Author | Lightnews

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · 18m

Here's a little something for DSA folks as they gear up for their big day. Background:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Don...

Personally, I'm not a Mamdani fan yet. But Cuomo is awful, so I'm willing to give the Zohran the benefit of the doubt. 💈💇🗽

@streetfilms.bsky.social @daniellaspata.bsky.social

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · 23h

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...

Riding east on the Granville Greenway

YouTube video by John Greenfield

www.youtube.com

1 1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · 20d

That's basically the alpha-omega of Neighborhood Greenway NIMBYism: When residents are required to make minor changes to their usual driving routine, they take it as a personal insult.

1 2

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · 21d

I recently had dinner at a home in a classic Midcentury high-rise on Sheridan Road in Edgewater. It was more evidence of why locals must "Say no to Broadway upzoning!" so nobody else can enjoy this kind of rooftop view. 😉

@chicagodpd.bsky.social @stevevance.net

3

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · 26d

Satirical response from Chicago’s Rat Patrol chopper bike gang in 3… 2… 1…

@westtownbikes.bsky.social

@chicritmass.bsky.social

1 1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · 28d

If there were public bathrooms in CTA stations, as is the case at the Metra terminals and transit-friendly countries like Japan, CTA stations, especially the elevators, would be a lot more sanitary.
chi.streetsblog.org/2021/11/21/c...

Chicago's dearth of public restrooms limits access to public space. Let's fix that. - Streetsblog Chicago

More public bathrooms would help people from many walks of life, including some of our city's most vulnerable residents.

chi.streetsblog.org

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 22

SBC needs $43K in the near future to complete our 2025-26 budget and publish at full strength next year, so we'd appreciate leads on major donors or grants.
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/07/16/t...

And if you haven't already, please consider making chipping in. Thanks!
chi.streetsblog.org/about/donate

Thanks to support from readers, we've far surpassed our fund drive goal! But we still need your help to find another major funding source. - Streetsblog Chicago

In case you can’t tell from Streetsblog Chicago’s homepage, beating the drum on the region’s impending transit budget crisis is our top priority right now. After all, if the state legislature fails to...

chi.streetsblog.org

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 22

Here's Streetsblog Chicago cofounder @stevevance.net and me around the site launch in 2013, and last Saturday at the Park(ing) Day celebration at Dovetail Brewing. He spends most of his time nowadays running the real estate data site @chicagocityscape.com, but still plays a key advisory role at SBC.

1 7

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 20

Relaxing at the Park(ing) Day party at Demo Brewing, Ravenswood/Berteau, and dovetail brewing, Ravenswood/Belle Plaine. It’s on until 8 PM today, Saturday.

2

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 8

Obviously, sharrows are nothing to write home about, but FWIW, there are some by the new bridge.

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 2

Right, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day" (in this case, being opposed to "dibs") ≠ "We gotta hand it to Ald. Lopez."

Gotta run, and write my response to Ald. Lopez calling on the "car haters" at City Council to get bike and scooter riders off sidewalks. (TLDR: Build more protected lanes.)

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 2

But the first half of my previous post implied Ald. Lopez is basically a DINO, a Democrat In Name Only. (Although, unlike Ald. Silverstein's ward, his is not particularly Trump-y.)

That's not to say he's wrong about everything. His position on "dibs" was sensible.
chicagoreader.com/columns-opin...

Land Grab - Chicago Reader

Dibs is just an excuse to privatize public parking through implied threats. We need to eradicate it.

chicagoreader.com

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 2

Agreed, Ald. Lopez obviously didn't do his homework here. It reminds me of how during the Obama administration, right-wingers claimed the president hated white people. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow responded, "You mean, like his mother?"

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Sep 2

Several Chicago alders in Trump-friendly parts of town would likely be GOP elsewhere. That probably doesn't include Ald. Silverstein. But her West Ridge ward includes lots of Orthodox Jewish folks who like that Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, wants public subsidies for private schools, etc.

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 30

I did a very fun multimodal trip around the southern 1/2 of Lake Michigan w/ old friends from @chicritmass.bsky.social:
Amtrak to Grand Rapids, MI
Bike to Luddington, MI
Ferry to Manitowoc, WI
Bike to Milwaukee
Amtrak to Chicago
+/- 225 miles of biking, mostly on trails. 👍

@wibikefed.bsky.social

8

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 19

Isn't that a character from Minecraft or something?

2

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 17

It's definitely better than this Wisconsin-style ad campaign on Chicago transit.
chi.streetsblog.org/2018/02/16/s...

Stop Badgering Us! CTA Riders Weigh in on Wisconsin's Anti-Transit Ad Campaign - Streetsblog Chicago

The advertisements, from a public-private agency created by anti-transit governor Scott Walker, assume that millennials would rather drive than ride a train. Young straphangers say that's not the case...

chi.streetsblog.org

1

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 14

People for Bikes did that. The problem is that almost all quiet, low-traffic side streets are classified as "high-stress"(red) due to 30 mph signs, whereas cemetery roads where cycling is banned are rated as "low-stress" (blue). 🙃
www.peopleforbikes.org/news/six-thi...

@peopleforbikes.bsky.social

1 2

Reposted by John Greenfield

schmangee.bsky.social @schmangee.bsky.social · Aug 14

Thanks to @johngreenfield.bsky.social for letting me write about why we're always accusing dead pedestrians of "darting" -- ie blaming them for their own deaths.

There's actually more to it than I realized. HT @kenmcld.bsky.social

chi.streetsblog.org/2025/08/13/w...

Why are pedestrians always "darting" (i.e. at fault)? - Streetsblog Chicago

How accusatory descriptions for pedestrian victims are baked into national policy.

chi.streetsblog.org

1 5 14

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 7

I have sympathy for my under-fire colleagues at the dailies. But, yeah, she didn't even mention all the different kinds of annoying billboards she passed along the way!

1 2

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 7

Last night's after-work bike ride on Grace, in both directions. Don't tell anybody, but I did some cautious "contraflow" riding on the short one-way stretches. CDOT is considering adding contraflow bike lanes to make that safer and lawful. Legalize it!
chi.streetsblog.org/2025/08/06/g...

3

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 7

The Senate passed a funding/reform bill with a simple majority on 5/31 in the 11th hour, making it impossible for the House to pass it without a 60% supermajority.

But the House focused on discussing governance reform and didn't even really get around to talking about funding sources by gametime!

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 4

You have to ride Metra to get to Palos? Whew! For a while there, I was worried that you were claiming to be an expert on Chicago issues while secretly living in Palos Heights, Paul Vallas-style.

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 4

Here's a travelogue with some nice photos by Pat Dwyer: Cycling from Chicago's Lincolns Square community to the Indiana Dunes, mostly on bike trails.
bsky.app/profile/derb...

@atalliance.bsky.social @rideillinois.bsky.social @chicritmass.bsky.social @outsidemag.bsky.social

Infest The Pat’s Nest @derblutenpat.bsky.social · Aug 2

Alright here we go.

0.06 miles down.

1 2 13

John Greenfield @johngreenfield.bsky.social · Aug 2

Here’s that article: chi.streetsblog.org/2024/10/23/b...

Breaking: Twice-failed, non-Chicagoan, "more of a Republican than a Democrat" mayoral candidate says he can't drive 25 - Streetsblog Chicago

In his 43rd Chicago Tribune op-ed since he lost the 2023 Chicago mayoral runoff election, perennial Illinois and Chicago candidate Paul Vallas rails against lowering the speed limit.

chi.streetsblog.org

2