HOW ABOUT SERIOUS DECARIFICATION?

HOW ABOUT SERIOUS DECARIFICATION?

I ducked out of the May (Critical Mass) ride mostly because I disagreed with going on Lake Shore Drive. I did have other things to do, such as bike repair, and I was not too enthused about riding where bikes do not normally go.

Since then the Mayor hinself led a bicycle tour of several thousand on a blocked-off Lake Shore and congestion problems on the lakefront, even bicycle-pedestrian-rollerbade congestion, especially around downtown, are getting front-burner attention. Several of us had earlier attended a CATS meeting on the north side where we heard that residents drive their children across Sheridan Road because the traffic to and from Lake Shore Drive is so intense and reverse lanes do not work any more because the traffic is now roughly equal in both directions. Too, there is opposition in Streeterville to a large parking garage on the Northwestern campus.

There is even an idea floating around to cut Lake Shore Drive to four lanes.

With all that in mind, rides on Lake Shore Drive, especially extended rides, might make lots of sense, if attached to serious proposals to get cars off the lakefront. The lakefront is a ripe target for serious decarification.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The first step of serious decarification just might be remote parking. No, the old buggy cannot get you all the way anymore. No, you have to stash the insolent chariot a mile or two away, perhaps considerably further, and complete the trip some other way.

There are at least two likely spots for remote downtown parking. One is the expressway interchange just north of Grand Avenue; the other is the some 80 acres of long empty riverfront land north and south of Roosevelt Road, the old Grand Central Station yards, where a structure would not be necessary for some time. Even a large garage at either location might cost less than just the land for the proposed Northwestern garage.

There are people who will bring bikes by car, but most will need some form of public transportation to complete their trip. The likely first step will be now ubiquitious "trolleys" (small buses on a cable car theme with propane engines). CTA could run special buses, too, but somethimg more ambitious will be necesary.

There is a promising, largely untried monorail technology that has been inexcusably neglected by transit planners and the general public both. Its structure ibeing a simple, standard steel beam, 14" x 24", held aloft by heavy-duty light poles, it blocks very little light. The vehicle is simply a modified bus body, costing about as much as a bus of similar capacity. It is both propelled and about 95% suspended by a linear induction motor, a variant of the common clock motor. Having no moving, mechanical parts, it is just as silent as a clock motor. Such motors are commonly used in industry to move metals, from powders to ingots, without intervening machinery. This technology should be environmentally acceptable even in Grant Park, while affording spectacular views of both lake and downtown. Initial stages might connect Navy Pier with a Grand/expressway garage or a Roosevelt/river lot with the museums.

By some strange coincidence, the Roosevelt/river site is the only practical site in town for a football stadium. In the midst of downtown public transportation, expressways and parking, its additional parking needs would be minimal. Even the Tribune endorsed it as the "most attractive, accesible" site in the city. (April 25, 1986)

The lakefront offers a superb opportunity to begin serious decarification, and to associate it with a highly visible and and prestigious location.



William F. Wendt, Jr.