Saluting the Mayor the Chicago Way

Having already delivered “salutes . . . in the Chicago way” to drivers he felt endangered him as a bicyclist, Mayor Daley is behind an ordinance moving through the city council that would fine motorists up to $500 for endangering our two-wheeled friends.

My Beachwood Reporter colleague Cate Plys begs to differ. “My God I’m tired of hearing bikers whine about their lot,” Plys writes. “[P]erhaps the most laughable part about Mayor Daley’s proposed ordinance . . . fines drivers for passing a bike within less than three feet. Ha! The vast majority of cars steer as wide around bikes as they possibly can, often veering into the next lane or over the yellow line to do it. It’s the bikers who like to squeeze into tight spaces. Then they’re surprised when a driver doesn’t realize they’ve materialized inches away.”