It was an early holiday surprise in mid-December when the residents of Baldwin-Green apartment complex in Palatine acquired six bike racks valued at $3,000.
The bike racks, which were being discarded by the Chicago Botanic Garden, initially didn’t have a new home.
Then the Chicago Botanic Garden reached out to the Chicago Tool Library to offer the racks as a donation.
Active Transportation Alliance got involved,
Winter in Chicagoland means clearing those sidewalks of snow so that pedestrians have safe walkways to traverse during the winter.
Shoveling sidewalks is not only the neighborly thing to do, but it’s also the law in some places, including Chicago.
While we strongly support the effort to make sidewalk snow removal in Chicago a municipal service, snow removal—for now—continues to be the responsibility of the property owner.
According to Chicago’s municipal code,
Our region’s transit system is facing a pivotal moment.
While ridership is on the rebound from pandemic lows, service is not meeting rider needs and the system is heading towards a significant fiscal cliff.
If you’re frustrated with transit service now, be warned that it will be far worse if this funding gap is not addressed. If we don’t intervene, our local transit systems will need to make drastic cuts that could be along the lines of:
In preparation for the coming election, Active Transportation Alliance held a series of focus groups in neighborhoods around the city to ask residents about their transportation challenges when walking, biking, or using transit.
Over and over, we heard about frustrations with CTA’s reliability and that people were often feeling unsafe, whether they were riding CTA, walking, or biking.
The feedback from the focus groups helped inform the citywide platform on walking,
This week a key hurdle has been cleared to bring high-quality rapid transit to Chicago’s far South Side.
Chicago City Council’s approval was nearly unanimous for a “transit TIF” that leverages the property value realized from investments already made in places like the South Loop and Chinatown.
This local TIF (tax increment financing) funding provides the match funding needed to unlock the investments from federal sources.
Once completed, Chicago’s major north-south L line will extend to the southernmost neighborhoods and fulfill a decades-old promise.
For many people, snow and ice on sidewalks is more than an inconvenience, it can shut down daily life.
That’s why our friends at Better Streets Chicago, with the support of their partners Access Living, are making the case for municipally-funded sidewalk snow plowing in Chicago.
Chicago has a century-and-a-half old policy that requires residents, business owners, and property managers to keep their sidewalks clear of snow and ice during the winter.
For decades, people on the far South Side have heard promises about the extension of the Red Line. Now, finally, we’re thrilled to see the plan moving forward.
There is broad community support for the project. Extending CTA’s L system to the far South Side will improve residents’ access to education, employment, healthcare, and other crucial services. The Red Line Extension will also attract construction jobs and future development along the proposed corridor.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Clare McDermott, Active Transportation Alliance
(312) 216-0466
clare@activetrans.org
Emma Bolech, Fifth Third Bank
312-848-7895
Gemma.Bolech@53.com
Active Transportation Alliance and Fifth Third Bank team up for 21st annual bike ride on DuSable Lake Shore Drive
20,000+ people on bikes to wrap up summer at one of the nation’s best bike rides
CHICAGO,
In recent weeks, Chicago City Council passed an ordinance that will promote more affordable housing near transit within the city’s South and West Side neighborhoods and improve safety for pedestrians and other road users.
Among benefits will be new approaches toward development near transit, including reducing parking minimums, increasing density/height limits (including bus lines), and increasing affordable and accessible housing options.
In 2021, 83 people were killed by car crashes within a half mile of rail stations,
If you recall the New Testament story of the loaves and fishes, you’d suspect a similar miracle happened in Palatine in early June, only this time involving bicycles and related gear.
Local community groups, led by the Bike Palatine Club and the Palatine Partners for Our Communities (POC), came together for a mini workshop teaching kids the basics of safety checks for their bikes before rolling out for many days of summertime riding.