
CYCLINGMOBILITY
To the uninitiated, Chicago seems like an unlikely place for cyclists, and with good reason. It’s big: with almost 3 million residents, it’s the third largest city in the United States. It’s intimidating: Chicago’s nearly 596 square kilometers of land area are latticed with congested streets and highways. And its weather is far from cyclist-friendly: the city’s bipolar climate fluctuates between teeth-chattering, snow-spattering winters and sweat-drizzling, sidewalk-sizzling summers. But even so, this metropolis reached a bicycle commuter mode share of 1.15% in 2009 – an increase of 129% since 2000.