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Illinois celebrates Walk to School Day with new biking and walking education requirement

Oct 10, 2018 | by Ron Burke

School districts across Illinois are working to meet a new requirement to teach biking and walking safety while celebrating national Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 10. Illinois crash data shows nearly five children are hit by people driving every day in Illinois while walking or biking within one block of a school. In August, Governor Rauner signed the Bike Walk Education in Schools Act (HB4799) into law. The legislation amends the school code so that every K-8 public school in Illinois is required to provide instruction, study and discussion of effective methods for the prevention and avoidance of traffic injuries related to walking and bicycling. Teaching walking and biking safely saves lives while helping kids get more physical activity, reducing...

Tags: Advocacy, Education, Walking

Suburban advocacy summit on October 27

Oct 4, 2018 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

Do you want better walking, biking and transit options in your community? For people who walk, bike or ride transit in the suburbs, our transportation system is often neither safe nor welcoming. But when bolstered by a collective voice of advocates, transportation conditions in the Chicagoland suburbs have the potential to be transformed. Be a part of this suburban transformation by attending our annual gathering of suburban advocates at our Bike Walk Every Town Summit on Saturday, October 27 in Elmhurst. Bike Walk Every Town is our suburban advocacy program dedicated to lifting up suburban leaders and providing them with the resources and strategic advice needed to be more effective change-makers in their community. Register for the Bike Walk Every Town...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Education, North Suburbs, South Suburbs, Walking, West Suburbs

Bartlett advocate petitions for trail connection

Oct 4, 2018 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

Longtime bicycling advocate Terry Witt is leading the charge to fill in a significant regional trail gap through the Village of Bartlett. Now he’s created a petition and needs your help collecting 1,000 signatures. Terry (pictured) grew up in the northwest suburbs and now resides in Bartlett. His enthusiasm for biking was originally sparked by his adult son’s love for riding. “I started riding at age 55 with my son and didn’t stop!” Upon retirement and with a newfound love of riding his bike, Terry began working for Spin Doctor Cyclewerks in Bartlett as their director of advocacy. He attended Active Trans’ Bike Walk Every Town suburban advocacy training last fall and has decided to focus his advocacy on pushing...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, West Suburbs

Don’t believe the hype about distracted walking

Oct 3, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

Despite endless media coverage about the dangers of distracted walking, a new analysis shows only a small fraction of the pedestrians struck by cars in Illinois were using a cell phone. From 2013 to 2016 in Illinois, less than 2 percent of pedestrians hit by cars were using cell phones at the time of the crash. Let’s stop blaming victims and focus on the real problem. Many pedestrians involved in crashes were legally crossing the street in a crosswalk, and most often the primary and secondary causes of the crash are related to driver behavior. Speeding and failure to stop for pedestrians are the most common factors. Active Trans conducted this analysis using the most recent publicly available crash data...

Tags: Advocacy, Walking

Room for improvement on Lakefront Trail routing

Oct 2, 2018 | by Ron Burke

The Chicago Park District’s design for separate biking and walking paths on the Lakefront Trail between Ardmore and Montrose addresses a major safety issue by redirecting cyclists away from street crossings where cars funnel into and out of the park. However, what this busy trail really needs and deserves is to eliminate street crossings altogether with ramps, underpasses or street closures so that everyone can enjoy the trail entirely car-free. This would also allow the bike path to revert to its original alignment closer to Lake Shore Drive. The park district is in the final stages of a two-year process to create separate paths for people biking and people walking along all 18 miles of the Lakefront Trail. Construction on...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side, Lakefront Trail, Walking

Sign the petition for an Illinois Bike Walk Fund

Sep 28, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

Each year people throughout Illinois are discovering walking and biking as options for every day transportation, unleashing health, environmental, and economic benefits in communities across the state. Despite this growth, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) invests very few state dollars on infrastructure projects to improve conditions for walking and biking. Meanwhile, vast amounts of IDOT funds pour into road projects that benefit drivers and often lead to more congestion, pollution and inequity. We call 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% of transportation capital spending at IDOT. This is in...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling

Kids on Wheels fleet provides on-bike education to youth

Sep 26, 2018 | by Melody Geraci

Active Trans’ Kids on Wheels mobile bike fleets once again traveled the region this summer to provide on-bike education opportunities for youth. Since 2013, these two 25-foot cargo trailers have trekked hundreds of miles and served thousands of kids in dozens of communities, offering the opportunity for students to learn valuable riding skills and techniques. It’s an especially important resource for communities where kids and families may not be able to afford to own a bike of their own. This season, Active Trans worked with partner organizations to bring the Kids on Wheels caravan to communities from the northern suburbs to the Southland, in addition to City of Chicago neighborhoods. The season kicked off in May, with Northbrook School District...

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

Congressional candidates share views on transportation issues

Sep 26, 2018 | by Barb Cornew

With many threats and opportunities looming in Washington, D.C., decisions by the next U.S. Congress will shape the future of biking, walking and public transit in the Chicago region for years to come. To educate candidates and voters about federal transportation priorities for the next Congress, Active Trans partnered with the League of American Bicyclists on a seven-question candidate questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to all candidates in the Chicago region that will appear on the November ballot. Earlier this year at the National Bike Summit Active Trans joined other advocates in meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill about the need to prioritize safety in federally funded transportation projects and invest in multimodal projects as part of any...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

Red Line Extension would bring major economic benefits

Sep 26, 2018 | by Julia Gerasimenko

People who scoff at the cost of the Red Line Extension ($2+ billion) shouldn’t overlook the significant social and economic benefits it would deliver to several of the most isolated and disinvested communities in the city. New analysis using the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s AllTransit tool puts numbers behind these benefits. Funded by TransitCenter, the tool allows users to enter an address and discover the existing transit conditions and how improvements could impact the existing economic and social conditions. Public transportation is a social justice issue since it’s essential to economic development and opportunity, especially in areas that have been isolated and disinvested for decades, such as the Far South Side. Public transit agencies should serve more than just the...

Tags: Advocacy, Chicago South Side

Construction sites continue to pose danger

Sep 25, 2018 | by Julia Gerasimenko

After a series of fatalities and serious injuries, it’s clear Chicago must do more to protect people biking and walking near construction sites. In August, Angela Park was riding her bike in the West Loop when she was tragically struck and killed by a person driving near a construction site at Halsted and Madison. After the crash, Active Trans heard from many people in the bicycling community who were affected by the crash and eager to fight for policy changes that could prevent similar crashes from happening. The city and advocates have improved the reporting of problem sites in recent years, but construction sites continue to put people on foot and bike in harm’s way -- sometimes with tragic results. Often,...

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

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