Mount Prospect bike plan - public meeting

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Comment by Cigdem on October 6, 2010 at 10:55pm

Thank you all for efforts and involvement for this meeting to improve bicycling in our city! Wish this was widely advertised, (where was the media at the meeting tonight anyway?) and published more heavily within Mount Prospect for more public attendance.. Living here, even I read this on Chainlink by accident, I mean by accident! Because I still keep my one foot in the city and biking issues (Cycling Sisters, Bike Winter etc. =)

Moving here from Chicago (Logan Square) was same as moving to Mars! Daily biking is not possible, only some recreational rides through limited bike trails. No road takes you safely to downtown and back home alive!

My two cents to pinpoint some of the issues would be:
Educate parents; they are the real challenge, not kids!,

Focus on non-riders; need to keep the residents happy and in the city with designated well marked bike lanes on busy and side streets,

Built "Safe Routes to School"; to shopping; to Metra,

AM bike allowance on Metra,

City to team up with schools and organizations to coordinate walk/bike to school programs for not only once a year, but once a week,

The truth about "Riding in cars being more dangerous than riding on bikes"; advertise it publicly!, parents has to get out of cars onto safe school routes with their kids to reduce obesity, car dependency, and improving health in general,

Improve more and proper bike signage on streets and on trails,

Continuous sidewalks are vital,

Connecting major roads to other cities for continuing cycling corridor.

Streets are not so narrow after all! The grass area between the street and the sidewalk for properly marked bike lanes to get many of us out of our cars onto our bikes.

Improve city planning (architecturally) for the future. Strip malls are gross! Design commercial districts more towards bike/walk friendly. Example: it is dangerous for pedestrians or bikers to go in and out from any grocery stores. We are expected to be survivors diving through semi trucks SUV's backing into you form parking lots, because there is no bike or walkway into the store. Stores are designed directly behind the car parking. If they were to be on the street and parking is on the back might be more pedestrian friendly.

If there are 500 avid daily cyclist but 50,000 non to rare recreational cyclist in a city that claims or nominated as "the safest place to raise kids at" focus on the greater number group.

Help low income families start commute by bicycle via organizations, as well as the village; give away helmets, bikes, educate bike safety, maintenance etc.

Start minority focused bike clubs (ie cycling sisters: targets women to learn maintenance and gain confidence riding on streets with kids, to school and to shopping etc.)

Educational programs should be offered and extended to public and private schools more widely.

Non bikers should be able to hear and participate bike related events, not only via internet or thru village message board, but maybe by volunteers going out to schools, ethnic groups hand in hand brochures.

I live in Mount Prospect for 6 years and I attempted to move out to Chicago twice already. Now, I instead, am looking for a place near our school where I can ride/walk my child safely to and from.

Mount Prospect please help us continue loving our city by improving our streets for biking. It is our future after all!

Cigdem Tunar
Parent at St. Paul Lutheran School, Mount Prospect

Comment by LOWELL NELSON on September 18, 2010 at 9:26pm

Des Plaines had a community bike ride today, there is work underway on the Des Plaines River Trail in the area of Levee 50. Maybe there's hope for a NW corridor from Chicago to Barrington.

Comment by Cigdem on September 17, 2010 at 11:11pm

OMFG! I better be there! I live here.. This is MY city!!!
Active Trans, let me know if I can be of help on anything.
Cigdem