Life is a Bikeway

As part of our bikeways planning process Steve Buchtel and I lead a bike tour of proposed bikeway facilities around the villages/cities where we have contracts. The ride occurs about halfway through the planning process and incorporates the suggested routes from the public meeting as well as the recommendations that Steve and I develop during our fieldwork. This gives the stakeholders and municipal staff of the community an opportunity to see first hand what the proposed routes look and feel like as cyclists. We are currently working on several bike plans in the southland including Alsip, Oak Forest, Palos Park and Oak Lawn.

We led two amazing bike tours last week – one in Oak Lawn on April 17 and one in Palos Park on April 18. We had beautiful weather and great turn out for both rides. The Oak Lawn ride was predominantly composed of city staff including the Village Manager Larry Deetjen and the Village Engineer Jack Gallagher. The Palos Park ride was a broader mix of village residents and village staff including Mayor John Mahoney. Special thanks to Active Trans member Rich Ferrin for leading the Family Fun ride to Lake Catherine on the 18^th!

Each group was able to see and gain a better understanding of the barriers and challenges in their communities as well as the overwhelming potential for bicycle improvements and connectivity.