Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to have 100 miles of protected lanes in the city by 2015. An example of a protected lane is on Kinzie Street, where there's 12-feet of space between bicyclists and cars.
Local and national transportation experts got together with political leaders Thursday to kick off the National Green Lane project.
"There are so many benefits to this program, especially to the health of our community, especially to the environment, it is something I think Chicago needs to focus on," Ald. Danny Solis, 25th Ward, said.
The project will help cities share information on what works when it comes to encouraging protected bike lanes. Portland, San Francisco, Austin, Memphis and Washington, D.C. is also part of the program.
