagotribune.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Ah, by Joe Ferguson, the guy who blamed the transit cliff on irresponsible management (and granted, CTA was run poorly under Carter) rather than, say, the fact Chicagoland transit operations only got 17% state funding, as opposed to up to 50% in peer cities?
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/09/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/09/o...
I knew detractors would eventually surface! It's a 0.25% tax increase, so on a $4.00 purchase, that's an extra penny – not exactly a major hardship.
And it's a lot less regressive than slashing transit and forcing people to drive.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/28/w...
@ellensteinke.bsky.social
And it's a lot less regressive than slashing transit and forcing people to drive.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/28/w...
@ellensteinke.bsky.social
What’s more regressive: Modest driving surcharges to help fund transit, or forced car ownership? - Streetsblog Chicago
By Ellen Steinke Last week during Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session, I went down to Springfield with a group of transit advocates to talk with lawmakers about funding and governance reform...
chi.streetsblog.org
October 31, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I knew detractors would eventually surface! It's a 0.25% tax increase, so on a $4.00 purchase, that's an extra penny – not exactly a major hardship.
And it's a lot less regressive than slashing transit and forcing people to drive.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/28/w...
@ellensteinke.bsky.social
And it's a lot less regressive than slashing transit and forcing people to drive.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/10/28/w...
@ellensteinke.bsky.social
Thanks! Here's a handlebar video of riding basically the entire route that's also embedded in the SBC post.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_cG...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_cG...
Riding east on the Granville Greenway
YouTube video by John Greenfield
www.youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Thanks! Here's a handlebar video of riding basically the entire route that's also embedded in the SBC post.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_cG...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_cG...