25th Ward, which includes Little Village and Pilsen are being asked to participate in a survey, their ranks that ranks which infrastructure projects are most and least important to them.

The options are alleys, sidewalks, lighting street surf, resurfacing and protected bike lanes.

Bike infrastructure is an expression, a leak.

Controversial project.

Cycling culture isn't often perceived as a sign of whiteness and runs a risk of displacing longstanding resident.

But bike lanes actually cause gentrification.

Joining us to discuss Army I know a lot of minds of the director of advocacy at at Quincy City and Racial Equity Movement.

And we get a check on a long-term Preston resident in real estate broker.

Thank you both for joining us now.

This is a good topic to talk about.

Miguel, want to start with you.

You're a longtime polson resident are protected by bike lane.

Something you like to see introduced to the community.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think that we need to make sure that we have equitable access the bike lanes across the city of Chicago.

>> And I don't think that we need to be redlining.

One community and so that they belong and one community over another.

We need to make sure that all communities across the city of the same access, the bike lanes to better parks to better schools and that we're not segregating where those services and amenities go.

Why do you think there's this mindset about, you know, the word gentrification it's a hot topic for sure.

I think that anything that is perceived to be an improvement.

A lot of people made it seem that it's a form of displacement and it seems really unfair.

Sometimes we have you a professor example on your show and she said the justification for that bike lanes were gentrification lands and really absurd.

What whatever community you live in across the city of Chicago, you should have the same level of access and it shouldn't be seen as any improvement is a form of displacement.

It doesn't mean their demise and, you know, advocating for better schools is the same advocating for more bike lanes for more parking for parks.

And that's really what I want to see across the entire city and talking about displacement, Jose Little Village and Pilsen known as we just spoke about gentrified neighborhoods, wiser, concerned that bike infrastructure might the celery.

>> You don't displacement.

>> I think that because historically, whenever the city put cement amenities neighborhood, it's mostly been in in white neighborhoods in the downtown area.

And as black and brown folks and and Little village in the West and the South side, we see those when the star coming to our neighborhoods, people can help a question make or these 4.

But we have to remember that these are public services and when everyone we all just as much and it doesn't become fear tactic.

Do you think that the word into vacation has turned into?

>> You know what a bad word in some sense not on things I think is justify a lot of based on history, not just Chicago, but the United States on how it's been.

We allocating resources.

>> And neighbors overwhelmingly want a bike infrastructure.

What steps the city take to ensure that bike lanes serve existing residents rather the newcomers?

Yeah.

I think one of the biggest problems I hear talking to community members is always that the city just comes into our neighborhood and just do the project.

A lot of these problems can be avoided community members are at the table right from the beginning of of construction projects like bike lanes, our affordable housing, all the other services.

The city provides if community members are at thanks, Abel right from the start.

What are your thoughts new host Wright Community events where people from the community come together.

You know, what are your thoughts about this?

Yeah, I agree.

You know, a lot of the issues that we have is that it seems we have this kind of top-down planning approach into our community.

And we have sometimes people that don't live in our community don't understand the issues that we really face and they're coming down in a professorial, kinda way to tell oh, this is what you need.

And they don't understand the complexities that we face in our community.

>> We're not worried about hipster on a bike.

You know, we are more worried about a gang member with a gun and were more worried about the schools that are not being funded enough and the neighborhoods that need these level of services.

So to say that we're going to not going to starve the community, these resources like bike lanes and schools because we're afraid of gentrification because we're afraid of a condo building being our neighbors is just ridiculous.

That goes against the idea of making a better city for everyone across the entire city.

>> And you mentioned at the southwest side, Lex Green space and trails.

How does bike infrastructure incident, a broader environmental justice concerns in these neighborhoods?

Yeah, absolutely.

So one of the that the city of Plant is that sale, which would connect from Peoria, 18th Street, essentially all the way down Cermak Island and leading into Little village be a great connection between both communities are going to be a trail with bike lanes.

>> And you someone who has 3 kids neighborhood and we're riding her bike, you know, in putting them and glial and which is a very busy street.

It can be very nerve wrecking.

And so I think that those kind of things go well, doesn't everybody deserve to enjoy bike infrastructure across the entire city as far implementing more bike lanes and some of the busier streets.

I think that there are a lot of opportunities for there to be bike lanes, but that they don't take up any additional parking spaces for the and small business owners and mom and pop on as that makeup, the vast majority, the retail space on 26 Street and on 18th Street, those businesses will suffer if we are removing all of the parking to add to add some bike lanes.

We have a lot of other side streets that they can become that they could easily accommodate a bike infrastructure.

But we want to make sure that there's kind of timid to between our communities.

We have a lot more in common than than anything else.

a little village and Pilsen.

Do you believe that voices of the residents are being heard by those who are in charge of these massive project?

Personally, I don't we have an ultimate alternate 6 show who he's very good being in Raleigh.

But when it comes down to actually listening to the community, we don't feel that he does that.

He hasn't done that with a lot of the schools with to, for example, which most of the neighborhood as opposed to he continues to push that forward.

And when it comes to bike infrastructure, we do or the improvements for improvements.

We don't necessarily see those are going to get done in the way that the community actually wants.

>> And Jose Research shows a black and brown cyclists are more likely to be stopped by police.

How should the city address the racial disparity in bike enforcement?

>> Yeah.

And the big reason that happens is that there's no bike lanes.

Will people feel safer riding on the sidewalk and it's against the law here in Chicago to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk.

So we need to provide residents with a safe way to ride a bicycle and go to pilsen going on the square, go different parts of the city's enjoy the different amenities and different service.

And I ride my bike on the sidewalk.

And sometimes I see these drivers.

>> It's scary, when you're on 26 tree and semi trucks run through there because there's a lot of factories.

Exactly.

Having protected bike lanes makes will enable people feel safer.

And if you build they will come and talking about that.

Do believe Chicago in the U.S. have invested in social infrastructure the way that you would like to see as much You know, the city just passed a budget just a few months ago.

>> not that much improvement was going to infrastructure.

Now there are and sunny new cameras, which, you know, people want other ways to make them feel safer.

That is not going to come with a ticket as infrastructure is how you force people to drive safer, drive slower and give other mode of transportation a chance to go around city.

What are your thoughts feeling?

think that we need to make sure that we're improving.

>> Infrastructure for the everyday life our communities is built around the infrastructure that we have.

And when people don't feel safe, they're not going to go walking to local stores.

They're not going to be riding their bike to the to the other businesses in our community if we don't feel safe and if we aren't safe because of crime, then we really don't have a community.

We have a community that is back up and in their cars as opposed to a more walkable livable community.

We only have time for one last question.

But to some bike lanes don't seem like a priority when there other public safety and health issues.

Why is this important?

>> For you?

It's important because it's a safety issue for all Chicagoans in all communities everywhere we need to make sure that we're providing equitable access across the entire city.

So every bike that that happens is a travesty.

And we need to make sure that we're saving lives which way we can.

What are your last thoughts?

Traffic.

Just my we hear it took me an hour to get here.

I wish I could hop on my bike and just write a yes.

Cut My