In the world of public transit, our train line Metra gets some things really right and I hope, is catching up on some of the other things. It's very cool that they have searchable schedules online, and you can get emails to your phone telling you if your train is running late. At most times of the day, you can bring your bike on a train too! I took mine down to Chicago last week to hang out with my sister, and we both brought ours back up to Waukegan. It did take me a while to figure out where exactly to lock it up, but I got it.
Biking in Chicago is awesome. Yeah, cars are always terrifying, but life is so much better with bike lanes and in a place where drivers are used to looking out for cyclists. I'm sure another reason they do it is cost - we biked past a gas station in the City where some kind of gas was $4.97 a gallon! Good grief!!! I came across this article from TIME called "We Pay More to Drive Than We Spend on Taxes" and it makes some great points that you've probably already heard, but read them again and think about it. Could you take public transit to work? Could you get a job closer to home? Could you get a more fuel efficient car, or give it up altogether? How much does driving cost you?
There's an amazing organization called Active Transportation Alliance that works to improve cycling, walking, and transit options in the Chicago area, and we're working with them on some ideas for Waukegan too. I still can't get over how awesome it was seeing hundreds of people biking in the streets, talking to people at the bus stops, and making friends carrying bikes onto the train. I really believe my city's headed in that direction too, so thank you to all those of you helping make it happen by taking public transit and working to reduce our reliance on cars.
Giving Up Driving For Lent
Monday, March 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Pace Buses: Connecting Communities
First question: When's the last time your rode a bus?
Second question: When's the last time you advocated for better transit services?
Pace Suburban Bus Service has been doing some great community outreach lately, thanks in large part to Lake County Community Foundation. Last night I attended the first in a series of community forums to learn how Pace plans routes and stop locations and hear more about how they're working to update tech options for their passengers. Good news - they're working on an app! There are even some stops that have QR codes on the bus shelter that you can take a picture of with your smartphone, and it will tell you what time the next bus is coming. Follow the Pace Facebook page or check out their website for more details on this and other new projects.
The most exciting part for me was definitely overcoming my (ridiculous) fear of taking my bike on the bus. It's kind of intimidating if you haven't done it before, and I was so sure my bike was either going to get run over because I put it on wrong, or I'd just embarrass the heck out of myself trying to figure it out and take forever. But, so you never have to worry about that, my friend Maggie helped me make a how-to video:
A friend of mine pointed out that some cities have way cooler versions of this instructional video. Here's a challenge for us: make a better one. This is my FAVORITE:
Pace is also looking to develop a "pulse point," or a bigger bus hub in downtown Waukegan. I'll keep you posted on their ideas and when the next public meeting will be. Until then, happy bus riding!
Second question: When's the last time you advocated for better transit services?
Pace Suburban Bus Service has been doing some great community outreach lately, thanks in large part to Lake County Community Foundation. Last night I attended the first in a series of community forums to learn how Pace plans routes and stop locations and hear more about how they're working to update tech options for their passengers. Good news - they're working on an app! There are even some stops that have QR codes on the bus shelter that you can take a picture of with your smartphone, and it will tell you what time the next bus is coming. Follow the Pace Facebook page or check out their website for more details on this and other new projects.
The most exciting part for me was definitely overcoming my (ridiculous) fear of taking my bike on the bus. It's kind of intimidating if you haven't done it before, and I was so sure my bike was either going to get run over because I put it on wrong, or I'd just embarrass the heck out of myself trying to figure it out and take forever. But, so you never have to worry about that, my friend Maggie helped me make a how-to video:
A friend of mine pointed out that some cities have way cooler versions of this instructional video. Here's a challenge for us: make a better one. This is my FAVORITE:
Pace is also looking to develop a "pulse point," or a bigger bus hub in downtown Waukegan. I'll keep you posted on their ideas and when the next public meeting will be. Until then, happy bus riding!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
ArtWauking and PediCab-ing it
Saturday was one of our monthly ArtWauks in downtown Waukegan and I had a blast! There was no place to park downtown (sold out shows at Clockwise Theatre and the Genesee Theatre all weekend) but it didn't matter to me! I just walked downstairs from my apartment and had tons of cool stuff to do within walking distance.
