Tag Archives: Bicycling

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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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

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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

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