{"id":102,"date":"2026-06-22T04:13:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102"},"modified":"2026-06-22T04:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T04:13:37","slug":"yes-we-can-get-to-the-obama-center-without-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102","title":{"rendered":"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much I can say about today\u2019s Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening that hasn\u2019t already been stated in the dailies, except that personally I viewed it as a great day for Chicago, and it made me feel proud to be an American for the first time in a while. Also, it bears repeating that Windy City straphangers owe the former POTUS a \u201cThanks Obama!\u201d for his role in securing funding for the CTA\u2019s Red and Purple Modernization Program, before handing over the White House keys to the Creamsicle-colored criminal. Oh, and to my late-middle-aged ears, the joyful music at today\u2019s public gala, from Springsteen to Stevie Wonder, was really great.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=101\">Friday\u2019s Headlines Celebrate Juneteenth<\/a><\/p>\n<p>So I\u2019m just going to present this post in gallery form. For the nitty gritty on how to access the Obama Center, which opens to the public tomorrow, via CTA, Metra, and Pace, check out this detailed guide from the Regional Transit Authority. And, of course, the cultural institution\u2019s near-lakeside location makes it fairly easy to access by bicycle or e-scooter from the Lakefront Trail.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s some of what I saw today. All images by yours truly.<\/p>\n<p><em>Watching Obama\u2019s speech from outside the gated Midway with a fellow bike rider.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Just for fun, here are a couple of clips from the music performances.<\/p>\n<div>\n<iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/soKzxbldqvM?si=6dixstdaQx9UUnDq%20title=\" style=\"height: 500px; width: 100%;\" title=\"Embedded content\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/874m5SgiOFU?si=Uc46a1f7GjXcyP04\" style=\"height: 500px; width: 100%;\" title=\"Embedded content\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>On November 12, SBC launched our 2026 fund drive to raise $50K through ad sales and donations. That will complete this year\u2019s budget, at a time when\u00a0it\u2019s tough to find grant money. Big thanks to all the readers who have\u00a0<strong>chipped in so far<\/strong>\u00a0to help keep this site rolling to the end of 2026! Currently, we\u2019re at $34,036 with $15,964 to go, ideally by the end of\u00a0June.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=99\">Talking Headways Podcast: So What Is \u2018Urban Disorder\u2019 In A Post-Covid U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>If you value our livable streets reporting and advocacy,\u00a0<strong>please consider making a tax-deductible gift here<\/strong>. If you can afford a contribution of $100 or more, think of that as a subscription. That will help keep the site paywall-free<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=97\">Driverless Cars Could Save Tens of Thousands of Lives. But We Must Treat Them Like Aviation \u2014 Not Like Cars<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sustainable transportation scenes from today&#8217;s Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eyes-on-the-street"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving - Urban Atlas Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving - Urban Atlas Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sustainable transportation scenes from today&#039;s Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Urban Atlas Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T04:13:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862\"},\"headline\":\"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T04:13:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102\"},\"wordCount\":385,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Eyes on the Street\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102\",\"name\":\"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving - Urban Atlas Media\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T04:13:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=102#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Urban Atlas Media\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving - Urban Atlas Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving - Urban Atlas Media","og_description":"Sustainable transportation scenes from today's Obama Presidential Center Grand Opening","og_url":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102","og_site_name":"Urban Atlas Media","article_published_time":"2026-06-22T04:13:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862"},"headline":"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving","datePublished":"2026-06-22T04:13:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102"},"wordCount":385,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Eyes on the Street"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102","url":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102","name":"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving - Urban Atlas Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-22T04:13:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=102#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Yes we can&#8230; get to the Obama Center without driving"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/","name":"Urban Atlas Media","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com"],"url":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}