John Greenfield
In addition to editing Streetsblog Chicago, John writes the transportation column for the Chicago Reader weekly paper. A Chicagoan since 1989, he enjoys exploring the city on foot, bike, bus, and 'L' train.
Recent Posts
No, Chicago Biking Isn’t Worse Than Jacksonville or Omaha...But It's Not Perfect
| | No Comments
Yes, Chicago got screwed by People for Bikes' flawed rating system. But we still have lots of work to do need to make cycling as safe, enjoyable, and normalized as it is in truly great cycling cities.
What should we do about racial discrepancies in Chicago’s life-saving traffic cam program?
| | No Comments
There's no question that the cams are preventing injury and fatality crashes, but Black and Latino motorists and racking up more tickets and suffering financing hardship. Should we reform or abolish it.
Study: Speed Cams Save Lives, But Communities of Color Get More Tix
| | No Comments
City officials say they plan to use the report to improve the program.
Who Should We Be Building Bikeways For?
| | No Comments
A discussion of whether or not "door zone" lanes lanes are terrible yielded an essential truth: To dramatically build bike mode-share, what we need a network of 8-to-80 facilities.
Chicago Study Shows Speed Cameras are Saving Lives
| | No Comments
The new report compared the changes in crash numbers near speed cameras and citywide between 2012-13 and 2018-2019 and confirmed that collision numbers have stayed relatively low near the cams.
To Address the Operator Shortages, We Need to Keep Transit Workers Fafe
| | No Comments
Whether the answer is Transit Ambassadors, or other solutions that don't involve adding more guns to the system, something needs to be done.
Reality Check: You Can’t Solve Congestion by Widening Roads
| | No Comments
Yes, driving to work in Chicagoland is terrible, but more lanes aren't the answer. We need faster, more frequent, and more reliable CTA and Metra service.
Why We Need Transit Ambassadors
| | No Comments
Everyone on the CTA deserves to feel and be safe, especially the transit employees who help keep the city moving.
Why Was This NFL Star And 3-Time DUI Offender Allowed to Get a 4th?
| | No Comments
In a just world, if you've previously committed three DUIs, you wouldn't even have the opportunity to rack up a fourth one.
Chicago Needs to Make Vision Zero a Priority
| | No Comments
Alderman LaSpata discussed his "crash not accident" ordinance: "There is no intention behind an accident. There is intention behind the actions that lead to traffic crashes and injuries."
Opinion: We Can Save Transit If We Act Now
| | No Comments
As Mark Twain might have said, reports of the death of transit have been greatly exaggerated, but we do need to take decisive action to make buses and trains a more reliable and appealing option.
Congressmen Introduce Rail Grade Separation Funding Bill
| | No Comments
The reps noted that in addition to preventing crashes, separating rail crossings can also improve passenger and freight rail service by allowing for higher speeds and more frequent service.