Green Parent Chicago

Swiss Adventurer to Make "Solartaxi" Stop in Chicago On World Tour

Swiss adventurer Louis Palmer and his solar powered car, the "Solartaxi"  will stop at the country’s tallest building Monday, as part of a world tour to bring attention to solutions to climate change.

Palmer will give a presentation from noon to 2 p.m. at the southwest corner near the Sears Tower Skydeck entrance on the vehicle's technology and green features.

The Chicago visit is part of a world tour of the vehicle that began July 3, 2007. Palmer, his vehicle and his team plan to travel 32,000 miles and visit 40 countries on five continents without spending a single penny on gas or releasing a single emission into the air.

The Solartaxi team says the car, which travels at a maximum of about 50 mph is the first of its kind to drive around the world on the energy of the sun alone. The car is electric with a trailer covered in solar cells. Solar energy generated is stored in the battery, allowing the car to drive at night without sunlight.

Monday's visit is hosted by the Consulate General of Switzerland in Chicago and the Chicago-Lucerne Sister Cities Committee.

Chicago scores 4th in Rank of Most Walkable Cities

Walk Score, the site that helps people find walkable neighborhoods, recently announced the most walkable cities in the U.S.

On a scale of 0 (car dependent, drive only) to 100 (a walkers paradise), Chicago scored an overall ranking of 76, with 66% of Chicago residents having a Walk Score in their neighborhood of 70 or above.

2,508 neighborhoods in the largest 40 U.S. cities were ranked according to the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks and other amenities.

According to the site, Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a "car-lite" lifestyle—not how attractive and scenic the area is for walking,

The top most walkable city, according to the site's rankings: San Francisco, followed by New York, with Boston coming in third.

What about strollers? CTA May Introduce Seat-less Train Cars Soon

Ridership is up on the CTA. Due in part to the rising cost of gas and the CTA's free rides for seniors program that just began in March of this year. Citing the increase Wednesday, CTA officials announced at a transit board meeting that the agency will soon experiment with seat-less cars on rush hour trains to address increased ridership and crowded trains.

While this would serve as one solution to allowing more riders on board, how might this effect the ridership of parents with kids, who may also be carrying a folded up stroller along?

The cars would debut on the Brown Line by fall, according to CTA President Ron Huberman.  An eight-car train would include at least two contiguous cars without seats. Elderly, disabled and pregnant passengers could choose to ride in the cars with seating, Huberman said.

While some parents never bring a stroller along on public transit, opting to travel with a sling or carrier only. Other parents, including many who also bring a sling or carrier tote a lightweight stroller along for their older child or to ease the burden of carrying a diaper bag, lunch and sleeping baby all at once.

Though most parents who ride the CTA during rush hour and other busy times are probably no stranger to crowded conditions, it will be interesting to note what type of extra planning parents may have to consider before boarding a seat-less train. In addition, it remains to be seen if the plan will actually cut ridership numbers of parents with young kids.

We want to hear from you at Green Parent Chicago: would you plan any differently for trips on a seat-less train? If so how? Or is planning as simple as avoiding peak travel times or just leaving the stroller at home?