Streetsblog editor and outspoken biking advocate John Greenfield was in a medically-induced coma over the weekend following an accident during one of his regular bike tours.
The crash happened around noon on Friday, Streetsblog Chicago editor-at-large and co-founder Steven Vance announced in a Sunday Streetsblog post, and Greenfield is currently in a Carbondale hospital. On Sunday, Greenfield appeared to be slowly waking up from the coma, Vance wrote.
The doctor treating Greenfield saw the coma as a precaution because of a possible head injury, Vance wrote. Although the extent of cognitive effects are unknown, Vance said, “there are many signs for optimism.”
Multimodal bike tours are common adventures for Greenfield. He started his latest journey on Thursday after riding the Amtrak from Chicago to Carbondale and began biking Friday morning, Vance wrote. The details surrounding the noontime crash are unknown, and unconfirmed details have been withheld by Greenfield’s family as they try to learn more.
In 2013, Greenfield and Vance co-founded Streetsblog Chicago, a daily news source informing Chicagoans about efforts to make their communities more liveable. Along with Streetsblog New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, California, Denver, Massachusetts and USA, the Chicago blog connects local transportation reform advocates with one another and to the national movement for reform.
Greenfield is particularly interested in working toward effective and safe bike infrastructure in the city. Before his time at Streetsblog, he worked for the Active Transportation Alliance as a Chicago Department of Transportation consultant and managed the installation of around 3500 bike parking racks across Chicago.
Vance said regular publishing on Streetsblog Chicago will be paused until further notice.
oalexander@chicagotribune.com
