Post image: The south suburbs is one of the most underserved areas in the Chicago region’s rapid transit network and for decades residents and businesses have rallied behind the proposed SouthEast Service (SES) line as a transformational project. Despite strong public will and political support, Metra has been unable to secure funding to move the project beyond the initial planning stages. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]