Blog

Action Alert: Help make state roads safer for people walking and biking

Feb 25, 2021 | by Kyle Whitehead

The transportation committee in the Illinois State House is considering a bill that would make roads safer for vulnerable users, and we need your help to make sure it passes.

House Bill 270 eliminates the 20 percent local cost share for walking and biking infrastructure on state roads. The bill is scheduled to be called in committee on Monday, March 3, at noon.

Under current law, when the state is rebuilding a road,

Report shows Mayor, police drove decisions to shut down transit, raise bridges

Feb 24, 2021 | by Kyle Whitehead

A new report from Chicago’s Inspector General (IG) finds police and emergency management personnel had outsize influence on decisions to shut down transit and raise bridges during last summer’s protests following George Floyd’s murder.

These decisions had major transportation impacts on thousands of city residents, particularly our most vulnerable neighbors such as people with disabilities and low-income essential workers.

Yet the report finds the city’s transit leaders who know their systems best often weren’t at the table when these calls were made. 

Join us at the Chicago Food Justice Summit

Feb 24, 2021 | by Active Trans

As part of the 16th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit, Active Transportation Alliance is excited to help lead a discussion about how food access is linked to transportation issues. 

The virtual event, which is focusing on the theme of “radical re-imagination,” is sponsored by the Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC). The CFPAC is an organization that works to improve food access for Chicago residents and ensure that the food is culturally appropriate,

Active Trans stands with SE Side residents fighting General Iron permit denial

Feb 23, 2021 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Active Trans stands in solidarity with the hunger strikers and Southeast Side residents who are fighting to get Mayor Lightfoot and Public Health Commissioner Arwady to deny the final permit to General Iron, a car crushing and metal recycling facility.

The facility, previously located in Lincoln Park, has a well-documented history of causing health issues in local residents due to the release of particles that cause lung and heart problems.

Looking at the 2020 air quality and health index map produced by the Chicago Department of Public Health,

Join us for a Southside Summit on Transportation

Feb 22, 2021 | by Active Trans

Active Transportation Alliance is excited to participate in a virtual summit about the impacts of growth in warehousing and trucking on Chicago’s South Side. 

This 3-day event is being cosponsored by the Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN) and the Transportation Equity Network (TEN). Registration is free and open to the public. 

Organizers plan to discuss the central role of freight in our region’s economy and how it contributes to many negative outcomes that primarily impact Chicago’s Black and Latinx populations.

Belmont Cragin youth urge CTA board to upgrade bus service  

Feb 16, 2021 | by Active Trans

Two community youth leaders pressed the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) board at the February meeting on service and cleanliness issues, earning commitments from CTA leadership that they would work to address their concerns.

Minerva Garcia and Yalinette Rivera are youth organizers from the Belmont Cragin Youth Leadership Council, a part of the Northwest Side Housing Center. Both Minerva and Yalinette testified at CTA’s February board meeting.

Minerva is a junior at Northside College Prep and Yalinette is a junior at Lincoln Park High School.

Chicago celebrates Transit Equity Day with Reps. Garcia and Kelly

Feb 11, 2021 | by Active Trans

Hundreds of advocates and community leaders joined Congressman Chuy Garcia and Congresswoman Robin Kelly in Chicago’s first celebration of National Transit Equity Day on February 4. 

Transit Equity Day serves as a national day of action that commemorates the birthday of Rosa Parks while reminding us that public transit is a civil right. It was started four years ago by a network of transit rider unions, community organizations, environmental advocates, and labor unions.

Veteran advocate brings equity, affordability to the region’s transportation system

Feb 8, 2021 | by Maya Norris

Jacky Grimshaw has made an indelible mark on the transportation scene in metropolitan Chicago. The longtime sustainable transportation advocate has spent the last 30 years working to improve walking, bicycling, and public transit conditions in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.

She’s been a prominent, influential force that has helped to shape and advance an equitable, affordable, and sustainable transportation system in the region.

Her impressive achievements in the sector have earned her Active Transportation Alliance’s Visionary Leadership Award,

Bicycle Film Festival comes to Chicago on Feb. 24

Feb 1, 2021 | by Active Trans

The Bicycle Film festival has been celebrating bicycles through art, film, and music since 2001.

This year, when the festival makes its virtual stop in Chicago February 24 – March 7, Active Trans will serve as the host.

The film festival appeals to a wide audience, from film connoisseurs to avid cyclists and everyone in between.

A portion of proceeds will go towards Active Trans to help further our mission of creating better walking,

Progress on transit equity starts with changing funding formulas

Jan 25, 2021 | by Kyle Whitehead

To achieve greater equity in the Chicago region, we must fundamentally rethink how we’re spending our limited transportation dollars.

This is why the Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA) — the region’s public transit oversight agency — recent decision to focus federal COVID relief funds in the highest need service areas is so important.

The agency chose not to simply pass the money through to Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace using a decades-old standard formula,