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A Q&A with Jeff Speck

Feb 27, 2019 | by Ted Villaire

Jeff Speck is one of the leading voices in the nation for creating cities that are better places to walk, bike and use transit. He's a city planner and author of several books, including, most recently, "Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places." This book was a followup to his very popular, "Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time." We recently had an opportunity to ask Jeff his take on what's needed to make Chicagoland a better place for biking and walking. Active Trans: What’s the biggest barrier to walkability in a large North American city like Chicago? Jeff Speck: I will mention an insurmountable barrier and a surmountable one. Insurmountable is the...

Tags: Bicycling, Planning, transit, Walking

REI to be honored for its longtime support

Feb 25, 2019 | by Maya Norris

We will be honoring REI by giving the company a Business Leadership Award at our 2019 Active Transportation Alliance Awards Reception on March 7. Please join us as we recognize REI as well Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Logan Square Neighborhood Association. Specialty outdoor retailer REI does more than just sell clothing and gear for the outdoor enthusiast. The nation’s largest consumer co-op is committed to connecting people with nature and outdoor recreation, encouraging them to live active, healthy lifestyles that include bicycling and walking. And locally, REI has been a longtime supporter of Active Trans, providing funding and other resources to help create and promote more sustainable transportation infrastructure in the region. "Active Trans’ mission resonates with REI and...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking

Most mayoral candidates support a Bike Walk Fund

Feb 20, 2019 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Currently there is no money in the Chicago Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) annual capital budget set aside specifically for biking and walking projects. But change could be around the corner with most of Chicago’s mayoral candidates supporting a new, dedicated Bike Walk Fund in the city’s budget. The $20 million fund would give priority to the city’s highest-crash corridors on the South and West Sides. Take action now to a support a Chicago Bike Walk Fund. Today, funding for street safety projects like better-lit crosswalks and curb-protected bike lanes comes from a patchwork of local, state and federal sources, including aldermanic menu money. These inconsistent and inadequate funding sources mean that many essential projects get left by the wayside. According...

Tags: Advocacy, biking, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Walking

Lincoln Village Bridge, big victory for Chicago River Trail

Feb 18, 2019 | by Steve Simmons

In a big victory for walking, biking and running, the city broke ground on the much-anticipated Lincoln Village Bridge on Chicago's Northwest Side. The bridge will connect existing multi-use trails on the east and west sides of the North Shore Channel Trail just north of Lincoln Avenue and south of Devon Avenue. It's another exciting step towards a continuous Chicago River Trail. A 27-mile trail would transform areas around the river into vibrant open spaces and connect people to jobs, shopping districts and recreation opportunities. The Lincoln Village Bridge will eliminate the need for people walking and biking to exit the trail and use the heavily-trafficked Lincoln Avenue Bridge to cross between the east and west sides of the North...

Tags: Bicycling, Chicago North Side, Chicago River Trail, Walking

South Branch vision advances Chicago River Trail

Feb 15, 2019 | by Steve Simmons

Although trails have grown rapidly along the Chicago River, the largest remaining gap in a continuous river trail network is the five-mile stretch from Ping Tom Park in Chinatown southwest to Western Avenue. Adding a trail along the South Branch (pictured) would be a major step toward a 27-mile Chicago River Trail. A complete trail would promote biking and walking and support healthy communities, cleaner environments and a vibrant local economy. Developing a connected network of walking and biking trails along this stretch of the river is not without complications, however. Many members of nearby communities have raised important concerns about environmental conditions and impacts on local neighborhoods. Given these opportunities and challenges, a robust community-led dialogue is necessary. In...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Chicago South Side, Walking

The 78 can do more to promote walking, biking & transit

Feb 5, 2019 | by Steve Simmons

The planned mega-development along the South Branch of the Chicago River, known as the 78, moved a step closer to reality as Chicago's Community Development Commission recommended tax increment financing to pay for streets and public works upgrades for the project. This 62-acre project will add 10,000 housing units and create a big opportunity to prioritize healthy and sustainable transportation. While the 78's master plan has some promising ideas for transportation, we think with some key changes the 78 would benefit walking, biking and transit. Much like Lincoln Yards on the North Side, the 78 offers a valuable opportunity to add trails, moving the city closer to a 27-mile continuous Chicago River Trail. A trail would promote walking and biking while supporting healthy...

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

Batavia advocates connect with local businesses

Jan 3, 2019 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

A western suburban advocate has been going door-to-door in Batavia educating local business owners and their customers about the benefits of walking, biking and public transportation.Abby Beck of Walk Batavia/Bike Batavia wanted to help businesses in downtown Batavia better understand how walking and biking can have a positive impact on their bottom line.She asked businesses to place little chalkboards on their counters with the message “How did you get here today?” Customers were asked to mark “walk,” “bike” and “other.” For two weeks during the month of July, around 20 downtown businesses participated in collecting data on the chalkboards, which were purchased with the help of an Active Trans Bike Walk Every Town mini-grant.Bike Walk Every Town, our suburban advocacy...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Education, Walking, West Suburbs

Top 10 biking, walking and transit stories of 2018

Dec 21, 2018 | by Ted Villaire

There were plenty of attention-grabbing developments among the top active transportation stories of 2018. Some of these developments helped make our streets safer and more inviting for people using active transportation, while others were intended to give more people access to better transportation options. Here they are. If we missed an important story, please let us know in the comments below. 1. Lakefront Trail separation. After decades of trail advocacy by Active Trans and our community partners, we were thrilled to see the completion of the project to create separate foot and biking paths along the Lakefront Trail. Work began in August 2016 on select sections and then last year, local hedge fund manager Ken Griffin donated $12 million to the create...

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

Safe access to Chicago River Trail advances in 2018

Dec 20, 2018 | by Steve Simmons

The city made exciting progress towards a continuous Chicago River Trail in 2018 with projects breaking ground that'll add 2.6 miles to the growing river trail network.The projects include a new trail at Lathrop Homes, the 312 RiverRun (pictured) and Manor Greenway.As wonderful as these projects are, trails are only useful if neighborhood residents can access them safely and easily.For the past year, our campaign for a continuous Chicago River Trail worked with residents and decision makers in many neighborhoods to advance safe east-west connections for people walking and biking.Along the South Branch, a new vision emerged for better walking and biking in Pilsen, Bridgeport, Brighton Park and McKinley Park. The largest remaining gap in the river trail is a five-mile...

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

New flyover section makes trail safer

Dec 20, 2018 | by Ted Villaire

For decades, people biking, walking and running on the Lakefront Trail have had to face cars whizzing by and poor sight lines at extremely busy street crossings near Navy Pier. Now, thanks to the partial opening of one the most talked about infrastructure projects in Chicago, people on the trail can avoid the most dangerous, confusing part of the Lakefront Trail. The addition of a temporary trail connection to the sidewalk on Lower Lake Shore Drive means that people can now use the Navy Pier Flyover to bypass the intersections of Grand and Illinois Avenues. The newly finished Navy Pier Flyover section will be a big improvement, and more importantly, it moves the project one step closer to full completion...

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

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