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Seven years ago, Dave Simmons from Elk Grove Village decided to turn his passion for riding bikes into a non-profit with a mission to get more people on their bikes. Through Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove (FCEG), Dave is determined to see more people riding not only for recreation, but also for transportation – to school, to work, to the […]
Two bills that would strengthen education and awareness of the growing number of people bicycling in Illinois passed out of committee in Springfield on Tuesday. One bill would add the Dutch Reach method to Illinois’ Rules of the Road manual and add bike safety questions to the state driver’s license exam. The Dutch Reach method encourages drivers and passengers to […]
Post image: Active Transportation Alliance is undertaking a new, broad-reaching advocacy campaign called Trail Connect Chicagoland to mobilize our members and supporters around our vision for a seamlessly connected regional trail network. As one of the first steps in this new campaign, Active Trans recently convened grassroots advocates, allied organizations, local bike clubs, as well as federal, state and local […]
Post image: Active Trans Advocacy Manager Maggie Melin recaps her experience at the 2018 National Bike Summit. The National Bike Summit, hosted by the League of American Bicyclists in Washington DC, is an annual gathering of bicycle advocates from across the country. For this year's event held in March, the contingent from Illinois included myself and six other advocates from Illinois […]
Post image: As a part of our work to improve biking and walking conditions in the Lake Calumet region, we are profiling leaders in the community who have been doing this work for many years. One such leader is Tom Shepherd, serving as president of the Pullman Civic Organization for three terms and president of the Southeast Environmental Task Force […]
Last week 10 civic and business organizations signed a letter to the city and state calling for dedicated transit lanes on North Lake Shore Drive. As outlined in the letter, dedicated lanes would boost bus speed and reliability and get more people riding transit. Bus riders already account for more than 20 percent of users on Lake Shore Drive every […]
Post image: Active Trans is offering mini-grants to support community-based events during Chicago Bike Week (June 21 – 29, 2018). This funding opportunity will award 3 – 6 grants of $500 – $1,000 dollars each. Applicants are encouraged to be creative since there are no limitations on the types of events that may be supported (i.e. community bike rides, educational […]
Post image: The Active Transportation Alliance compiles a list of events happening each month along the Lakefront Trail. See what's going on in the month of April so you can better plan your walking, biking or running route. As we inch towards spring, the trail will be busy For regular updates about the Lakefront Trail, follow our Lakefront Trail Twitter […]
The free-floating car-sharing pilot program passed by Chicago City Council could help residents who don’t own a car get around and encourage more people to live car-free or car-lite lifestyles. Unlike Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare, free-floating carshare companies like car2go don’t require users to pick up and drop off the vehicles in a fixed location for a set period of […]
Post image: Active Transportation Alliance is embarking on a new advocacy project to mobilize local leaders and community members to push for improvements to the Des Plaines River Trail (DPRT) in central Cook County. The Des Plaines River Trail is one of the oldest and most popular bike and pedestrian trails in the region, extending from the heart of Cook […]