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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

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

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

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