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Keep up with the latest news
on Active Trans and topics that
we care about in the region.

New report offers guidance on Complete Streets policies

By Ted Villaire | August 18, 2015

Post image: One of the best ways to make a street safer for everyone is making it a Complete Street. These are streets that can be safely used by everyone regardless of their age, ability or travel mode. Complete Streets are designed to accommodate people walking, biking, using wheelchairs and using transit and cars. To ensure that these types of streets […]

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Extend the Orange Line past Midway

By Ted Villaire | August 18, 2015

Post image:  What if you lived within a mile or two of a rapid transit stop but had no safe and convenient way to get there? That’s the case for many residents of Chicago’s Southwest Side and the Southwest Suburbs, who struggle to access the current terminal station at Midway. A 2.3-mile extension south to 76th Street/Ford City Mall, as […]

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Restoring express bus should lead to building BRT on Ashland

By Ted Villaire | August 18, 2015

On Tuesday CTA announced the restoration of express bus service on Ashland and Western Avenues during peak hours.  The CTA ended express bus service on the #9 Ashland and #49 Western routes amid budget cuts in 2010. The #9 Ashland route is the most popular bus route in the system with 10 million boardings annually. Today’s announcement is good news […]

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Action by advocates restores Busse Woods access

By Ted Villaire | August 17, 2015

Post image:  In a great example of local advocacy in action, the Northwest Active Transportation Council recently helped restore safe bicycle access to Busse Woods after a path was closed off by construction activity. During its reconstruction of the I-90 tollway, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority closed the bike path on Golf Road at the I-90 underpass so the […]

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Extend Blue Line at both ends to connect job centers

By Ted Villaire | August 13, 2015

Post image:  The most opportunities to increase the number of people who ride transit to work in Cook County lies in the outer ring suburbs, where interchanges and disconnected towns leave residents with no choice but to spend hours each day stuck in traffic on the way to and from work. Extending the Blue Line northwest through the I-90 Corridor […]

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Advocacy a crucial part of creating better transportation

By Ted Villaire | August 13, 2015

Post image:  A new report released by TransitCenter documents how advocacy groups like Active Trans, elected officials and agency leaders all need each other to create sustainable transportation options and make streets more walkable, bikeable and transit-friendly. According to the report, grassroots advocacy is an important step in generating change. Advocacy organizations like Active Trans are the backbone behind raising public […]

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And the 2015 Bike Commuter Challenge winners are…

By Ted Villaire | August 12, 2015

Post image:  For the past 24 years, the Active Transportation Alliance has created loads of new bike commuters each year through the Bike Commuter Challenge. The challenge promotes bike commuting as an activity that is easy, fun and environmentally-friendly. Throughout the challenge’s long history, it’s been the job of our Team Leaders – our bike commuting evangelists – to create […]

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Airport Connector would benefit more than just air travelers

By Ted Villaire | August 11, 2015

Post image:  Imagine if you could get from Midway to O’Hare in less than 40 minutes on public transit. Currently, that trip takes well over an hour and involves transferring from the Orange to the Blue Line in the Loop before coming all the way back west towards O’Hare. Building the Airport Connector Express, one of 10 expansion projects in […]

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Expansion of TOD zoning makes sense

By Ted Villaire | August 10, 2015

Post image:  Housing that is walkable to public transit may soon become attainable to more Chicagoans thanks to a zoning proposal that would double the land that can support transit-convenient development.  This sort of zoning is called “transit-oriented development,” or “TOD,” which designates land around a train station as focused on providing a mix of housing and commercial opportunities all […]

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Funding Red Line South Extension should be a priority

By Ted Villaire | August 6, 2015

Post image:  Extending the CTA's Red Line south to 130th street has been talked about for more than a decade. The project has strong public and political support, and Mayor Emanuel has said it’s one of his second term priorities. In 2014, the CTA announced the list of extension alternatives had been narrowed to one “preferred alternative,” and work is […]

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