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McDonald's Cycle Center[edit]

Article (edit | visual edit | history) · Article talk (edit | history) · Watch • Watch peer review

This peer review discussion has been closed.
I've listed this article for peer review because this article may be a future WP:FAC candidate. I would like to clean it up before considering such a nomination.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 21:49, 20 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Finetooth comments: This is most interesting, generally clear, and well-illustrated. I have concerns about the big text sandwich, the wholly honorific treatment of McDonald's, and a few prose or Manual of Style issues.

Lead

  • "With the street address of 239 East Randolph Street, it is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of East Randolph and Columbus Drive, in the northeast corner of Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, USA. - - A big too complicated perhaps. Suggestion: "The center, at 239 East Randolph Street, is in the northeast corner of Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois."

Details

General information

  • "At the time the McDonald's Cycle Center opened, bicycle centers were already common throughout Europe and planned or enacted in several U.S. cities." Would "established" be better than "enacted"?
  • "Since McDonald's is providing a healthier menu and fostering grade school physical education in an effort to help its customers improve their health, sponsoring bicycle and exercise activity in the park augments the company's other initiatives." The source you cite does not support the idea that McDonald's is truly interested in its customers' health. In fact, the source chides McDonald's throughout, saying "... there's something insidious about McDonald's recent alignment with health-related activities. Essentially, it's funding what it calls "active lifestyle programs" in schools and public spaces, activities we desperately need to counteract the damage caused by the high-sodium, trans-fatty foods it serves." This is the most serious flaw I've detected in the article; it gives McDonald's credit without mentioning the company's possibly cynical motives. Since the source you've cited talks about the "McDonaldization of America", it shouldn't be hard to balance the claims to make sure that they are NPOV rather than pro-McDonald.

Rentals

Repairs

  • I wonder if any more detail could be added here. How many mechanics? What kinds of repairs do they do? Could I take my bicycle there to get new brakes, for example? Would I have to be a member to get my bicycle fixed there?
I'll take another careful look later today. Finetooth (talk) 15:35, 28 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Other

I hope these few comments prove helpful. If so, please consider reviewing another article, especially one from the PR backlog. That is where I found this one. Finetooth (talk) 17:26, 24 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Further Finetooth comments: The addition of the material about the history of bike laws in Illinois adds a most interesting dimension to the article. You've added a great deal of other information as well, and I must say that the article is far deeper and more interesting than the first time I read it.

  • I think it would look better to have a little more space between the map and the text to its right, but I don't know how to make this happen. As I said before, I'm not sure how maps consisting of a base map with overlays work or how to tweak them. It's probably OK as is but not perfect. This is just a perfectionist's observation, not anything I can point to in the Manual of Style.
OK. Finetooth (talk) 21:58, 29 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Lead

  • The Cycle Center, is high-regarded and world-renown." - Should be "highly regarded and world-renowned". The claims in this sentence and the rest of the paragraph are so strong that they might be challenged. For example, someone might argue that "world-renowned" suggests that everybody knows about the center and thinks highly of it, whereas it's probably not well-known to the general public outside of Chicago. City planners and bike enthusiasts are most likely to know about it. I'm not suggesting a big re-write, just some mild adjustments to make sure the claims don't fall into the category of "over-enthusiastic".

Details

General information

  • Your addition of the Chicago Tribune writer's doubts about McDonald's motives help tilt toward NPOV. I might suggest adding the word "however" at the beginning of this sentence and wikilinking fast food.
  • "The city and its cycle center are considered exemplary by other cities in pursuit of covered, secure bicycle parking near public transportation." - This probably needs a source even though similar claims are sourced later in the article. You might be able to use ref = name to clone one of the other citations that support this claim.

Membership

Critical review

  • "Commissioner d’Escoto and the City of Chicago Department of Transportation, were the 2004 recipients of the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Stein Ray & Harris Patron of the Year award in the governmental category jointly with several other features of Millennium Park." - The sentence says literally that the commissioner and the department shared an award with "several other features". I think this one needs to be re-cast for clarity. The sentence should probably also be merged with the larger paragraph above it to avoid the criticism that it is an orphan.
  • Nice job of expansion. I hope these further suggestions are helpful. Finetooth (talk) 18:13, 29 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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