Blog

Suburban advocates call for improvements to DPRT

Dec 20, 2018 | by Matt Gomez

The southern segment of the Des Plaines River Trail (DPRT) between Touhy and North Avenues is often better suited for a kayak than a bike. That’s because flooding from the nearby river — like in this photo — often makes the trail either impassable or an uninviting soggy mess. 

People who use the trail know that this part of the trail faces other shortcomings as well, including a lack of signage and the need to cross wide and scary arterial streets where heavy traffic is speeding by.

Safe access to Chicago River Trail advances in 2018

Dec 20, 2018 | by Steve Simmons

The city made exciting progress towards a continuous Chicago River Trail in 2018 with projects breaking ground that’ll add 2.6 miles to the growing river trail network.

The projects include a new trail at Lathrop Homes, the 312 RiverRun (pictured) and Manor Greenway.

As wonderful as these projects are, trails are only useful if neighborhood residents can access them safely and easily.

For the past year,

New flyover section makes trail safer

Dec 20, 2018 | by Ted Villaire

For decades, people biking, walking and running on the Lakefront Trail have had to face cars whizzing by and poor sight lines at extremely busy street crossings near Navy Pier.

Now, thanks to the partial opening of one the most talked about infrastructure projects in Chicago, people on the trail can avoid the most dangerous, confusing part of the Lakefront Trail.

The addition of a temporary trail connection to the sidewalk on Lower Lake Shore Drive means that people can now use the Navy Pier Flyover to bypass the intersections of Grand and Illinois Avenues.

A transportation agenda for next mayor, city council

Dec 14, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

A coalition of 15 community-based organizations joined Active Trans in asking candidates for mayor and city council to support a set of policies that will make it safer and easier to walk, bike and ride transit in neighborhoods across Chicago.

The Active Transportation Agenda for Chicago describes how the city’s leaders can support policies and projects over the next four years that better connect all residents to jobs, schools, parks, healthcare and other daily destinations.

Despite improvements, hopes dashed for protected bike lanes on Milwaukee Ave.

Dec 5, 2018 | by Jim Merrell

Newly unveiled plans for the once-in-a-generation reconstruction of Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square feature many exciting improvements for walking, biking, and transit. However, they fail to provide kind of transformative change needed to create safer streets that prioritize people over cars, particularly for people on bikes.

In an all-too-familiar story, community concerns about reallocating street space from car parking to protected bike lanes resulted in a watered-down proposal that does not seem destined to move the needle on Chicago’s harmful habit of car dependence.

Bikes finish first in Northwest Side multimodal race

Nov 14, 2018 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Chicago residents often talk about how riding a bike is the quickest way to get around the city’s most congested streets.

Well, a recent race in Portage Park proved it.

The Six Corners Association and Active Trans recently hosted a Multiple Modes of Transportation Race from the Six Corners intersection of Cicero Avenue, Irving Park Road and Milwaukee Avenue to the Irving Park Blue Line Station and back during the afternoon rush.

Bike Walk Fund needed in Illinois

Nov 9, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

The results of the state elections are in and now it’s time for Illinois’ new leaders to get to work building a healthier, more sustainable and equitable transportation network.

Illinois hasn’t passed a long-term plan to fund the state’s transportation infrastructure since 2009, and that has contributed to an $19.4 billion maintenance backlog for the region’s transit agencies. Making matters worse, the state cut transit funding in the 2017 and 2018 budgets.

We also know that the state spends virtually none of its own funds on dedicated biking and walking infrastructure,

Shared bus-bike lane to pilot on Halsted

Oct 30, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) are testing a new shared bus-bike lane concept during the reconstruction of the Chicago Avenue bridge.

Starting Thursday, November 1, the city is closing Chicago Avenue between Larrabee and Halsted Streets to demolish and reconstruct the bridge over the Chicago River. The closure is expected to last three months.

During this period, all 66 Chicago buses will be re-routed to Division Street via Larrabee Street and Halsted Street back to Chicago Avenue.

Chicago bus report cards show great need for upgrades

Oct 25, 2018 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Chicagoans are abandoning their city’s buses at alarming rates.

Why? The answer is made clear in Chicago’s first-ever Bus Friendly Streets Report Cards.  

Data in the newly-released report cards shows bus speed and reliability on the decline because buses routinely get stuck in traffic and at red lights.

Active Trans developed the report cards using publicly available bus tracker data from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

Support walking and biking on Logan Boulevard

Oct 22, 2018 | by Steve Simmons

Ask people who’ve walked, biked or driven on Logan Blvd. from Rockwell St. to Lathrop Homes on Diversey Ave. and they’ll tell you it’s a dangerous, high-stress experience.

The stakes for fixing Logan to Lathrop couldn’t be higher.

A continuous 27-mile Chicago River Trail is coming to fruition, including a new trail at Lathrop and projects like the 312 RiverRun Trail and Manor Greenway.

The growing network of riverfront trails is only useful if it’s safely and easily accessible to neighborhood residents.