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Bike Walk Education in Schools Act

Apr 23, 2018 | by Active Trans

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. Yet Illinois’ School Code requires automobile safety education, but there isn’t a requirement that education includes instruction on how to bike and walk safely. Active Trans is working with our allies across the state to change that. The Bike Walk Education in Schools Act (HB4799) requires school boards statewide to adopt policies for educating K-8 students about biking and walking safety, and review/update these policies every two years. Schools boards determine how best to implement the requirement in their schools. Over the last thirty years, childhood obesity has tripled in the U.S. and Illinois ranks ninth...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

Chicago River Trail Coalition advances trail vision

Apr 19, 2018 | by Steve Simmons

Advancing a continuous Chicago River Trail that improves the quality of life for all city residents is not an easy task. The river spans nine aldermanic districts; usage varies from recreational to heavily industrial in stretches; and the quality of access points varies greatly. As trail segments begin to emerge, there's an urgency to develop goals for important related issues like affordable housing, water quality, trail design, and the environment. To jumpstart this process, we recently convened the Chicago River Trail Coalition. The coalition is a diverse group of public and private sector organizations, including elected officials from city and state governments. Active Trans will convene the coalition several times a year to keep the momentum going towards a continuous trail...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side, Chicago South Side, Planning, Walking

Chicagoans are ready for dockless bike share. Here’s how to get it right.

Apr 19, 2018 | by Ron Burke

If you follow urban cycling, you’ve probably heard the stories by now of dockless bikeshare (DoBi) chaos in parts of Asia, with bikes piling up on sidewalks and thrown in to rivers, and with companies going bankrupt almost overnight. Even in the U.S., the rollout has not gone well in some cities like Dallas where bikes are cluttering streets and sidewalks, with limited ridership. On a recent visit to Seattle, I saw plenty of Lime and Ofo bikes scattered across the city. Most were parked respectfully on the edge of a sidewalk, often in groups of two to four. A few bikes blocked sidewalks while others were in homeless encampments, in the middle of forest preserves, and in other locations that would...

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

Advancing a vision for a trail on the South Branch

Apr 17, 2018 | by Steve Simmons

Turning the Chicago River into an attractive destination with healthy transportation options is an important goal of Active Trans' Chicago River Trail campaign. To achieve the vision of a continuous 27-mile trail that all Chicagoans can enjoy, it's essential that we clean up the environment, ensure housing is affordable, and create safe and easy access to the river. One area that presents an opportunity to carry out this vision is the South Branch of the Chicago River. This 3-mile stretch begins at Ping Tom Park and runs south to Western Avenue and includes Bridgeport, Pilsen, McKinley Park and Brighton Park. To get the ball rolling, we've started working on a project, the South Branch Framework, that will help develop a...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago South Side, Planning, Walking

Advocates inspire bicycling in Elk Grove Village

Apr 16, 2018 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

Seven years ago, Dave Simmons from Elk Grove Village decided to turn his passion for riding bikes into a non-profit with a mission to get more people on their bikes. Through Friends of Cycling in Elk Grove (FCEG), Dave is determined to see more people riding not only for recreation, but also for transportation – to school, to work, to the grocery store, and beyond. Dave attended our Bike Walk Every Town suburban advocacy skills-building program last fall where we educated local supporters about how to fight for policies that help communities become more walk, bike and transit-friendly. This includes adopting a Complete Streets Policy to ensure that all road users are considered in future projects, and developing an active transportation...

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

Bike safety bills move forward in Springfield

Apr 10, 2018 | by Active Trans

Two bills that would strengthen education and awareness of the growing number of people bicycling in Illinois passed out of committee in Springfield on Tuesday. One bill would add the Dutch Reach method to Illinois’ Rules of the Road manual and add bike safety questions to the state driver’s license exam. The Dutch Reach method encourages drivers and passengers to use their far hand and reach across their body to open car doors after parallel parking, forcing people to look back for approaching cyclists and other traffic before exiting the car. Research shows the Dutch Reach makes drivers and passengers more aware of approaching cyclists, helping prevent crashes and save lives. “With more people riding bikes in communities across Illinois,...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Walking

Coalition calls for dedicated lane for transit on NLSD

Apr 2, 2018 | by Active Trans

Last week 10 civic and business organizations signed a letter to the city and state calling for dedicated transit lanes on North Lake Shore Drive.As outlined in the letter, dedicated lanes would boost bus speed and reliability and get more people riding transit. Bus riders already account for more than 20 percent of users on Lake Shore Drive every day while taking up a fraction of the space that cars do.See the full letter and background information on the project.A project team comprised of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Chicago Park District (CPD) plans to rebuild North Lake Shore Drive from Grand Avenue to Hollywood Avenue. The proposed project involves improvement of seven...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, Walking

Free-floating car-sharing program should be welcomed in Chicago

Mar 22, 2018 | by Active Trans

The free-floating car-sharing pilot program passed by Chicago City Council could help residents who don’t own a car get around and encourage more people to live car-free or car-lite lifestyles.Unlike Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare, free-floating carshare companies like car2go don’t require users to pick up and drop off the vehicles in a fixed location for a set period of time. The cars can be parked in any legal spot within a designated zone and reservations aren’t required.The ordinance introduced by 1st Ward Ald. Joe Moreno would set up a nine-month pilot program starting in May 2018. One vendor chosen by the city would be permitted to deploy up to 500 vehicles in designated “home area.”The proposed area includes all of...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago Central, Chicago North Side, Education, Planning, transit, Walking

Bike rodeo tips from the expert

Mar 15, 2018 | by Active Trans

Active Trans’ Bike Walk Every Town program is training suburban advocates to lead campaigns to create better communities for walking and biking. One of the topics we focus on in our trainings is how to build support and mobilize community members around advocacy campaigns.Organizing fun and engaging community events is a fantastic way to build awareness for a campaign or project you’d like to see supported by your elected officials. Events like these can offer an opportunity to connect to residents and encourage them to become more active in advocating for better biking and walking. So what type of events can help get your neighbors engaged in your local advocacy? Have you ever been to a bike rodeo?A bike rodeo is...

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

See where candidates for governor stand

Mar 6, 2018 | by Active Trans

With primary election day two weeks away, the Active Transportation Alliance has released its 2018 Sustainable Transportation Voter Guide so constituents can learn about the views of candidates for governor on transit, walking and biking issues.The voter guide is comprised of responses from gubernatorial candidates to a questionnaire Active Trans sent to all candidates last month.As a non-partisan 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, Active Trans does not endorse candidates or evaluate their positions. This voter guide is an educational resource to inform the public and candidates for statewide office about current priorities for improving public transit, walking and biking as identified by our members, supporters and staff.Daniel BissBob DaiberTio Hardiman (did not respond)Jeanne Ives (did not respond)Chris Kennedy (did not respond)Robert Marshall...

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

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