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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. The "racecourse" was one mile each way. Race contenders are pictured in the photo here. 45th Ward Alderman John Arena (in blue coat) finished first while using a Divvy bike (hurray for Divvy!), and was closely followed by the participant on his own bike. The bus rider finished...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side

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, relying instead on a relatively small amount of federal bike/walk dollars that comes nowhere close to meeting the needs. During the primary election season in February, Active Trans published...

Tags: Advocacy, biking, Walking

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. While on Halsted, buses will travel in shared curbside bus-bike lanes that will be separated from car and truck traffic with plastic posts. See a full map of the detour route. The 66 Chicago bus is the...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side

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). See report cards for all 50 Chicago wards and eight of the city's high-ridership routes at www.activetrans.org/busreportcards. The letter grades are based on bus speed, bus bunching and wait time. How many of each letter grade was handed out to the 50 wards? A – 1 ward B – 8 wards C – 20 ward D –...

Tags: Advocacy

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. This stretch is a high-crash area that limits access to the retail corridor surrounding Elston Avenue. It includes the notorious Logan and Western Ave. intersection under the Kennedy Expressway, where people are asked to cross several lanes of...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side, Walking

Survey results show broad support for platform ideas

Oct 22, 2018 | by W. Robert Schultz III

The call for a dedicated Bike-Walk Fund of $20 million in Chicago’s annual budget received the strongest support among respondents to a recent survey of Active Trans supporters and allies. The survey is part of Active Trans’ Walk and Roll the Vote Campaign, which educates candidates and voters about the city’s most pressing transportation issues. Active Trans is working with community partners from across the city to develop a game-changing transportation platform for the 2019 elections. The survey is one way we are collecting input and feedback on the platform, along with more than 35 one-on-one meetings with community-based organizations and two public Transportation Dialogue events held last August. There were more than 500 responses from all areas of the...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

CEOs urge gubernatorial candidates to fund biking & walking

Oct 15, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

Business leaders from across the Chicago region are urging the next Illinois Governor to spend a “fair share” of state transportation dollars for a new, dedicated Bike Walk Fund. The group of 27 CEOs recently sent a letter to Gov. Rauner and J.B. Pritzker asking the candidates to commit to spending at least $50 million annually on biking and walking projects if elected. Currently, the state spends very little of its own money on biking and walking projects that “enhance the safety, health, sustainability and equity of Illinois communities.” The leaders say more investment in biking, walking and public transit is needed for their companies to continue to attract top talent to Chicago from around the world. See the official letter and the...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

Active Trans joins Chicago’s New Mobility Task Force

Oct 15, 2018 | by Ron Burke

UPDATE (3/14/19): Chicago released a report featuring recommendations from the New Transportation and Mobility Task Force, including many ideas Active Trans pushed in task force discussions. -- As executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance, I am excited to join Chicago’s New Transportation and Mobility Task Force, which meets for the first time Oct. 25. Cities are poised to become more livable and equitable by making it easier and cheaper to get around with fewer cars on our streets, and new mobility options have the potential to accelerate this change. In my view, the main objective for the task force is identifying the right mix of policies and incentives to achieve this goal. In Chicago, the share of trips by...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago Central, Chicago North Side, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Chicago West Side, Walking

Community leaders support Illinois Bike Walk Fund

Oct 11, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

Leaders from neighborhoods throughout the Chicago region agree that more state transportation dollars should be spent on biking and walking projects. Active Trans has called upon the next Illinois governor and general assembly to commit to spending a fair share of state transportation dollars for a new, dedicated Bike Walk Fund of $50 million per year, which is only about 2 percent of transportation capital spending at the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Currently, the state spends very little of its own money on biking and walking projects that promote healthy, sustainable and equitable communities. Add your name to our petition to the next governor and state assembly. Leaders from the following community-based organizations support establishing an Illinois Bike Walk...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Chicago Central, Chicago North Side, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Chicago West Side, North Suburbs

New regional plan has mobility vision but lacks funding, political will

Oct 10, 2018 | by Ron Burke

Chicagoland’s new regional plan, called “ON TO 2050,” has plenty of good ideas on paper to tackle the problem of too many cars and traffic crashes, but it lacks the mechanisms, funding and leadership to actually implement a new mobility future and move away from the car-centric status quo. The plan was prepared and approved by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), which is run by a collection of committees comprised of representatives of local, state, regional and federal governments. Previous regional plans have laid out similar goals, but a recent analysis by Active Trans shows the region is just as car dependent today as it was in 1980. Moreover, driving has increased four times faster than the population...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Planning, Walking

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