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10 minute version: CTA promises shorter headways on 20 bus routes. There are a *bunch* of reasons riders hope the plan will work out.
The CTA recently announced it's launching a "Frequent Network" with ten-minute or shorter headways all day, seven days a week. The initiative includes 20 high-ridership bus lines citywide dubbed "Frequent Routes," starting with eight lines mostly located on the South Side. Some transit advocates say they're excited about the new initiatives, and have their fingers crossed that the increased service will be dependable, and free from the much-loathed "bus bunching" phenomenon.
March 5, 2025
A close, controversial Council vote to borrow $830M for infrastructure: Should safe streets advocates have a glass-half-full POV?
Streetsblog Chicago is a sustainable transportation news and advocacy website, not a publication that typically covers finance. So it's not really my role to opine on whether it was a smart fiscal decision for the City Council to approve an $830 million bond deal to pay for transportation infrastructure. But let's look at how the narrow 26-23 vote went down last Wednesday; some arguments against and for the financing by alders; and reactions from walk/bike/transit boosters.
March 3, 2025
Discussing efforts to reboot Grand Illinois Trail, and build East Branch DuPage River Trail, during ATA’s Advocacy Connect chat
There was also discussion of ATA volunteering opportunities for National Bike Month and the Week Without Driving.
February 24, 2025
Majority of alders voted against 25 mph speed limit today, which means more Chicagoans will be seriously injured and die in crashes
There was bad news for safer streets in Chicago today as a proposed ordinance to lower the city's default speed limit from 30 to 25 mph was defeated in the City Council by a vote of 28 to 21. Data from other cities indicates this measure would have greatly reduced the number of serious and fatal traffic crashes.
February 19, 2025
Watch: Discussing 2024 CDOT bikeway wins, and where there’s room for improvement, at ATA’s Chicago Advocacy Connect event
The Active Transportation Alliance kindly asked Streetsblog Chicago to talk about what we saw last month during our Bike Lane Fest 2024 excursions.
January 22, 2025
Under the rotunda: Hundreds of transportation and environmental advocates went to Springfield for Climate Day at the Capitol
On Tuesday, January 7, hundreds of Illinois residents headed to Springfield for 2025 Climate Day at the Capitol. They were pushing for sustainable, affordable, and equitable transportation through proposed legislation like the IL CleanJobs Platform and the Clean and Equitable Transportation Act.
January 14, 2025
After residents demanded action, CDOT installed temporary traffic calming on deadly Pulaski Road. Will IDOT let them make it permanent?
Thanks in part to the efforts of the Southwest Collective, progress is being made on making dangerous South Pulaski Road safer.
January 13, 2025
Ald. Vasquez, CTAction, and ATA’s Amy Rynell weigh in on the long-demanded departure of Dorval Carter
It was a bombshell, but not a huge surprise, when the CTA announced this morning that President Dorval R. Carter Jr. is stepping down from his post at the end of this month.
January 13, 2025
New Year’s resolutions: Here are some opportunities to help improve walk/bike/transit in our region in 2025
Next year, sustainable transportation advocates can inspect the infrastructure of their blocks, attend a state summit, and learn how to advocate for a Neighborhood
Greenway.
December 19, 2024
Everyone is a Pedestrian: Active Transportation Alliance annual member party celebrates the power of advocacy
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.
December 6, 2024
