Cameron Bolton

"Electeds often don’t want to hear more from 'bike activists' and it is our job to make sure they feel like the advocacy is coming from the community," CBGN! stated.

Why did the department rip out the curb protection from the Logan Boulevard bike lanes next to the bowling alley, and will the heralded Diversey PBLs ever be installed?

It's December again, which means temperatures are dropping, holiday tunes are in the air, and the Chicago Department of Transportation is hashing out its budget for the next fiscal year.

Last Thursday, the grassroots sustainable advocacy organization Better Streets Chicago held its third annual gathering to celebrate recent accomplishments, and raise funds for future campaigns. The nonprofit was launched at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by Kyle Lucas, Brittney Lane, Jim Hodapp, and former Streetsblog Co-Editor Courtney Cobbs. Recent efforts included a rally to protest plans to rebuild North DuSable Lake Shore Drive as an eight-lane highway with no bus lanes, lobbying the City to lower the speed limit to 25 mph, and pushing for funding of the #PlowTheSidewalks pilot.

Earlier this month, a 64-year-old man died from injuries he suffered in October, when a hit-and-run Jeep driver struck him on the 1900 block of South Union Avenue (700 W.), besides the Dan Ryan Expressway in Pilsen. Exactly one week after his death, residents gathered for a community meeting to discuss the possibility of rebooting the proposal for El Paseo Trail. That would be a rails-to-trails bike-pedestrian route, which would run just three blocks west of the crash site.

As discussed during the Active Transportation Alliance's recent Chicago Advocate Connect session, they've partnered with the University of Illinois Chicago's Institute of Disability and Human Development on Project Sidewalk. This initiative to document the conditions of local sidewalks and bikeways is offering $300 stipends to 10 participants who will virtually move through city streets using Google Streetview, and document accessibility barriers. We asked ATA for some more details about the program.

The Active Transportation Alliance's monthly Advocacy Connect zoom chat series gives Chicago and suburban residents a chance to get updates from local sustainable transportation professionals and advocates, and ask questions.

(This post includes reporting by Cameron Bolton, with additional commentary by John Greenfield.)

The Regional Transportation Authority, the agency that oversees the CTA, Metra, and Pace, held a Suburban Transit Summit on Thursday, October 24, to gather support and feedback to improve services. The event took place at the Metropolis Ballroom in Arlington Heights, a stone's throw from the Metra Union Pacific Northwest line's Arlington Heights station.

This post includes reporting by Cameron Bolton and commentary by John Greenfield.