The City of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) are asking you for suggestions on possible locations for a pilot program to develop the City’s first bicycle boulevard.  What are bicycle boulevards?  They are local streets that have been optimized for bicycling and which provide direct, attractive, safe routes for cyclists.  They do so primarily by slowing traffic and reducing traffic volume, achieved through various traffic calming designs that maintain access for local traffic but prevent or inhibit cut-through and high-speed drivers. Want to learn more? Watch a video of a bicycle boulevard in Portland, OR.

Please keep in mind the following criteria (published by CDOT) when proposing a location for a bicycle boulevard:

• Minimum one-mile stretch
• Controlled crossing at all intersections – stop sign or traffic signal
• Residential roadway
• Low motor vehicle traffic
• High number of cyclists using the route and in the neighborhood
• Aldermanic support

Please send your ideas to adolfo@activetrans.org by Friday April 9, 2010 with "Bike Boulevard" in the subject line.