Bike Lane Uprising

Hello, my name is Christina Whitehouse and I’m the founder of Bike Lane Uprising. We Love Safe Bike Lanes. We're focused on making cycling safer by making it easy to report bike lane obstructions. We find trends in the data to hold violators accountable and prevent future obstructions.

While many miles of bike lanes exist to keep cyclists safe, those lanes are often unusable. Even though it’s illegal to block bike lanes, people do. Bike lanes are being used as free parking, corporate distribution centers, and being illegally commandeered by construction sites for years on end.

Biking is more important now than it has ever been. In light of COVID, there is a biking boom happening in Chicago and around the globe, as people try to reduce their exposure to the virus. There is also an increased reliance on cars, as people who used to take public transit switch to an increased reliance on cars. This is resulting in a clash between people on bikes and people in cars all fighting for the same space.

People on bikes need safe bike lanes. Unfortunately, the infrastructure hasn’t been built to keep bicycle riders safe. There have already been at least four cyclists killed this year - three of which have happened in the last month. In addition to data gathering, our group has been working to advocate for safe bike lanes to be built and maintained around Chicago. We have organized a variety of protests and vigils for cyclists who have been killed as well as communities who want and need safe bike lanes. We also partner with other groups to build deep long lasting relationships within the Chicago biking community. When the city shut down all modes of public transit, raised bridges, and shut down the free lunch program, we mobilized our community of cyclists to help deliver and donate food.

More about us: https://www.bikelaneuprising.com/about-us

Funded by Chicago, IL (August 2020)