And for those who wanted a ride, my friend Will started the Waukegan Bike Project a year ago and this year their newest initiative is pedicabs! I drove one around for a few hours and I will tell you, roads that don't seem like hills when you're biking by yourself are HILLS when you're giving people rides. I promised some of my poor riders that they could get their next ride from a more experience professional pedicab driver, but I'm gonna keep at it - it's a good work out for sure!
And in other news, I just completed my Principles & Practice of New Urbanism course! The University of Miami School of Architecture has a great program and I learned an incredible amount about how to implement New Urbanism concepts in our neighborhood planning. I'll tell you pedicabs are just a part of it, and there's lots more coming to downtown Waukegan! Come down and check it out.
(Oh, and I sometimes forget this blog is about Lent because not driving isn't seeming like a sacrifice. I'm really just enjoying the opportunity to tell you all what I do all the time without a car! Not to mention, with all the money I save from not driving a car, paying insurance, or buying gas. Hint: it almost all gets re-invested in my neighborhood economy here.)
![]() |
Will giving us a ride. |
And for those who wanted a ride, my friend Will started the Waukegan Bike Project a year ago and this year their newest initiative is pedicabs! I drove one around for a few hours and I will tell you, roads that don't seem like hills when you're biking by yourself are HILLS when you're giving people rides. I promised some of my poor riders that they could get their next ride from a more experience professional pedicab driver, but I'm gonna keep at it - it's a good work out for sure!
![]() |
Downhill is a lot easier. |
And in other news, I just completed my Principles & Practice of New Urbanism course! The University of Miami School of Architecture has a great program and I learned an incredible amount about how to implement New Urbanism concepts in our neighborhood planning. I'll tell you pedicabs are just a part of it, and there's lots more coming to downtown Waukegan! Come down and check it out.
(Oh, and I sometimes forget this blog is about Lent because not driving isn't seeming like a sacrifice. I'm really just enjoying the opportunity to tell you all what I do all the time without a car! Not to mention, with all the money I save from not driving a car, paying insurance, or buying gas. Hint: it almost all gets re-invested in my neighborhood economy here.)
Sunday, March 11, 2012
"How far would you walk for a lemon?" A post from my mom.
Hi, Violet. Thank you for inspiring us to walk instead of drive.
This morning, the sun was shining and the temperature was a warm 70 degrees, so I decided to make iced tea. Sadly, we were out of lemons. What to do?
There used to be an ad campaign for Camel cigarettes, and the slogan was, "I'd walk a mile for a Camel." We decided it would be silly to drive to Jewel for a lemon. It made me start to think, "Would I walk a mile for lemon? What WOULD I walk a mile for?
I knew that North School was 7/10 of a mile from our house, since I checked it once (ironically, with the car) when I used to walk some of you to school. So Dad and I decided to walk to Cribbs to get a lemon. It took us sixteen minutes to walk there (instead of ten minutes to drive to Jewel), while enjoying the air and checking out our neighborhood. We decided to take the road less travelled and avoided North Avenue. As a result, we noticed for the first time a house decorated with a display of about thirty bowling balls in the front yard. I'm also happy to report that we had sidewalks all the way there.
By the time we returned home about forty minutes later, the famous Lake Michigan winds had shifted and backyard temperature had dropped to 60 dregrees, but we still enjoyed the fruits of our labor and drank our iced tea in the yard before coming back in to warm up!
Love,
Mom
This morning, the sun was shining and the temperature was a warm 70 degrees, so I decided to make iced tea. Sadly, we were out of lemons. What to do?
There used to be an ad campaign for Camel cigarettes, and the slogan was, "I'd walk a mile for a Camel." We decided it would be silly to drive to Jewel for a lemon. It made me start to think, "Would I walk a mile for lemon? What WOULD I walk a mile for?
