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Improving walking & biking part of public health grant

Sep 25, 2018 | by Melody Geraci

Under a new five-year grant awarded to the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI), Active Trans will help communities in Cook County, the Peoria region and southern Illinois improve biking and walking. The grant, which comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and supports the Illinois State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (ISPAN), allows IPHI to collaborate with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), local health departments and not-for-profit organizations like Active Trans in promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity in early childhood care and education, making the the built environment better for walking and biking and improving food policy and food systems and nutrition for mothers and infants. The initiative will focus on three regions in the state:...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Walking

Oak Park advocates stay connected with local officials

Sep 24, 2018 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

A new group of advocates in Oak Park is committed to strengthening the village’s position as one of the best Chicago suburbs for walking, biking and public transit. Formed less than a year ago, Bike Walk Oak Park (BWOP) has become a vocal presence in the community, calling for safer streets for people walking and biking in the village. The Active Transportation Alliance provided BWOP with a Bike Walk Every Town mini-grant earlier this year and has provided strategic advice as the group started coming together and making waves locally (Bike Walk Every Town provides resources and guidance to suburban advocates working for better biking, walking and public transit in their communities). Members of BWOP are currently advocating for the...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking, West Suburbs

Improve Riverwalk safety without banning biking

Sep 21, 2018 | by Ron Burke

Active Transportation Alliance agrees with Alderman Reilly that bikes should be walked when the Riverwalk is crowded. However, we don’t support a complete ban on biking because there are many hours and times of the year when it’s safe for people biking and walking to share the path. We’re eager to work with Ald. Reilly and other city leaders to identify strategies that improve safety and ease congestion for everyone who wants to enjoy the Riverwalk and the lakefront. Unlike a typical sidewalk, the Riverwalk was conceived from the beginning as a multi-use path for both bicycling and walking. It’s important that biking remain an option because the majority of people aren’t comfortable riding on city streets, and the Riverwalk...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago Central, Walking

Share your ideas about Chicago’s transportation future

Sep 14, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

With a wide-open race for Chicago's mayor and several competitive races for Chicago City Council, it will be critical to highlight Chicago's most pressing transportation issues among candidates and voters in the 2019 election. As part of our Walk and Roll the Vote campaign, the Active Transportation Alliance is currently working with residents and community-based organizations across the city to develop a game-changing transportation platform and we need your help. Make your voice heard by completing our five-question survey. To date, we have conducted meetings with dozens of community, civic and advocacy organizations that work on issues related to creating healthier, more sustainable and equitable communities. We also held two Transportation Justice Dialogue events in August in Logan Square and Bronzeville to collect...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

Supporters share ideas for Chicago election platform

Sep 12, 2018 | by W. Robert Schultz III

Residents from neighborhoods across the city believe future leaders of Chicago should make it a priority to build out a network of safe biking and walking infrastructure and increase access to fast, frequent public transit service. This is some of what we learned after hosting two Active Transportation Justice Dialogue events at St. John Berchman Chuch in Logan Square and the Chicago Urban League office in Bronzeville. The purpose of the meetings was to collect input on the Active Transportation Alliance’s 2019 city election platform. Chicago voters will elect the next mayor and city council in February 2019, with the possibility of runoff elections in April. The Active Transportation Platform will reflect the input gathered from dozens of one-on-one meetings...

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

South Branch leadership workshop on Sept. 27

Sep 10, 2018 | by Steve Simmons

Would you like safer connections between Brighton Park, McKinley Park, Bridgeport and Pilsen, as well as better opportunities to bike, walk and take public transit in these communities? If you're passionate about these issues, we need you to help us fight for this vision by registering for a leadership training 6-7:30 p.m. on Sept 27 at the YMCA in Pilsen -- located at 2700 S. Western Ave. Click here to sign up for the Sept. 27 leadership workshop. This workshop will cover skills and strategies for promoting walking, biking, and public transit in your neighborhood. Topics will include campaign planning, grassroots organizing, strategic communications and advocacy with decisionmakers. This workshop will be a great way to take action and shape...

Tags: Advocacy, biking, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Walking

Crash highlights need for flyover detour

Sep 10, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

Another bicycle crash on Lower Lake Shore Drive has drawn attention to several persistent safety issues for people biking and walking on this congested stretch of the Lakefront Trail. Aaron Duncan, an IT engineer at WBEZ, was commuting home on his bicycle and traveling south on the path over the Chicago River when he saw heavy oncoming foot and bike traffic. While the Navy Pier Flyover is being built, people biking and walking on the trail are currently detoured to a shared sidewalk with no protective barrier next to high-speed vehicle traffic on the bridge. Duncan had slowed down amidst the traffic when a rented quadcycle hit one of the steel beams that supports the bridge and protrudes from the...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Lakefront Trail, Walking

New campaign aims to link regional trails

Sep 7, 2018 | by Active Trans

Despite a growing awareness of the long list of benefits that trails can provide to communities, many trails in Chicagoland continue to be poorly maintained and difficult to access with too many dangerous crossings at busy streets. A new plan from the Active Transportation Alliance highlights ways residents and officials can work together to overcome these obstacles and build a regional trail network that works for everyone in Northeast Illinois. To showcase this new vision for improving trails throughout the region, we recently held our first annual Trail Connect Chicagoland Summer Summit (see photo). The event turned out dozens of local trail advocates and some of the region’s most proactive elected officials who wanted to learn about the plan and share...

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

Governor signs biking and walking safety ed. bill

Sep 7, 2018 | by Kyle Whitehead

Every day in Illinois, five kids on average are hit by a driver of a motor vehicle within one block of a school, and more are hit beyond the school zones. A bill that helps address this tragic daily occurrence while encouraging more walking and biking was recently signed into law by Governor Rauner. The Bike Walk Education in Schools Act (HB4799) requires K-8 schools to provide biking and walking safety education. Illinois’ School Code requires automobile safety education, but currently there isn’t a requirement for providing instruction on how to bike and walk safely. This bill is an important step forward in making Illinois a better place for kids to bike and walk. Over the past thirty years, childhood...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Education, Walking

Progress during Emanuel years, but much more work to do

Sep 7, 2018 | by Ron Burke

Under Mayor Emanuel’s leadership, Chicago strengthened its commitment to building safer streets that make it easier to get around without a car. The mayor was a national leader in building better bike infrastructure through a growing network of protected bike lanes, off-street trails and neighborhood greenways. He set an example that other cities followed and soon mayors were competing to be more bike-friendly. The mayor secured millions of dollars in federal funding to rebuild Chicago’s decades-old public transit system, leading to more reliable service on the city’s busiest rail lines. He expanded implementation of the city’s policy to prioritize pedestrian safety when building and rebuilding streets, adding more countdown timers, refuge islands and enhanced crosswalks. Despite recent progress, it is...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Walking

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