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by Anne Holub
8/24/10The humidity's going down (slowly) but it's still not the end of summer till Labor Day (or, depending how you look at it, September 23rd, which is the official first day of Autumn). How are you spending time while the weather's still warm? At the Chicago Air & Water Show, Duane Rapp captured a joyful jump into Lake Michigan. Add your favorite summertime shots to our Explore Northeastern Illinois Flickr pool!  permalink
   
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| | by Lindsay Banks
7/14/10
This post originally appeared on The Local Beet.
Last week, I saw a post on Slow Food Chicago soliciting volunteers to help Genesis Growers spend the day pulling weeds. I convinced a couple of my friends to join me on the excursion to St. Anne, IL, 70 miles south of Chicago. Genesis Growers is run by “Farmer Vicki” with the help of her son Jon; her head worker, Jay; and 6-8 employees. They also have the help of volunteers like us who get a chance to see how much hard work goes into growing food organically. Genesis Growers practice sustainable, natural farming and they are on the rigorous path to organic certification. Vicki told us about the recent tornado that came through St. Anne; she watched it tear down her street! The tornado left the farm rain-soaked and in serious need of weeding. A nearby farmer joked with her that he could get rid of her weeds for just $5 an acre. She winced; her dedication to organic farming means that weeding must be done by hand, without the use of chemicals. And Genesis Growers pay their workers a living wage, so five dollars on her farm doesn’t go very far. Our group of 6 volunteers pulling weeds for 4 hours didn’t quite make it halfway through 4 rows of eggplant! Vicki laughed and said, “And people ask why organic is so expensive!” Ignoring our blackened fingernails and sweat-soaked clothes, we chatted over tasty Southport Grocery sandwiches (provided by Slow Food Chicago). From the bike-riding vegan to the urban planner, to the food enthusiasts, we all have reasons for supporting local farmers and ideas for making our region (and our world) a better place. I currently subscribe to get fruit and vegetables from a variety of local farms, but the experience on Vicki’s farm made me want to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Becoming a CSA member involves a deeper commitment to your farmer. When a hailstorm destroys the pepper crop (as was the case for Vicki this summer), you hear about it in your newsletter and forgo peppers until the next batch is ready for harvesting. You also know that you are giving the farmer a guaranteed wage at the beginning of the season; you are investing in their endeavors. At the same time, until we see significant policy changes, “voting with your fork” will not be enough to keep small-scale organic farmers afloat. Spending the day on the farm is something I’d recommend to anyone who questions farmer’s market prices. It is hard work; my fingers were sore, my neck was burnt, and I didn’t even put in a full day! The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) recognizes the importance of local food – from environmental impacts to health benefits. The GO TO 2040 long-range comprehensive plan recommends promoting a sustainable local food system (PDF). Specifically, the plan focuses on three implementation areas: facilitating sustainable local food production and addressing policy changes; increasing access to fresh, affordable, and healthy foods; and increasing data, research, training, and information sharing. The draft regional comprehensive plan is the result of a six step planning process that began in September of 2007 with the development of a Regional Vision that outlined our desired future in terms of the region’s quality of life, natural environment, social systems, economy, infrastructure, and governance. The GO TO 2040 Plan is open for public comment through August 6th, so let us know how you feel about our recommendations! permalink
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Comments (2)
| Very informative
Posted by: steven vinezeano on 07/19/2010 |
| Well especially for those who helped work. I think they will appreciate more now results in agriculture. Good harvests are getting very hard.
Posted by: autovit on 07/25/2010 |
| | by Lindsay Banks
7/12/10
Last week, the Chicago Department of Transportation was granted over $35 million to launch a bus rapid transit system traveling through
downtown and also between the South Side and the Loop. The concept of bus rapid transit (BRT) is not new to the Chicago region; the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) have been studying BRT throughout the metropolitan region and have done planning for pilot areas (which did not get implemented due to missed deadlines).
BRT is high-quality, high-capacity bus service that would travel on dedicated lanes. As our GO TO 2040 public input showed, many people want transit, but they usually insist on rail transit while remaining apprehensive about buses. But buses can be much more cost-effective at moving people. Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff cited an estimate of the deferred maintenance backlog for the entire transit universe at about $78 billion, 75% of which is needed to replace rail assets. He emphasized that communities currently thinking about laying down “shiny new rails” should think about the long term maintenance costs that they will face down the road, before committing to new transit. Alternatively, BRT could be a solution to fulfill the demand for transit without incurring such high infrastructure costs.
Local and regional transit planners are facing the same budget shortfalls everywhere, and are often forced to make service cuts.
