Tag Archives: Bicycling

Limiting turns could save lives

Nov 8, 2016 | by Active Trans

It’s no secret that the majority of crashes that result in people walking and biking being killed involve turning vehicles. The question is what can be done about it.Recent Chicago crash analysis found 52 percent of pedestrian crashes at signalized intersections involved turning vehicles; 36 percent were left turns and 16 percent were right turns.People biking are more likely to be involved in “right hook” crashes where a person driving passes to the left of a person biking and then makes a right turn. Fifty-five percent of bicycle crashes occur at intersections.Sign our Vision Zero Call to Action to show your support for limiting turns.Twenty-three year-old Anastasia Kondrasheva was killed by the driver of a flatbed truck in a right-hook...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, transit, Walking

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Slow down, Chicago!

Oct 26, 2016 | by Active Trans

In traffic safety, the fastest way to save lives, prevent serious injuries and achieve progress on Vision Zero is to get people driving to slow down.Speeding and reckless driving are rampant in Chicago, and excessive speed is the most common factor in serious and fatal crashes. Sign our Vision Zero Call to Action to tell city leaders we need to do more to reduce vehicle speeds.Too many Chicago streets are supersized and thereby encourage drivers to speed. Enforcement is lacking, which results in people frequently driving 10 miles per hour or more above the speed limit, endangering the lives of people inside and outside their vehicles.About 80 percent of the traffic fatalities and injuries in Metro Chicago are people in...

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

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Hit and run crashes should be a focus of Vision Zero

Oct 13, 2016 | by Active Trans

As Chicago develops an action plan to eliminate traffic crashes resulting in fatalities and serious injuries, one of the questions we need to tackle is why so many people involved in crashes flee the scene.Relative to peer cities, hit and run crashes occur more frequently in Chicago and they’re more likely to involve people walking and people biking. Sign our Vision Zero Call to Action to tell city leaders we need to do more to prevent hit and run crashes.The city’s 2011 pedestrian crash analysis report showed that over five years hit and run crashes accounted for 40 percent of fatal crashes in Chicago versus 20 percent nationally. A similar analysis of bicycle crashes in 2012 found 25 percent of...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, transit, Walking

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Protect people walking and biking from trucks

Sep 30, 2016 | by Active Trans

Since June, six people have been killed while riding bikes in Chicago. Every single crash involved a commercial vehicle.This troubling trend points to an urgent need to address the disproportionate threat these large vehicles pose to people biking and walking.We are asking the mayor, Chicago City Council and relevant city agencies to immediately put into place proven strategies that can prevent more fatalities due to crashes involving large vehicles.  Please stand with us by signing on to our Vision Zero Call to Action.Other U.S. cities have already led the way on commercial vehicle safety, taking concrete steps to address this public safety issue, including:Voluntary and required installation of side-guards on city trucks and private commercial vehiclesStrengthening commercial driver licensing programs...

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

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Chicago developing Vision Zero Action Plan

Sep 9, 2016 | by Active Trans

This week, Chicago took another step in affirming its commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on our streets.Mayor Emanuel announced the city will release a three-year Vision Zero Action Plan in fall 2016 that will reduce crashes for everyone who uses the streets. The plan will set forth the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2026.Vision Zero is an international traffic safety movement guided by the principle that no loss of life on our streets is acceptable. Traffic crashes are not mere “accidents,” but preventable incidents that can be reduced and eliminated with systemic changes.One of the advantages of the Vision Zero approach to traffic safety is that it requires the collaboration of all city agencies...

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

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We know how to do this

Aug 19, 2016 | by Active Trans

I ride my bike. When I hear about a person killed while riding their bike, I think of the proverb, “there but for the grace of God go I.” I know a lot of other people have the same reaction. Even among strangers, there is a deep and difficult-to-verbalize connection to these tragedies. In some way, we’re a two wheeled tribe, more diverse than most characterizations by the media.Some people ride their bikes because they love it. Or they love the city. Or they love the earth. Or it’s just the only option they have. But in the face of a terrible crash or fatality, all of us are bound by that same bond: it could have been me. There but for...

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

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Meeting planned for families of crash victims

Jun 30, 2016 | by Active Trans

My life was forever changed when my husband, Jay, was killed in 2014, struck from behind while riding his bicycle by a then 89-year-old driver returning home at dusk in a rental car after visiting his wife in a nursing home. A volatile combination of circumstances.On a well-lit major Chicago street the driver did not see the grown man on a large bicycle directly in front of him and, to this day, retains his license to drive.I'm asking crash victims and families to join me to talk about forming a group to advocate for changes to make our streets safe (not just safer) for all bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers.Now would be an ideal time to channel our pain and anger to...

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

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Early BRT adoption leads to expansion in Eugene, Oregon

Jun 28, 2016 | by Active Trans

BRT is a state-of-the art bus system that provides the reliability and speed of rail, but at the fraction of the cost. Although it started gaining momentum in the United States, the city of Eugene, Oregon, was one of the first cities to adopt BRT.In the mid-90s, the Lane Transit District (LTD) looked into improving bus service in Eugene and became inspired by Curitiba, Brazil’s BRT. LTD worked with the cities of Eugene and Springfield and the Land County Commission to make this dream become a reality.Service began in 2007 with the Green Line, the first EmX line that runs along Franklin Boulevard on a four-mile route between downtown Eugene and Springfield. It began with eight stations at major destinations,...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, Walking

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Proposed BRT in Gary will aid local development

May 26, 2016 | by Active Trans

Rail systems are a fast, often preferable transit option for many people, but building them is time consuming and costly. Bus rapid transit (BRT) offers the experience of rail in the form of four wheels.BRT is a more economical approach for cities to improve the speed and reliability of their bus service. It has also proven to spur development.The city of Gary, Indiana, is one local community that sees future development happening through BRT.BRT is a key part of the city's Livable Broadway plan, which is a collaboration between the Gary Public Transportation Corporation (GPTC), Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and the cities of Gary, Crown Point and town of Merrillville.The goal of the regional plan is to improve the Broadway corridor by...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Planning, Walking

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No more ghost bikes

May 19, 2016 | by Active Trans

In Chicago and its suburbs, about 15 people are killed and 3,000 injured every year while riding a bike.Last night I joined more than 100 cyclists in Chicago, and thousands more around the world, for the annual Ride of Silence. The ride honors the victims of cycling fatalities as well as their families.  In Chicago Ride of Silence volunteers coordinate the placement of the white “Ghost Bikes” to honor the victims. As in years past, the route took us to a number of ghost bikes where we shared a silent moment of respect and reflection with family and friends of the victims.I am truly amazed at the strength families have shown in the midst of this deep sadness, and the positive...

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

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