Sharon Hoyer

•Maria Tampico, busker at CTA Blue Line Washington station, has died at 76 (Sun-Times)

•Delays hit Metra Union Pacific-North trains (Sun-Times)

Last Thursday, the Active Transportation Alliance held its annual Movers and Shakers Ball, a fundraising gala to support the work of the advocacy group, which celebrates its fortieth anniversary this year. 

"I’m tired of making ghost bikes," said Christina Whitehouse. She's the founder of Bike Lane Uprising, a Chicago-based civic tech platform that makes it "easy to report cars in bike lanes and hold violators accountable." BLU also helps organize the installation of white-painted "ghost bike" memorials to people killed while riding bikes that are installed along too many of Chicago’s streets. "We buy materials for ghost bikes in bulk. We have them in our basements," she said.

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Last month, a delegation of Illinois state representatives visited Germany to tour transit systems in and between two major cities. The trip was inspired by an action plan issued by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, which cited Berlin and Munich as successful case studies for a Chicagoland transit system currently facing an existential crises. Local ridership suffered during COVID-19, and ridership has yet to return to 2019 levels. The CTA, Metra, and Pace are facing a staggering $730 million total budget shortfall next year, when federal pandemic relief funding will run out.

This post was written by John Greenfield, and features research by Sharon Hoyer.

On a frigid #GivingTuesday, the Active Transportation Alliance held its annual member party to celebrate the organization’s 2024 advocacy wins, and announce priorities for the year ahead. Well over 100 members gathered in the cavernous Revolution Brewing taproom – fittingly situated along new curb-protected bike lanes on Kedzie Avenue in Avondale. Attendees mingled for the first hour, sipping beers and scarfing down pizza from Dimo’s and chicken from Nando’s Peri Peri. Full racks in the coat-and-bike room proved that cold-weather cycling is alive and well in Chicago.

Note: This post includes images from the aftermath of a fatal bike crash that may be disturbing.