Cameron Bolton

This Saturday, May 3, the Southwest Collective will host the BIKE Brighton ride, starting from the Chicago Park District Headquarters, 4830 S. Western Ave., and cruise six miles through the Brighton Park neighborhood. The community group describes itself as "a collective of neighborhoods in the Midway [Airport] area, joining forces to improve the Southwest Side of Chicago."

This week, Streetsblog Chicago ran my interview with longtime sustainable transportation advocate Center for Neighborhood Technology’s Vice President for Government Affairs Jacky Grimshaw, who happens to be my grandmother. She was being recognized by Climate Action Museum with its 2025 Tom Skilling Lifetime Achievement Award, so we discussed that honor. We also talked about her current mission urging State lawmakers to address Chicagoland's impending $770 million transit budget gap this spring, so as to avoid nightmarish service cuts next year.

I'm very proud to report that my grandmother Jacky Grimshaw, a legend in local sustainable transportation advocacy, is being recognized by Climate Action Museum with its 2025 Tom Skilling Lifetime Achievement Award.

Recently, Streetsblog Chicago's John Greenfield came across the blog post, "For $5.7 billion, South Side Chicago deserved far more than the Red Line Extension," written by Toronto-based transit advocate August Puranauth. [Puranauth uses they/them pronouns.]

Chicagoland faces a $770 million total public transportation fiscal cliff, which would result in austerity measures – extreme service cuts – in 2026. That is, unless Illinois legislators take decisive action by the end of next month to address the budget gap.

The $5.7 billion Red Line Extension is moving closer to becoming a reality, more than half a century after it was first promised to Far South Siders. The CTA is holding three "Meet the Contractor" sessions this month to provide updates and answer questions about the project.

Whizz, billed as the largest e-bike rental and subscription platform in the U.S., recently announced it will expand into Chicago with a partnership with DoorDash. Whizz launched in New York City in 2022 and was built specifically for delivery workers. The impetus for the platform was seeing how many gig workers, especially immigrants, face barriers to accessing low-cost, two-wheeled vehicles. Whizz itself was founded by immigrants, so they understood how hard it can be to start over in a new country.

Want to urge state legislators to properly fund Chicago-area transit during their spring 2025 session, so as to prevent drastic service cuts in 2026? The Active Transportation Alliance recommends going to the webpage "Support the Clean and Equitable Transportation Act!" to send letters to your state reps.

The Active Transportation Alliance recently hosted one of its monthly Advocacy Connect online lunchtime talks. This time the focus was on the CTA's Frequent Bus Network plan, several State transit- and biking-related bills, and the campaign for a 25 mph speed limit.

Last Monday, St. Patrick's Day, it appeared there may be a bit of good luck for Chicagoland straphangers.