Bikes
The Grand Avenue Protest — A Day Early
The long-anticipated showdown on Grand Avenue turned out to be a Wednesday affair, not Thursday. Roger Romanelli, executive director of the Fulton Market Association, moved his rally against Phase 2 of the Grand Avenue Safe Streets project from March 5 (as originally announced) to March 4 — meaning the GRASSheads counter-ride had no protest to counter, and Thursday became a quieter evening than expected.
The pivot paid off for Romanelli's side, at least in terms of airtime: the rally drew coverage from ABC, NBC, and Fox, giving the anti-infrastructure coalition a trifecta of local TV exposure. The coverage largely centered on business owner concerns about parking loss and construction disruption.
For context on the coalition's proposed "alternative": Romanelli has floated dedicating Grand Avenue to bus lanes and having cyclists ride within them. Streetsblog Chicago and street-safety advocates have called this proposal a distraction from opposing the project outright — the same playbook Romanelli used to help kill the Ashland BRT. The Phase 2 project remains a CDOT priority.
Portage Park: The Meeting Happened — Watch for Sposato
Thursday's CDOT community open house for the Portage Park Neighborhood Bike Network took place at the Portage Park Senior Center. Chicago, Bike Grid Now led a ride from the Logan "Magic Eagle" pillar at Logan/Kedzie/Milwaukee, arriving for the 6 p.m. meeting. No recap has been published as of this morning.
The critical variable: Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward), who represents part of the project area and had publicly reserved judgment until after the meeting. His position will go a long way toward determining whether the three proposed striped bike lanes (Central, Laramie, Montrose) and five neighborhood greenways advance with local political backing. Watch Block Club Chicago and Streetsblog for the follow-up.
The CDOT survey remains open through March 15 — still time to weigh in.
Wildlife
The Pill Is Working (Early Signs)
When CT last covered Chicago's rat contraceptive pilot in February, the City Council's Committee on Environmental Protection had just advanced a resolution recognizing the program. A month later, there is something to report: early data from camera traps in Lincoln Park is showing directional results.
Lincoln Park Zoo's director of governmental affairs said this week: "We think we are seeing some reductions from the camera traps thus far... my scientists would say don't get too excited, they really want to see the full data." That scientific caution is appropriate — the controlled study across eight blocks of Lincoln Park runs through this summer, and peer-reviewed results are expected then. But the directional signal from camera traps is genuinely encouraging.
Recall the stakes: Chicago spends roughly $14.6 million a year on rodenticides, has been named Orkin's "rattiest city" ten consecutive times, and saw three beloved Great Horned Owls in Lincoln Park die of secondary rodenticide poisoning in spring 2024. The ContraPest approach — non-toxic bait that interrupts rodent fertility rather than killing rats outright — produces no poisoned carcasses for predators to consume. If the summer data confirms the camera-trap trend, the case for scaling citywide gets significantly stronger.
The pilot is a partnership between the Chicago Bird Alliance, Lincoln Park Zoo, Alderman Timmy Knudsen (43rd), and the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
Portage Park bike survey open through March 15. Illinois primary: March 17 — find your ballot at wttw.com/elections/voters-guide/2026-primary. City Council next meets March 18. Citywide ADU ordinance effective April 1.