Environmentalists Encourage Road Diets

In a road diet, an underused four-lane road for cars becomes a two-lane road with a middle turn lane and bike lanes on the side. In San Francisco and other cities, the concept was found to increase business at shops along those streets, as people felt more safe to walk or cycle to the businesses. As a result, the roads also became cheaper to maintain.

That was part of the message given at a meeting of Green Drinks at the Firehouse Grill on Tuesday night, where sustainable transportation advocates gathered to hear how Evanstonians and Wilmettans might become more palatable to walking and biking as well as transit.

“We've surely stirred up interest and got people talking about these issues,” said Diego Fazi, the organizer of the evening's Green Drinks forum. About 50 people turned out for the event, where green transportation advocates could mingle, watch a video about sustainable transportation in other cities and listen to a panel of local officials. 

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Green Drinks is an international concept that started a foothold in Evanston this spring. For Fazi and others, it's a way of organizing people who want to see the city change its streetscapes to become more amenable to cycling and walking. However, Fazi said the last meeting had a much larger turnout of 150 people.

“I'd never head of the road diet,” said Chelsea Corbin, a sophomore at Northwestern University. “I'd love to see something done to Sheridan Road. It's not safe.” Sheridan Road currently cuts the center of the University's campus from the rest of Evanston with four lanes of fast-moving traffic. But Corbin said bike lanes and other means of slowing traffic and protecting pedestrians should be considered.

And while Go Green Wilmette has been organizing events , the gathering stood in stark contrast to a recent meeting where opposition stalled the installation of downtown bicycle corrals. An Evanston study showed a surplus of auto parking but a scarcity of bicycle parking downtown. The corrals would promote cycling by providing a convenient place to lock up bikes outside the Evanston Athletic Club on Benson Avenue.

“We could reclaim a lot of street parking,” said Catherine Hurley, the sustainable programs coordinator for the city of Evanston. The city-owned parking garages have many spaces that are seldom used, reducing the need for on-street parking and allowing for a more “people-oriented,” as opposed to “car-oriented” downtown.

“People are not going to do it, unless people get behind it,” said Sharon Feignon, the chief executive officer of Chicago-area car sharing service I-Go. Feignon also lives in Evanston. “We need to create the incentives to dissuade people from driving. … If you keep building wider roads and highways, people keep filling them up. ... If you have to run across the street, that decreases the likelihood that you'll want to walk.”

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