I knew that North School was 7/10 of a mile from our house, since I checked it once (ironically, with the car) when I used to walk some of you to school. So Dad and I decided to walk to Cribbs to get a lemon. It took us sixteen minutes to walk there (instead of ten minutes to drive to Jewel), while enjoying the air and checking out our neighborhood. We decided to take the road less travelled and avoided North Avenue. As a result, we noticed for the first time a house decorated with a display of about thirty bowling balls in the front yard. I'm also happy to report that we had sidewalks all the way there.
By the time we returned home about forty minutes later, the famous Lake Michigan winds had shifted and backyard temperature had dropped to 60 dregrees, but we still enjoyed the fruits of our labor and drank our iced tea in the yard before coming back in to warm up!
Love,
Mom
Friday, March 9, 2012
Fountain Square vs. Downtown
This morning I woke up early to take the bus to a restaurant at Fountain Square for an 8am breakfast meeting. When I decided to give up driving for Lent, I promised myself I'd try to do everything I would have with a car - including going to meetings that aren't within walking distance of my office. Fountain Square, for those of you not familiar with Waukegan, is the shopping district off the highway with a bunch of big box retail stores and chain restaurants. It's pretty much the opposite of downtown, and I learned that even more clearly trying to walk around it this morning.
First of all, compliments to Pace Bus that's always been on time in the mornings when I've taken it. I was in good company with people on their way to work, students on their way to school, and people like me just going places we need to go. There were a lot of people getting off the train and taking the bus, and at the corner of Washington & Sheridan, there are way more people taking public transit than driving by. I got on the 568 bus at 7:02am and headed for Fountain Square. I really like talking to people on the bus. Some of you would probably dread sitting next to me on an airplane or bus or train because I'm a talker, but I learn a lot that way. This morning I was on the bus with some middle school kids on their way to Jefferson (where I went to school!) and some people headed to Walmart.
I didn't realize this at the time, but that was the stop I was going to have to get off at too. At 7:32am I got off the bus, yes, at Walmart. The arch-rival of downtowns and small businesses. I walked down a very empty, very long sidewalk around the Walmart to get to the restaurant where my meeting was.
Not only was my walk extremely lonely and the sidewalk literally only went all the way around Walmart island, but I can't imagine it's used much. Fountain Square, unlike downtown, is built for cars - not for pedestrians. I'm positive that people walking from their cars in the Walmart parking lot to the section of the store that sells milk have a way longer walk than I do from my apartment to buy milk. And then they have to drive home.
I had about half an hour before my meeting started so I decided to grab some coffee at my other arch-rival: Starbucks. After surviving crossing the giant, crosswalk-less street and getting to the door of Starbucks that didn't connect to a sidewalk (only to a parking lot) I made it inside. The cashiers were really friendly but I didn't know them and they didn't know my name because they're not my neighborhood coffee shop. As I sat by myself drinking coffee and watching an insane number of cars go through the drive though, all I could think about was how much more stressful the whole situation was than my relaxing mornings or afternoon coffee breaks at Joplin's Java in my neighborhood. I love going there because I always see people I know, the coffee is great, and I like supporting the local economy and re-investing my dollars in my neighborhood.
So I made it to the meeting, had a great talk, and headed back to the bus stop to wait for the 568 back home. I only had to wait a few minutes (although all bus stops without wind shelters are freezing cold in winter wind) and I knew one of the guys on the bus when I sat down. One of my neighbors, this guy was actually working on a petition to expand Pace service on a couple routes to Zion and to the Navy Base so they have weekend service. He had tons of signatures and was getting more every time somebody got on. If you're interested in being part of the conversation about Pace Bus service, come to one of the upcoming community forums in the area. I really a hope a lot of bus riders will come because most of the people who make these decisions about funding public transit don't actually take public transit. There's a quote from Place Matters, a great book about urban inequality and metropolitics, on the subject:
"Metropolitan polarization is more than a troubling statistical trend. It violates basic American values. The spatial and political isolation of the central-city and inner-suburban poor prevents them from forging the cross-class coalitions necessary to make their influence felt and makes blatant class legislation against the poor more likely. It threatens to dissolve the bonds of solidarity that join us as Americans. As a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York observed, it forces us to ask 'whether we will be able to go forward together as a unified society with a confident outlook or as a society of diverse economic groups suspicious of both the future and each other.' Indeed, Henry Richmond argues that the political fragmentation of metropolitan areas represents 'the most important community-building challenge to face America since the adoption of the constitution'." - Chapter 7, Metropolicies for the 21st Century, pg 253. All that to say, economic inequality is cyclical because people with lower incomes tend to have less political power, and economic segregation only serves to keep people from building alliances that can be used for political progress.
