The Associated Press

CHICAGO – To encourage more people to bike to their destinations, the city of Chicago is about to unveil a plan for a 500-mile network of designated bicycle routes.

Next year, there are plans to shut down several streets for biking on Sunday morning – something that is already done in Bogota, Colombia and Guadalajara, Mexico. City planners have also decided to adopt a practice in Geneva, Switzerland of putting a layer of pavement above street level and below the curb in order to increase the riders safety.

“It’s truly putting Chicago on the forefront of improving cycling across the country,” Andy Clarke, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists, said of the city’s track record of delivering for cyclists.

Ben Gomberg of the city’s transportation department said the city hopes to try teal markings at 10 intersections and planners are also considering specially marked boxes at intersections where cyclists can line up ahead of cars.