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Did You Know?

Roughly every three days, one person biking or walking is killed by someone driving a car in the Chicago region.

Give your advocacy skills a boost with these virtual workshops

Apr 5, 2021 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

Ever wondered about the best time for advocates to get involved in a new transportation project?

Or maybe you’ve been stumped about the most effective way to gather input about transportation projects from a wide range of people in your community?

These are just a couple of the thorny questions addressed in a series of workshops held during Active Trans’ Suburban Action Week.

The event, which included more than 35 speakers, enabled Active Trans to put together an extensive collection of resources intended to help community members successfully advocate for walking, biking, and transit.

Some of the discussions focused on specific advocacy efforts while other presentations focused on walking, biking, and transit projects underway at the county level.

Some presentations took more of a workshop approach. These focused on topics like building an advocacy campaign, promoting pedestrian and bicyclist safety through public art, and learning how a project gets engineered and built.

Check out the workshops below!

 

SUBURBAN ADVOCACY TRAINING 101

For those new to transportation advocacy or for those interested in building a campaign from scratch, this is the training for you.

Jim Merrell, Active Trans Managing Advocacy Director, and Maggie Czerwinski, Active Trans Advocacy Manager, review key policy concepts recommended for suburban communities and step-by-step instructions on how to build a base of supporters, how to activate your base, and how to engage elected officials to make positive change happen in your community.

Download and print the campaign building worksheet and complete it while you watch.

 

INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOP

Active Trans Advocacy Managers Alex Perez and Maggie Czerwinski guide you through a brainstorming activity exploring how to involve a broad range of groups and individuals in your advocacy efforts. Gathering input from a wide range of people is certain to make your campaign more effective and inclusive.

Download and print the inclusive engagement worksheet (or grab and pen and paper) and build an outreach plan while you listen in.

 

ASK AN ARTIST: PROMOTING PEDESTRIAN & CYCLIST SAFETY THROUGH PUBLIC ART

Chicago Artist Mary Fedorowski from Overbite Studio details how public art and murals can be used to improve the safety of people walking and biking. She also offers tips on how your village or city can bring art to its public spaces – think colorful crosswalks and bike lanes!

 

ASK AN ENGINEER: HOW PROJECTS GET BUILT

Mike Kerr, President of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd, explores the ins-and-outs of how pedestrian and bicycle projects get engineered and built. Mike shares several walking and biking projects that he and his colleagues have designed from around the Chicagoland region.

This workshop will help you better understand when your advocacy and input about a project matter the most.

 

In addition to these virtual workshops, be sure to check out the advocacy talks and county updates from Suburban Action Week.

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