On Monday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the city plans to build 9 miles of protected bike lanes in 2016, part of an overall goal to install more than 50 miles of the “better bike lanes” in the next three years.
The locations of the new lanes are still being worked out, and community meetings earlier this week on the South Side allowed residents to give input on where bike routes are most needed in their neighborhoods. A Tribune report this month showed that the current network of protected bike lanes, along with the Divvy bike-share system, shortchange minority areas of the city.
Since 2011, the city has built more than 100 miles of protected bike lanes, but those do not reach many low- and middle-income neighborhoods that are predominantly African-American, such as Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale, or majority Latino, such as Belmont Cragin and Archer Heights. The Divvy bike-sharing program, with 475 stations, skews toward white or integrated neighborhoods, as well.
A statement from the Chicago Department of Transportation said it was working with aldermen and community groups to ensure that the expansion of the bike network buildout was equitable. The plan includes protected lanes, those set off by barriers or extra road space for greater safety and neighborhood greenways, lanes on streets designed to calm vehicle traffic.
» Read the report: Chicago’s bike lanes, Divvy stations shortchange minority areas
Compare bike infrastructure built from 2011-2015 with Chicago demographics
Click the buttons below to change the demographics shown on the map
Percentage of population that is black, by tract
The Far South Side, with census tracts made up of primarily black, low-income residents, isn’t reached by the protected bike lane network installed by Rahm Emanuel’s administration, and the network of Divvy stations ends at about 75th Street.
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Divvy stations and miles of protected bike lanes by race/ethnicity-majority tracts
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| Majority race/ ethnicity | Divvy stations | Barrier-protected lanes (mi.) | Buffered lanes (mi.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 84 | 10.9 | 42.1 |
| Hispanic | 48 | 0.8 | 7.5 |
| White | 256 | 6.6 | 28.1 |
| Asian | 9 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| No majority | 78 | 2.8 | 10.4 |
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Percentage of population that is Hispanic, by tract
Hispanic areas have the fewest Divvy stations and protected bike lanes. Just 10 percent of Divvy stations and about 8 percent of the protected bike lanes fall within census tracts that are majority Hispanic.
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Divvy stations and miles of protected bike lanes by race/ethnicity-majority tracts
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| Majority race/ ethnicity | Divvy stations | Barrier-protected lanes (mi.) | Buffered lanes (mi.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 84 | 10.9 | 42.1 |
| Hispanic | 48 | 0.8 | 7.5 |
| White | 256 | 6.6 | 28.1 |
| Asian | 9 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| No majority | 78 | 2.8 | 10.4 |
Percentage of population that is white, by tract
More than half of the Divvy bike-sharing stations fall within census tracts that are more than 50 percent white, although white residents make up about 32 percent of the entire city. The miles of protected bikes lanes installed since 2010 are more spread out, with about 31 percent of the lanes falling in white-majority tracts.
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Divvy stations and miles of protected bike lanes by race/ethnicity-majority tracts
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| Majority race/ ethnicity | Divvy stations | Barrier-protected lanes (mi.) | Buffered lanes (mi.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 84 | 10.9 | 42.1 |
| Hispanic | 48 | 0.8 | 7.5 |
| White | 256 | 6.6 | 28.1 |
| Asian | 9 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| No majority | 78 | 2.8 | 10.4 |
Median household income, 2010-2014 in 2014 dollars
Many low-income areas have yet to be reached by protected bike lanes and the Divvy network. It’s an imbalance that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing to rectify by extending bike lanes and Divvy stations further into the South and West sides.
Note: Race and ethnicity demographics are as of 2010. White, black, Asian and other races include only those identifying as non-Hispanic. Median household income from the last 12 months is from 2010-2014, in 2014 dollars. Demographics are shown by census tract. Protected bike lane mileage are estimates based on files provided by the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Sources: Tribune analysis of Chicago Department of Transportation and U.S. Census Bureau data
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