For All Those Interested in Safer, Friendlier Streets in Highland Park

You can make a big difference! This is a critical-mass meeting--all cyclists and supporters needed! The City of HP is considering adopting roadway policy that requires including the needs of cyclists, but they would first like to ensure there is bit more widespread community support. So if you want safer and friendlier streets for all of us who share the road, please attend; and have your neighbors and friends join you; and please circulate this to your clubs, HP friends and neighbors! And show up--please! Thanks for helping make our streets "complete" and inclusive of cyclists too! See below for more details and links.

Jay Goldstein
for: North Suburban Complete Streets Coalition

"Ninety-percent of life is just showing up" -Woody Allen

Wednesday JULY 22 at 6:30 pm

Highland Park City Hall
1707 St. Johns
(directly across from the HP Metra station)

Please come to a meeting of the Highland Park Traffic Commission on July 22 at 6:30 pm. Lina Hoffman, North Suburban Coordinator from the Active Transportation Alliance (formerly Chicagoland Bicycle Federation) will be making a presentation on "Complete Streets." The goal is for the HP Traffic Commission to adopt policy that takes all users into consideration (including pedestrians and cyclists) when making decisions that impact our roadways in Highland Park. We need to have strong representation at this meeting.

Why do we need a Complete Streets plan? Such a plan will help insure that the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, as well as cars, are considered when building, designing or reconstructing roadways. The state has such a policy which applies to state controlled roads; and Lake County is also implementing such a policy. Each jurisdiction needs their own Complete Streets policies and plans since each controls their own roads. A Complete Streets Plan for Highland Park would impact HP city roads only.

Highland Park is important because:

--Highland Park is a bike friendly community for families, kids, students, commuters and shoppers; active residents who also ride to parks, beaches, Ravinia and events. Plus we have a large cycling community with many resident cycling enthusiasts and area cycling groups that originate and/or pass through town.
--There are on-going citywide initiatives currently to become more environmentally sustainable and to improve health -- this fits in with these goals.
--If Highland Park were to implement Complete Streets, it would serve as a model for other communities that have not yet. Plus adopting Complete Streets will demonstrate in another way how Highland Park remains committed to keeping our community desirable and livable.

More info:
www.completestreets.org
www.activetrans.org
Questions? Email:
Kim Stone
kstone@spcpweb.org or
Lina Hoffman
lina@activetrans.org