Lessons learned today: people are great, buses get you where you need to go, and in my opinion, downtown is still way cooler and definitely more pedestrian friendly than big commercial shopping centers. Mixed-use neighborhoods with public transit access and walkability are where I like to live.
First of all, compliments to Pace Bus that's always been on time in the mornings when I've taken it. I was in good company with people on their way to work, students on their way to school, and people like me just going places we need to go. There were a lot of people getting off the train and taking the bus, and at the corner of Washington & Sheridan, there are way more people taking public transit than driving by. I got on the 568 bus at 7:02am and headed for Fountain Square. I really like talking to people on the bus. Some of you would probably dread sitting next to me on an airplane or bus or train because I'm a talker, but I learn a lot that way. This morning I was on the bus with some middle school kids on their way to Jefferson (where I went to school!) and some people headed to Walmart.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao96HxBogXBG1MpstajAQhwyZ5YFl_lG8BueuXLvF46N3T8Qt6tdrJi4sCAsTTcE-wDaH6royDIz2vVymNs56Qs98mCNnDPtlq5pusV9qB99Hg_mxalh987fhc_8OOhxb3JTJ3PpzGG3Q/s400/walmart+bus.jpg)
Not only was my walk extremely lonely and the sidewalk literally only went all the way around Walmart island, but I can't imagine it's used much. Fountain Square, unlike downtown, is built for cars - not for pedestrians. I'm positive that people walking from their cars in the Walmart parking lot to the section of the store that sells milk have a way longer walk than I do from my apartment to buy milk. And then they have to drive home.
I had about half an hour before my meeting started so I decided to grab some coffee at my other arch-rival: Starbucks. After surviving crossing the giant, crosswalk-less street and getting to the door of Starbucks that didn't connect to a sidewalk (only to a parking lot) I made it inside. The cashiers were really friendly but I didn't know them and they didn't know my name because they're not my neighborhood coffee shop. As I sat by myself drinking coffee and watching an insane number of cars go through the drive though, all I could think about was how much more stressful the whole situation was than my relaxing mornings or afternoon coffee breaks at Joplin's Java in my neighborhood. I love going there because I always see people I know, the coffee is great, and I like supporting the local economy and re-investing my dollars in my neighborhood.
So I made it to the meeting, had a great talk, and headed back to the bus stop to wait for the 568 back home. I only had to wait a few minutes (although all bus stops without wind shelters are freezing cold in winter wind) and I knew one of the guys on the bus when I sat down. One of my neighbors, this guy was actually working on a petition to expand Pace service on a couple routes to Zion and to the Navy Base so they have weekend service. He had tons of signatures and was getting more every time somebody got on. If you're interested in being part of the conversation about Pace Bus service, come to one of the upcoming community forums in the area. I really a hope a lot of bus riders will come because most of the people who make these decisions about funding public transit don't actually take public transit. There's a quote from Place Matters, a great book about urban inequality and metropolitics, on the subject:
"Metropolitan polarization is more than a troubling statistical trend. It violates basic American values. The spatial and political isolation of the central-city and inner-suburban poor prevents them from forging the cross-class coalitions necessary to make their influence felt and makes blatant class legislation against the poor more likely. It threatens to dissolve the bonds of solidarity that join us as Americans. As a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York observed, it forces us to ask 'whether we will be able to go forward together as a unified society with a confident outlook or as a society of diverse economic groups suspicious of both the future and each other.' Indeed, Henry Richmond argues that the political fragmentation of metropolitan areas represents 'the most important community-building challenge to face America since the adoption of the constitution'." - Chapter 7, Metropolicies for the 21st Century, pg 253. All that to say, economic inequality is cyclical because people with lower incomes tend to have less political power, and economic segregation only serves to keep people from building alliances that can be used for political progress.
