Mc Donald's Cycle Center - History and Background

History and Background

Lying between Lake Michigan to the east and the Loop to the west, Grant Park has been Chicago's front yard since the mid-19th century. Its northwest corner, north of Monroe Street and the Art Institute, east of Michigan Avenue, south of Randolph Street, and west of Columbus Drive, had been Illinois Central rail yards and parking lots until 1997, when it was made available for development by the city as Millennium Park. According to 2007 data released in 2008, Millennium Park trailed only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction.

The Millennium Park bicycle center was designed by David Steele of the architectural firm Muller & Muller, which won a $120,000 contract to design the station by Memorial Day 2004, and commenced the design in August 2003. This was at a time when bike stations were in place or being planned in several U.S. cities, such as Denver, and, in California, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Long Beach and Palo Alto. Developed at the time of "Bike 2010 Plan" discussions, the station was part of Mayor Daley's vision of Chicago as the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States. From the outset the plan was to have separate operators for the Cycle Center's rental and repair services, as well as its coffee and juice bar.

The bike station had originally been planned to occupy 10,000 square feet (929 m2) and cost $2 million, but when completed, the Cycle Center was 16,448 square feet (1,528 m2) and located on a larger exterior plaza. The final two-floor design cost $3.2 million, and a federal grant from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration for projects that lessen traffic congestion and improve air quality funded its construction.

The Cycle Center was completed in June 2004 and the official opening occurred on July 19, 2004, the Monday following the Millennium Park's grand opening gala. Attendees for the ribbon cutting included Mayor Daley, CDOT Commissioner Miguel d'Escoto, Chicago Park District General Superintendent Timothy Mitchell, and representatives from the Chicago Bike Federation, Public Building Commission, Chicago Police Department, and Chicago City Council. Managed by the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Cycle Center is on the fifth and sixth floors of the Millennium Park parking garage.

Although bicycle centers were already common throughout Europe, Long Beach, California is credited with pioneering commuter-biking hubs offering valet parking, showers and repair services in the United States. As the concept grew, public agencies and private groups in other cities followed suit. The development of the Millennium Park Cycle Center was part of a reversal of bike disincentives stemming from Boub v. Township of Wayne—a 1998 Illinois Supreme Court ruling that bikes are "permitted" but not "intended" users of the roads, meaning that local governments have a limited responsibility to keep cyclists safe and that municipalities are immune from bicycle-injury lawsuits unless the street has been clearly marked as a bike route. The city has been actively accommodating cyclists since 1999 through the CDOT Bike Lane Project. At the time of the July 2004 Cycle Center opening, Illinois Senate Bill 275, which would have removed the liability disincentive to add bike lanes, mark bike routes and give cyclists reasonable protection, was at issue. At the time, the city of Chicago had 90 miles (140 km) of bike lanes (with an additional 110 miles (180 km) forthcoming), in excess of 9,000 bike racks, and it had implemented a policy allowing bicycles on CTA trains (at all times excluding weekday morning and afternoon rush hours), CTA buses and Pace buses. In June 2005, Metra allowed a limited number of bicycles on trains during off-peak and weekend hours for the first time on a trial basis. By 2006, the city had 315 miles (507 km) of bike lanes. The planning emphasis in Chicago uses what is known as transit-oriented development, which encourages developers to include bicycle parking.

The structure was originally named the Millennium Park Bike Station, but in June 2006 McDonald's announced a $5 million dollar grant to underwrite the operations of the Cycle Center for 50 years. The bike facility had been the last unsponsored component of Millennium Park. As part of the endowment, McDonald's agreed to be the sponsor of free summer physical fitness programs such as yoga, pilates, and a variety of dance class sessions in Millennium Park for 10 years. McDonald's agreed not to use any of its traditional commercial signage such as the Golden Arches. The McDonald's sponsorship of the Cycle Center and park fitness activity came just a few months after Chicago was named the fattest city in America by Men's Fitness.

The Cycle Center is designed to encourage bicycle commuting to Millennium and Grant Parks as well as to work and other nearby downtown locations, such as the Art Institute of Chicago. It represents two major initiatives by the mayor: to promote cycling and to make the city greener. By supporting cycling as an alternate form of transportation, it will help reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote the health benefits of cycling.