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Sep 22, 2023

How parents bike with kids in Chicago safely

For parents who bike in congested Chicago, it’s a summer of riding

For parents who bike in congested Chicago, it's a summer of riding defensively

After a trio of tragic crashes last summer, parents say their vigilance and activism is in high gear.

After a trio of tragic crashes last summer, parents say their vigilance and activism is in high gear.

After navigating the traffic and sprawl of Los Angeles, Amir Zadaka and his wife, Jessica, moved their family back to Chicago so they could live car-free.

Now, the Lake View family of five relies on a cargo bike as their main mode of transportation. Zadaka said the souped-up cycle affords them freedom and "random encounters" with their neighbors and surroundings that add value to their lives.

But even a hefty carrier and opting for side streets can't totally eliminate the worries that come with being a biking family.

"We’ve definitely noticed just this tension between cars and bikes and kind of sharing the road, and we’ve had our fair share of close calls, which have been concerning," Zadaka said.

Parents who bike with their kids in the city say safety is the No. 1 concern. And several told WBEZ they’ve been on high alert since the start of last summer when vehicles struck and killed three children in a three-week span.

As summer biking season kicks into gear, so does vigilance and activism among cycling parents. Increasingly, they’re banding together online and on the streets to find the safest routes and best gear setups. They’re also lobbying alderpeople and Chicago's new mayor for concrete changes to make biking safer. (The mayor's office declined a request for an interview about Mayor Brandon Johnson's bike infrastructure plans).

Last summer's tragedies were a rallying cry, said longtime cycling advocate and Chicago Family Biking founder Rebecca Resman.

"Those events absolutely gutted every member of our community," Resman said. "I think we know and understand that as people who are walking and biking around our communities how easily it could have been us or could have been our child."

That concern has been driving customers to Four Star Family Cyclery, said owner Mandalyn Renicker, whose customer list measures in the thousands. The Logan Square store is one of the ground-zero destinations for parents who bike in the city, since it specializes in the types of cargo bikes that can make transporting kids feel both easier and safer.

"When a bike is designed to carry kids, it's going to be the safest possible option," said Renicker, a mother who took over the shop last summer from the previous owner.

Inside the store's doors, rows of bright-colored bikes in a variety of makes and models beckon parents. But the shop also serves serious commuters and retirees seeking out a speed boost with its stock of e-bikes.

In the world of cargo bikes, there are two main options: the "box bike," where kids sit up front, and the "long-tail" bikes that position youngsters in a saddle over the back wheel. Both options are available with or without an electric assist.

But there are barriers to owning a cargo bike, like the cost.

The electric options, like the ones sold at Four Star, can go for as much as $8,000 and even the comparably more affordable, manual cargo bikes typically cost at least $1,000. Some states like Colorado and California have rolled out rebate programs for e-bikes, but Illinois currently doesn't offer such incentives (although some activists are trying).

Sitting in the window of Renicker's shop are hard copies of a Chicago Department of Transportation map of bike lanes across the city. Zadaka and other biking parents know that map well — they consult it and study the biking toggle on Google Maps before packing up their kids to head somewhere new. They seek out low-stress neighborhood routes and protected bike lanes. They know what intersections to avoid and where bike lanes suddenly end. Biking as a family takes extensive planning — and it's not all about the most direct path.

"I think there's something that changes in your brain when you put your kids on a bike," said Renicker, who bikes with her two young sons. "That means you’re not trying to get from point A to B in as short an amount of time as possible. We ride really defensively."

The need for constant attentiveness can be stressful and intimidating, which is why some families opt for strength in numbers.

Popular events include a regular "Kidical Mass" series that invites families to bike in a group. Unlike its grown-up counterpart "Critical Mass," the Kidical routes are pre-planned to be beginner friendly. But otherwise, the concept is the same: a form of direct action meant to call attention to sharing the streets.

But group rides can be about more than just sending a message. Organizers like Olatunji Oboi Reed, who helps assemble a Friday night ride in North Lawndale that attracts middle- and high-schoolers, see the potential for the outings to transform communities.

Reed grew up biking as a young kid in Chatham, but by the time he was in middle school, he’d stopped. He didn't regularly bike again until his early 30s and, when he did, he noticed big disparities between the infrastructure on his native South Side versus the North Side or downtown.

"There was like this disdain or disregard for Black and brown neighborhoods and the resources needed to grow cycling in our community," Reed said. Over the past decade, Reed said biking infrastructure has started to slowly improve and the public bike share program Divvy has "expanded in a significant way into Black and brown neighborhoods."

But some problems are persistent: Long distances to key destinations, such as a child's school or a grocery store, may not make biking feasible for families.

Reed himself is a new parent and he's eager to someday bike with his nearly 4-month-old daughter, saying he wants "her to be as excited about cycling" as he is. But that also means being careful to not "put her in harm's way."

It's a dilemma Alec Schwengler, who lives in Ravenswood, also faces. Schwengler, who is a new father to a 3-month-old daughter, has become a bit of a bike activist due to sheer frustration with inadequate infrastructure. He sees roadblocks to streets becoming truly family-friendly.

"It's kind of like a chicken and egg thing," Schwengler said. "Until more people get out there, maybe elected officials don't see the need to make these changes, but people aren't going to walk or bike or take transit if they don't feel comfortable and convenient doing that."

Resman is clear-eyed on which changes she would like to see. Her group, Chicago Family Biking, helped form Safe Streets For All last fall along with several organizations. The coalition is calling for a connected and protected bike network citywide and a lower citywide speed limit of 20 mph. The group also wants stricter requirements on large commercial vehicles, like the one that was blocking the bike lane last summer when 3-year-old Lily Shambrook was killed. They’d like to see them outfitted with safety features like side guards and mirrors.

Resman said she's hopeful that Chicago's new mayor will fulfill some of this vision, but after 15 years of bike activism, she also has learned to be cautious with her optimism.

"I do have that hope. I think we have more people than ever that seem to really, truly care," she said. "But at the same time, I’ll believe it when I see it."

Courtney Kueppers is a digital producer/reporter at WBEZ.