Lessons learned today: people are great, buses get you where you need to go, and in my opinion, downtown is still way cooler and definitely more pedestrian friendly than big commercial shopping centers. Mixed-use neighborhoods with public transit access and walkability are where I like to live.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
incidental contact
There's a book I totally love and I did consider just typing the whole thing here for you - it's that good. Definitely get a copy of Sidewalks in the Kingdom by Eric Jacobsen if you can. Last night I read chapter 6: Mixed Use, Pedestrian Scale, and the Whole Person, and I haven't stopped thinking about it all day.
Jacobsen puts Jesus in the context of our current ridiculous commuting norms, asking who would miss out on talking to Jesus if He jumped in His SUV on the way to the mega-church instead of walking there. How many people wouldn't have been able to touch the hem of His garment and be healed? How many people wouldn't have seen His smile or heard that they are loved? It was these unplanned, incidental contacts that meant so much to the people who encountered Jesus as a person just like them.
Today, incidental contacts have just as much value. Jacobsen offers an example of a janitor and a CEO standing in line to buy their morning papers at the same corner store. In that context, they only have things in common and are on equal ground to have a conversation and be in real relationship with one another. Income inequality, which leads to segregation by income, is one of the greatest injustices of our time and is causing myriad more problems. Walkable neighborhoods are desirable places to live, and communities that can figure out how to get back to the basics of the old urbanism model where neighbors know each other are really doing God's work in making it easier for neighbors to love each other. You can't really love someone until you've met them.
Yesterday a friend and I were walking down to the lake because we had some unusually nice weather and I was going stir crazy in my office. We stopped at a corner and a couple with a little dog asked us how to get to the lake. Well, anybody who has been in Waukegan knows it's awesome when you get to the pier or to the beach, but tricky to figure out the first time. Anyway, we walked our new friends down there. They turned out to have just moved to the area and I got to give my shpeel about all the cool things happening downtown. We traded phone numbers and I'm looking forward to inviting them to our next event in my neighborhood and inviting them to really become part of our community. Here's the thing about incidental contact - neither of us knew how much money the other makes or what other people think of us, and we didn't care. We all just wanted to walk to the lake.
Here are the questions Jacobsen asks after chapter 6:
More important than walkability or efficiency is a neighborhood that is built for the Whole Person. A place where people have more than just their physical needs met - where they feel good and where they want to live. Whole People have time to make improvements to their neighborhood. Crime is reduced because Whole People check up on each other. Whole People are tremendous advocates for their own communities.
Tonight I have some work to finish and when I leave my office after a while, I know when I walk home I'll see my friends closing up Taqueria Guerrero and Pierce Florist on my block, people hanging out after trivia night at Green Town, actors and actresses leaving rehearsal at Clockwise Theatre, and some commuters walking home from the train station. And I know that if I'm feeling a little discouraged or overwhelmed with work and need somebody to make me back into a Whole Person, I've got people within walking distance who might just have time for some incidental contact.
I really do love where I live.
Jacobsen puts Jesus in the context of our current ridiculous commuting norms, asking who would miss out on talking to Jesus if He jumped in His SUV on the way to the mega-church instead of walking there. How many people wouldn't have been able to touch the hem of His garment and be healed? How many people wouldn't have seen His smile or heard that they are loved? It was these unplanned, incidental contacts that meant so much to the people who encountered Jesus as a person just like them.
Today, incidental contacts have just as much value. Jacobsen offers an example of a janitor and a CEO standing in line to buy their morning papers at the same corner store. In that context, they only have things in common and are on equal ground to have a conversation and be in real relationship with one another. Income inequality, which leads to segregation by income, is one of the greatest injustices of our time and is causing myriad more problems. Walkable neighborhoods are desirable places to live, and communities that can figure out how to get back to the basics of the old urbanism model where neighbors know each other are really doing God's work in making it easier for neighbors to love each other. You can't really love someone until you've met them.
