The Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council "MBAC" is a quarterly meeting hosted by The Chicago Department of Transportation "CDOT. It is attended by a broad spectrum of backgrounds, from health care, enforcement, community groups, and several city departments. The meeting focuses on a wide range of bicycle issues: safety, education, enforcement, and infrastructure investment. At multiple meetings, cyclists raised concerns regarding a new design for curbed protect bike lanes. Cyclists shared feedback to CDOT that the design are not easily visible to both drivers and cyclists. These concerns included crashes that resulted in injuries.
CDOT stated in an interview they were not aware of these safety concerns. Bike Lane Uprising began recording MBAC session on 9/5/2019. Below is a clip from the past two MBAC sessions that documents this issue being raised. CDOT has continued to use this design without iterating for safety concerns. Existing designs have not been modified to make them more visible. This design continues to prove less than effective at keeping drivers from driving over them. Cyclist and pedestrian injuries as a result of the design's poor visibility continue.
View the full recording here
The recordings of the MBAC meetings are paid for by Bike Lane Uprising and its supporters. They were recorded in an effort to ensure all community members are able to be involved regardless of work schedules or zip codes. While the MBAC meetings are open to the public, they take place during business hours. This makes it difficult for the community to attend. Holding the city accountable, now another great example of why these recordings are so important.
If you find these recordings impactful, please consider financially supporting future recordings. If you would like to help sponsor future recordings, please contact us.