Thanks to all the Streetsblog Chicago readers and Active Transportation Alliance members who showed up for our Ashland BRT Advocate Social and BeeRT Pub Stroll last night at the Cobra Lounge. Some 75 people turned out to show their support for the city’s plan for fast, reliable bus rapid transit on Ashland Avenue, and to discuss the next steps for making sure this vision becomes a reality.

Attendees wore our new “I [heart] Bus Rapid Transit” buttons, picked up info about the BRT plan and signed a pledge to show up for upcoming community input meetings. Active Trans’ Riders for Better Transit campaign manager Brenna Conway encouraged people to help get the word out to their friends and neighbors about the benefits of BRT, and asked them to write down the reasons they support the plan on a dry erase board, pose for a photo with it, and then tweet it to local transportation reporters. Reasons people love BRT ranged from “I’ve traveled to cities all over the world that have BRT and I know how great it works,” to “It’s going to the South Side,” to “It’s Baby Rapid Transit for Our Family.”

Afterwards, Steven Vance and I led a small crowd on a walking touring down Ashland, talking about the plans to reconfigure the street with dedicated bus lanes, median stations and wider sidewalks, ending at the Park Tavern. It was great to meet several frequent Streetsblog commenters in person for the first time at the social, hopefully the first of a series of events to help build the movement for a more efficient, equitable, and vibrant Ashland.

Read a nice writeup of the social by Mike Brockway on his transportation news website The Expired Meter.