Yesterday a friend and I were walking down to the lake because we had some unusually nice weather and I was going stir crazy in my office. We stopped at a corner and a couple with a little dog asked us how to get to the lake. Well, anybody who has been in Waukegan knows it's awesome when you get to the pier or to the beach, but tricky to figure out the first time. Anyway, we walked our new friends down there. They turned out to have just moved to the area and I got to give my shpeel about all the cool things happening downtown. We traded phone numbers and I'm looking forward to inviting them to our next event in my neighborhood and inviting them to really become part of our community. Here's the thing about incidental contact - neither of us knew how much money the other makes or what other people think of us, and we didn't care. We all just wanted to walk to the lake.
Here are the questions Jacobsen asks after chapter 6:
1) What
kind of variety in housing and commercial activity can you
find within a five minutes walk from your front door?
2) Would
you rather live in a mixed-use neighborhood or a single use
neighborhood? Try to come up with a list of specific
advantages and disadvantages of both models.
3) If you
wanted to live in a mixed-use neighborhood, would that even
be possible for you given your geographic and economic limitations?
4) Do you
have any errands or tasks in your day where you choose to
walk instead of drive? What factors lead you to make
this choice?
5) Of all
of the neighborhoods that you’ve lived in or visited, what
has provided the best setting for walking? What made
it the best?
More important than walkability or efficiency is a neighborhood that is built for the Whole Person. A place where people have more than just their physical needs met - where they feel good and where they want to live. Whole People have time to make improvements to their neighborhood. Crime is reduced because Whole People check up on each other. Whole People are tremendous advocates for their own communities.
Tonight I have some work to finish and when I leave my office after a while, I know when I walk home I'll see my friends closing up Taqueria Guerrero and Pierce Florist on my block, people hanging out after trivia night at Green Town, actors and actresses leaving rehearsal at Clockwise Theatre, and some commuters walking home from the train station. And I know that if I'm feeling a little discouraged or overwhelmed with work and need somebody to make me back into a Whole Person, I've got people within walking distance who might just have time for some incidental contact.
I really do love where I live.
Friday, March 2, 2012
you can go INSIDE mcdonalds?
I've made it a whole week and a half without a car and I'm afraid it's not as exciting as I thought it might be. This week I made it to work no problem (walking that one block isn't even really a big deal when it's snowing - some people have to walk that far to their cars in parking lots anyway) and went to tons of fun stuff. I ate lunch and dinner at restaurants within walking distance of my apartment and even played guitar with my dad at open mic night at one of our bars. I had to carry my guitar downstairs and about 20 feet to Green Town Tavern - again, closer than most people park to music venues.
This morning I did have a revelation though - that building attached to the McDonalds drive through isn't just a big kitchen. You can go INSIDE McDonalds. Crazy, I know. So I went inside to get coffee this morning, and there are all these people in there! Reading newspapers and talking. AND, they have free wi-fi! I talked to a couple people and met some more neighbors who live downtown and walk or take the bus most places. I never thought I'd say this before my no driving adventure, but McDonalds is totally going to be one of my new hangouts.
I came across a cool video today about "road diets" from the Walkable & Livable Communities Institute. Once you start reading about this stuff, there's a huge movement of people actively trying to reduce our reliance on cars. Check it out:
Tomorrow I'm thinking sledding.
This morning I did have a revelation though - that building attached to the McDonalds drive through isn't just a big kitchen. You can go INSIDE McDonalds. Crazy, I know. So I went inside to get coffee this morning, and there are all these people in there! Reading newspapers and talking. AND, they have free wi-fi! I talked to a couple people and met some more neighbors who live downtown and walk or take the bus most places. I never thought I'd say this before my no driving adventure, but McDonalds is totally going to be one of my new hangouts.
I came across a cool video today about "road diets" from the Walkable & Livable Communities Institute. Once you start reading about this stuff, there's a huge movement of people actively trying to reduce our reliance on cars. Check it out:
Tomorrow I'm thinking sledding.
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