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1st grade transportation advocates of Summit

Aug 7, 2017 | by Active Trans

First graders from Graves Elementary School in the Village of Summit are on a mission to improve their community and their walk to school. Hundreds of kids in this southwest suburb walk to school every day. While the young students enjoy their commute, they also encounter barriers that need improvement. In April of this year, a first-grade class sent Mayor Sergio Rodriguez a letter (see below) asking for a meeting and requesting that the village work on improving the pedestrian bridge that offers one of the few connections between the north and south sides of Summit, which is separated by railroad tracks. The bridge (pictured left) is used by hundreds of students each day to get to and from school,...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Education, South Suburbs, transit, Walking

Truck safety ordinance is a step forward

Jul 6, 2017 | by Active Trans

UPDATE: The ordinance requiring city contractors to install low cost safety equipment on large trucks was approved by City Council on July 26, 2017. Active Trans commends this step towards making Chicago safer for all._______________________________________Last week, the Chicago mayor’s office announced the introduction of a truck safety ordinance to city council as part of its renewed Vision Zero initiative.The announcement represents the city following through on one of the commitments in the recently released Vision Zero Action Plan to eliminate all traffic fatalities in Chicago by 2026.Contractors will be required to phase in the installation of safety equipment, starting on January 1, 2018, with full compliance required by January 1, 2021. The city is also committing to the same standards...

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

Prepaid bus boarding pilot program expands

Jun 26, 2017 | by Active Trans

In an effort to speed up local bus service and reverse bus ridership decline, CTA is unveiling faster boarding at two more bus stops.Starting June 27, riders will be able to pay their fare while waiting for a bus and quickly board the following routes:•Southbound #135 and #146 buses at Inner Drive/Belmont(6:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., weekdays)•Southbound #29 and westbound #69 buses at the 69th Red Line station(3 p.m.–6 p.m., weekdays)Before boarding a bus from the designated boarding area or corral, customers will pay their fares to a CTA staffer who will have a mobile Ventra reader.The CTA began testing prepaid bus boarding at the Belmont station on the Blue line and at the Madison/Dearborn Loop Link station downtown in the summer...

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

Why Uber won’t replace public transit

Jun 22, 2017 | by Active Trans

Uber hasn’t had a great 2017 so far — what with employee allegations of a culture of sexual harassment, evidence that the company has been systematically deceiving government inspectors, and a lawsuit claiming that it stole autonomous vehicle technology from Google.Nevertheless, the company remains the most celebrated tech disruptor du jour, and its seemingly ever-growing customer base has convinced many people that it represents the future of urban transportation.And in fact, it (or something like it) may have a large role to play for years to come. But it will be as a partner to traditional transit services like buses and rail — not a replacement, as some have predicted.Why? Three reasons: Equity, money and geometry.Perhaps the most obvious objection...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

Vision Zero Action Plan focuses on reducing vehicle speeds

Jun 12, 2017 | by Active Trans

Today’s release of a Vision Zero Action Plan lays a strong foundation for the city to achieve its goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2026.The three-year plan shows the city is serious about preventing crashes and making our streets safer for everyone, especially the most vulnerable people who are walking and biking. Now we need to make sure our elected officials at every level of government provide appropriate funding support for the city to meet its ambitious goals.We're advocating at the local, state, and federal levels for more safe streets funding, especially for infrastructure projects on streets that have long been identified as high-crash corridors. Redesigning these streets will be pivotal to bringing down our unacceptably high numbers of...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, transit, Walking, zero vision

Dedicated bus lanes in Cleveland: a major success

May 23, 2017 | by Active Trans

Speeding up buses in urban areas and attracting more riders is a difficult task if transit vehicles are constantly stuck in traffic.Cleveland learned this lesson nearly 10 years ago and it continues to reap the benefits.In building a corridor that prioritizes bus traffic with dedicated lanes, Cleveland embraced the reality that buses are moving many more people much more efficiently than cars with one or two passengers. That extra street space is extremely valuable in cities like Cleveland and Chicago. The Euclid Corridor, which connects Cleveland’s two biggest employment centers (downtown Cleveland and University Circle), has always been a center of commerce in the city. In 1993, a task force was set up to find better ways to serve public...

Tags: Bicycling, Education, Planning, Walking

Prepaid, all-door boarding is working in San Francisco

May 17, 2017 | by Active Trans

In 2012, San Francisco’s MUNI transit system implemented a revolutionary concept to America’s bus systems – pre-paid, all-door boarding for all of its street vehicles, including buses and trolleys.Bus riders could now enter through any door of any vehicle at any time and tap their transit card on a reader that’s adjacent to the door to verify payment. Riders who don’t have transit cards could pay their fare before boarding and carry a receipt on board for proof of payment.The goal was to increase bus speeds and reduce bus waiting time at bus stops. As Chicago looks for ways to improve bus service throughout the city, we can look to San Francisco as a strong example. Like all other bus systems...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, Walking

Father of crash victim wants safer streets

May 11, 2017 | by Active Trans

Steven Gross says he has seen enough car crashes and traffic violations to last him a lifetime. As an avid cyclist for 30 years and an accomplished professional photographer who sometimes works outdoors, Gross regularly witnesses cars driving into crosswalks when pedestrians have the right way, cars parked in bike lanes, cyclists getting doored and other types of recklessness and negligence on the part of drivers. But two incidents in particular hit too close to home for him. His son Ethan, 16, was struck twice by negligent motorists who managed to get a slap on the wrist for their reckless driving. Ethan was only 5 years old when a car hit him as he was crossing the street. Gross, his wife, Ethan and...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago North Side, transit, Walking

Vision Zero needs more funding to make progress

Mar 27, 2017 | by Active Trans

This week the City of Chicago released more information about its upcoming Vision Zero Action Plan.Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld made the case for Vision Zero in a speech at City Club on Monday.In her comments, she said every traffic death is unacceptable and that we have the tools to stop these senseless tragedies. In addition to the dozen or so city agencies that will be involved in Chicago's Vision Zero effort, she called upon everyone who uses city streets to start thinking about supporting Vision Zero. One key part of the plan is reducing driving speed and encouraging people driving to follow the legal speed limits.The Vision Zero plan identifies driver speed as the most important factor...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, transit, Walking, zero vision

Bike messenger killed on his way to Oak Street Beach

Mar 24, 2017 | by Active Trans

Blaine Klingenberg enjoyed the small things in life. He was always one to strike up a conversation, he took great pride in mowing his lawn and often had a bowl of Frosted Flakes before work. So, it came as no surprise that the 29-year-old decided to head to Oak Street Beach to meet up with friends after a long day delivering packages on his cargo bike for Advanced Messenger Services last June. Tragically, he never made it to the lake.While riding north on North Michigan Avenue during rush hour, Klingenberg was struck and killed by a double decker bus at East Oak Street. Klingenberg was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after firefighters used airbags to lift the bus off him, and was pronounced dead...

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

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