Aaron Renn of Urbanophile.com, cites Rogoff making a good point when talking to communities seeking federal transit funding: If you can’t afford to operate the system you have, why does it make sense for us to partner in your expansion? If you can’t afford your current footprint, does expanding that underfunded footprint really advance the President’s goals for cutting oil use and greenhouse gases? Does it really advance our economic goals in any sustainable way? Are we at risk of just helping communities dig a deeper hole for our children and our grandchildren?
High-quality BRT bears little resemblance to POBS* (Plain Old Bus Service). My fellow transit
riders who despise POBS have typical complaints: it’s too slow, it’s unpredictable, and buses will be 20 minutes late and then 3 will show up at the same time (“bus bunching”). I agree with those points, but a well-devised BRT system would change that. An oft-cited example of high quality BRT is Bogotá’s TransMilenio, explained in a great video on StreetsBlog.org. Modernized buses make the experience almost identical to a subway system. In Bogotá, they have major terminals that integrate multi-modal transportation (with free secured bike parking), free feeder buses, and a high-tech control room. The CEO of TransMilenio said that in 1998, a trip of 30 km used to take about 2 hours, and now with TransMilenio, they can
make the same trip in just 55 minutes. She estimates that the system is transporting about 1.3 million people per day. The Chicago project will not be as extensive as TransMilenio, but it will use transit signal priority, Bus Tracker real-time arrival signs at stops, and would include bus-priority lanes on two miles of downtown streets, which currently serve seven CTA bus routes. An off-street transportation center just south of Union Station is also part of the plan.
For communities in northeastern Illinois who desire new transit, BRT could be a cost-effective solution. CMAP supports strategic investment in transportation (PDF), and increasing commitment to public transit (PDF).
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Comments (4)
| Does this mean that it BRT will be located along train routes? I like the idea of a BRT; on the weekends and evening in the summer my bus route is slow because of all the people shopping and cruising along the main street of the neighborhood.
Posted by: MrBrownThumb on 07/12/2010 |
| Hi Mr. Brown Thumb,
No, it does not mean that the routes will necessarily run along train lines. Most likely, CDOT and CTA will determine the best routes based on popular destinations and current ridership patterns.
Posted by: Lindsay on 07/13/2010 |
| This money should be spent on streetcars! BRT should only be a temporary option compared to streetcars. Chicago once had the most extensive and heavily ridden streetcar system in the country and one of the top in the world. Streetcars cost less to maintain and bring more development.
Posted by: Jake Fessler on 07/14/2010 |
| The Village of Niles is pursuing an ART system from Jefferson Park to Golf Mill Mall. This system will then connect to many of the heavily used PACE (east/west) routes, as well as the local circulator system. Planning for this system began in 2003 through a study funded by RTAP and is now moving into the implementation phase.
The benefits that we see will be improved mobility, accessibility, connectivity, and a strong potential for economic revitalization along the Milwaukee Avenue corridor.
Posted by: steven vinezeano on 07/19/2010 |
| | by Lindsay Banks
7/7/10 Have you seen the new downtown sculpture in Pritzker Park? Has it seen you? The exhibit was revealed today and will be up through October. This week's Explore Northeastern Illinois Photo of the week, by clarkmaxwell, captured workers installing the giant EYE at the end of June. The sculpture was created by Tony Tasset, a Chicago resident and art professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. According to CNN, the cost of the installation was in the six figures and was paid for through a special tax paid by property owners on State Street. In addition to the 30-foot tall EYE, Tasset designed a series of lamppost banners that show our state bird CARDINAL, in flight via 156 flipbook - style banners along State Street.
(Get ready for bad pun number 2) Whether you think this sculpture is an urban eyesore or a cultural treat, public art has always played an important role in the Chicagoland area and is one aspect of the city that continues to bring millions of tourists to the region year-round, although perhaps fewer in the winter!
Read more about the importance of arts and culture in our strategy paper. For more puns and reflection on the exhibit, visit thewanderkind.com.
Our Flickr Photos of the Week are chosen from the Explore Northeastern Illinois photo pool. Submit your photos today! permalink |
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by Anne Holub
6/28/10This week, we simply can't forget those epic storms that just rolled through northeastern Illinois and the midwest. This awesome shot by Monika Thorpe shows some amazing lightning striking around the back of a set of clouds in Chicago. Remember to always stay safe in severe weather! The Chicago Red Cross has some great tips on not only emergency preparedness (including an emergency kit you can put together) during thunderstorms, but on what to do during a tornado warning, and flash floods. permalink |
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