Our database has collected around 3 times the amount of submissions in 2019 than 2018.
Our database outpaced the city of Chicago's $35 Million dollar 311 system and 13,500+ ticket writers. We also uncovered the the city of Chicago's 311 system auto closes bike related submissions.
We acted as a stepping stone platform for cyclists to become more engaged in their local politics, aldermen, and local government agencies.
We met with multiple aldermen to discuss opportunities to enhance biking conditions in their wards.
We began recording city of Chicago's Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council (MBAC) meetings so all community members are able to be involved regardless of work schedules or zip codes.
We held a workshop with the city of Chicago's Department of Transportation and the Department of Finance.
We met with developers and provided insights and recommendations to reduce bike lane obstructions near their property.
We held a Day of Service, where 90% of Chicago bike lanes were adopted and bike lane conditions were recorded by volunteers.
We enhanced our platform, by rolling out a new submission portal that makes it easier to submit via desktop and mobile. We made it easier to sign up.
We also enhanced maps, making them interactive and automated heat maps.
We released a deep dive 2018 Bike Lane Obstruction Summary Report which analyzed all records submitted to our database in 2018.
We helped create people protected bike lanes in Chicago and Minneapolis to honor cyclists that have been killed and draw attention to the need for protected bike infrastructure.
We've been in contact with the Chicago Inspector General's Office regarding city employees such as the Chicago Police Department being top bike lane obstructors.
We're assembling a list of pro bono attorneys to represent minority cyclists who have been unfairly targeted by the Chicago Police Department.
We grew our user base - submissions are coming in from near and far and new city pages have been created for Lexington, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Baltimore, Long Beach, New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, and Toronto.
We've helped countless cyclists navigate what camera to buy, what to wear for winter biking, what to do when confronted by with a road rage driver, where to go for city resources, and what to do when they've been hit or assaulted by a driver.
We've also worked to spotlight the issue of unsafe bike lanes through a multitude of speaking engagements, interviews, events, and helped reporters create long form deep dive news articles.
Our advocacy work with University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) resulted in the campus paying for improvements to the Harrison Street Bike Lane.
A few of our identified bike lane obstruction hot pots also saw bollards installed.
While 2019 was a busy year, we hope to have an even larger impact in 2020. We can't do this without the support of people like you. As we enter into the new year, please consider becoming a 2020 BLU Supporter.