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Chicago is falling behind on sustainable transportation

Feb 13, 2020 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

According to our new report, Chicago is falling behind in the number of people choosing to commute on foot, on bike, or on public transit. This was just one of the findings of our regularly published Regional Mode Share Report, which compiles and analyzes mode share and travel data for the Chicagoland region. Here are a few highlights from our 2020 report: Compared to our peer cities, Chicago is falling behind In 2018, only 35.7 percent of Chicagoans walked, biked, or took transit to work, down slightly from previous years. Compared to seven of our peer cities, over the last two years, Chicago dropped two positions to second to last place, just ahead of the City of Los Angeles. For...

Tags: Bicycling, transit, Walking

Support funding for walking and biking projects in low-income communities

Feb 12, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Last year, Active Trans and hundreds of supporters made our voices heard to ensure that dedicated funding for walking and biking projects would be included in the state's capital bill. As a result, for the first time ever, Illinois' long-term capital plan includes dedicated funding for walking and bicycling projects. Now we need your help to make sure the program is successful. As the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) began moving ahead with the program, it’s become evident that the current language of the legislation lacks clarity on two key points. 1. How often IDOT should set aside the $50 million in new state funds for the walking and biking grant program. What we want: Every year — not every other...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, biking, Chicago, Chicago Central, chicago north, Chicago North Side, chicago north west, chicago south, Chicago South Side, Chicago West & Southwest Side, Chicago West Side, Equity, legislation, South Suburbs, Walking, West Suburbs

Paving the way to safer streets

Feb 5, 2020 | by Maya Norris

Murphysboro, Illinois, is on its way to creating safer streets for its residents. The city collaborated with the Jackson County Health Department and Active Trans to conduct a sidewalk audit as a first step toward enhancing the city’s sidewalks and promoting physical activity. In the summer of 2019, 31 community residents volunteered to assess the condition of all 125 miles of sidewalks in Murphysboro, which is located about 300 miles south of Chicago. They examined and rated every sidewalk and crosswalk in the city and performed a sidewalk gap analysis, mapping out where sidewalk connections are needed and prioritizing those needs. The volunteer team identified 1 linear mile of gaps and 13 miles of sidewalk rated as poor or fair...

Tags: Walking

Become a better advocate in 2020

Feb 5, 2020 | by Lynda Lopez

Not to brag, but Active Trans is involved in some exciting projects around the region. If we have the capacity to help and it looks like we can make a difference, we wade into the waters and do what we can. Whether it's shepherding legislation through the state assembly or asking suburban municipalities to improve their walking infrastructure, we want to help out by sharing our expertise and resources. Often, our work focuses on cultivating other advocates — people who want to make their voices heard on behalf of safer, healthier streets. Recently, we hosted a webinar that was intended to give advocates the low-down on our work during the past year and offer advice on how they can plug...

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, transit, Walking

Will you help make Chicago’s streets safer?

Feb 4, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

Do you want to see better streets for biking in your Chicago neighborhood and throughout the city? Would you like to learn how to be an effective advocate? Well, here's your chance to get directly involved in making a difference. Here's your chance to help create better walking and biking infrastructure in Chicago and help to hold Mayor Lightfoot accountable to her campaign promise to build 100 miles of new bikeways by 2023. Given that construction of new bikeways has slowed in Chicago, we need people like you getting involved. Will you join the effort to reverse this trend? If this sounds appealing, you'll want to join us for the Safer Streets campaign training on Saturday, March 14. During this...

Tags: Advocacy, biking, Walking

Let’s re-envision Route 53 extension

Jan 31, 2020 | by Maggie Melin Czerwinski

After nearly six decades of debate over the highly controversial Route 53 highway expansion project, victory was finally declared for walking, biking, and transit in Lake County last summer. Recognizing the $3 billion project would not relieve congestion problems, in July of 2019, the Lake County Board unanimously voted to remove support for the Route 53 highway extension from its strategic plan. A day later, the Illinois Tollway announced that it would cease work on a multi-million dollar environmental impact study of the extension. This was a monumental step forward, putting an end to a needless, environmentally destructive highway project. Success was in large part due to the persistent work of many advocates in Lake County, including the Illinois Sierra Club,...

Tags: Bicycling, North Suburbs, Trails, Walking

Celebrating one year of cycling success

Jan 27, 2020 | by Active Trans

Every year, as part of our suburban advocacy program Bike Walk Every Town, the Active Transportation Alliance offers multiple mini-stipends to individuals and groups working to improve walking and biking in the Chicagoland suburbs. This past year, grassroots leaders from Cycle Brookfield in the western suburbs were awarded a stipend to expand their efforts to build greater community support and advance the implementation of its active transportation plan. One of the plan’s goals is creating a safer walking and biking corridor along 31st Street, which would include better access for the Brookfield Zoo. This guest blog post by Cycle Brookfield member Terri Rivera recaps how the club has mobilized the Brookfield community and engaged elected officials during the past year....

Tags: Advocacy, Bicycling, Walking, West Suburbs

New Uber, Lyft fees should be step toward congestion pricing

Jan 23, 2020 | by Kyle Whitehead

Starting January 6, the fee on solo Uber and Lyft trips citywide increased from 72 cents to $1.25 and the fee on shared trips decreased from 72 cents to 65 cents. Trips that start or end in a new “downtown congestion zone” are charged an additional surcharge ($1.75 for solo trips and 65 cents for shared trips). A portion of the new revenue goes to the city’s Bus Priority Zones initiative that seeks to make bus service faster and more reliable. These new fees championed by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot could be a precursor to a broader congestion pricing approach. Active Trans lobbied in favor of the fees because of their potential to reduce driving and spur public transit use...

Tags: Advocacy, Back on the Bus, Bicycling, biking, Chicago, Chicago Central, Downtown, legislation, public transit, transit, Transit Equity, Walking

Input needed on 78 and Lincoln Yards

Jan 6, 2020 | by Julia Gerasimenko

The 78 and Lincoln Yards are two megadevelopments that are being built in Chicago that undoubtedly will have major impacts on the city at large and neighboring communities. Unfortunately, both projects currently lack a good vision for transit, biking, and walking access. Without a coherent plan for good transportation options, these developments inevitably will be a hindrance to building livable, equitable, and healthy communities. The good news is that you now have an opportunity to provide direct input on the details of these developments, including walking, transit, and biking infrastructure. If you live in the vicinity of either development, you can apply to serve on the 78 Community Advisory Council or the Lincoln Yards Advisory Council. The community advisory councils...

Tags: biking, Chicago North Side, Chicago River Trail, Chicago West & Southwest Side, transit, Walking

Top 10 walking, biking, and transit stories of 2019

Dec 16, 2019 | by Kyle Whitehead

There were plenty of attention-grabbing developments among the top active transportation stories of 2019. 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. 1. State dedicates funds to walking, biking, and public transit. For the first time ever, Illinois’ long-term capital program includes dedicated funding — $50 million annually — for walking and biking projects. The capital bill also includes sustainable funding for public transit for the first time ever. Active Trans championed both initiatives with a bipartisan group of legislators in the Illinois State House...

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