ATA, is it too city focused?

Dear Active Transportation Alliance,

 

I ride my bike every day. I walk most days. I use transit. And I have been in Chicago less than five times this year. I am an active transportation user.

 

I was very excited when CBF became ATA. I thought maybe, just maybe, the new organization would focus a little more on the many transportation issues in the suburbs. Now after three years as ATA, I have seen little change.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to not have to get up at 3am to drive a car 30 miles to bike on a deserted highway (how ironic)? I love Bike the Drive. But I would love an event closer to me even more.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if someone at ATA recognized that Chicago's mayoral election isn't the only big political story in the year? We now have lots of new Congressmen in the suburbs who I understand are trying to slash funding for biking. I didn't hear a peep about our congressional races from ATA.

 

Now I understand that the CMAQ funds for the next five years have been allocated all in one fell swoop. And the City of Chicago got more than 3/4 of the money for bike/ped projects. Wow, I take it back. This new mayor of yours is no wimp. Why do I mention this in a rant about Active Trans? Well, because it appears as though ATA's own Randy Neufeld is on at least two of the committees that decide on this money. And their new Executive Director, Ron Burke, is on at least one of the committees. Dear ATA - protected bikes lanes will work in my community just as well as in Chicago.

 

I'm sure that ATA will respond to this post with lots of good things they are doing in the suburbs. But my humble opinion is it isn't enough. What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on July 26, 2011 at 6:53am

Transportation issues in the suburbs vary widely, but based on my limited experience the challenges are 70 years in the making (all growth was auto-fueled), and aren't going to be solved any time soon as long as the representatives in those suburbs don't want them to be.  Some of the suburbs I'm familiar with don't even have sidewalks, much less bike lanes .

 

I think ATA is doing what they can and would love to (and will eventually be able to) do more, but look at the backlash in Chicago to a protected bike lane, and ask how one would be received in a suburb with politicians who are trying to slash biking funding - it would be a disaster to spend money on a protected bike lane, install it with hostile political leadership (which usually means hostile voters/citizens), and then see it get torn down.

 

Permalink Reply by sten on July 26, 2011 at 7:58am
I unsubscribed from ATA's blog a while ago because it seemed like every post was about suburban bike meet-ups, suburban trails, suburban transit, stuff I don't care about living in the city. Maybe its just that the 'burbs are such a huge landmass that you aren't seeing activity near you?
Permalink Reply by Larry Mysz on July 26, 2011 at 9:18am

I think ActiveTrans has long been active outside the Chicago city limits. Look at their client list:

( From http://www.activetrans.org/content/clients-and-testimonials  )

We have worked with a variety of clients, including:

Alsip
Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Bureau of Traffic Bikeways Program
Bureau of Traffic Bicycle Parking Program
Bureau of Bridges and Transit
Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS)
City of Evanston
Matteson School District 159
Minnesota Department of Transportation
North Central Council of Mayors
Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC)
Northwest Municipal Conference
South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association
Southwest Suburban Council of Mayors
Village of Downers Grove
Village of Oak Park
Village of Oak Lawn
Village of Palos Park
Village of Wilmette
Wauconda School District 118
West Central Council of Mayors

 

I live far south, and have not worked with the Community Outreach staff from other parts of the metro area, but I do know that missing from that list are several of Southland Coordinator Steve Buchtel's 2011 projects


Flossmoor Bike to Metra Plan
Advocating, planning and fundraising for the Cal-Sag Trail, including the Love Your Bike bike fair at the Lincoln Tollway Oasis, South Holland.
Bike 'n' Dine events in Homewood / Flossmoor.

As for protected cycle tracks in the 'burbs, I think Carter O'Brien called it right.  There are difficult and costly cultural, engineering, and political problems to overcome.  You have to pick and choose and spend your time and money on projects which have a reasonable chance of success.

 

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on July 26, 2011 at 10:11am

There is good bicycle infrastructure in some suburbs. Look at this map. Everywhere marked as a "bicycle lane" is actually a protected lane, but not in the sense you would see in the city. Basically they rip up the sidewalk on one side of the road, pave it, put lines on it, and put signage. I think it's fine.

 

What is the issue. They don't go where they need to. They are to take you to and from the trails. Or to take you to and from schools/libraries. The undertone is that the only transportation a bicycle is used for is if you're too young to drive.

 

There first must be the beginnings of a cycling culture down here. I think it will happen, slowly though. I also think it more important in the suburbs. Who is hurt more by gas prices? The suburbs. Who is going to put political pressure on congress to fight oil wars and take the oil we "need"?

 

I've always thought that there is more to gain in working with some suburbs. If you connect the greenway, or make some of these already built paths/lanes go into the places people need to go. I think they will be used. People down here love to ride, but they don't put 2 and 2 together and ride to work/shop/etc.

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on July 26, 2011 at 10:14am

To add. I think if you talked about adding lanes to some suburbs, people would say, "Why? The sidewalk is right there.". They wouldn't mean harm from this. That is just where people ride unless they are a road rider. In some places that is fine. There are sidewalks that extend for a mile with no intersecting roads. Pave it and it's a protected lane. What happens in winter though?

 

There is much education out here.

Permalink Reply by A Suburban Cyclist on July 26, 2011 at 1:48pm

Thank you everyone for your comments. But all these comments about the nature of suburban infrastructure miss my point. Is Active Trans too focused on the City of Chicago? Not if there are good bike lanes or trails or whatever in the suburbs. But is Active Trans the organization doing enough outside the 312 area code?

 

And why is there no response from Active Trans? You have a 7 person marketing and communications team listed on your website. Can't you respond to this post? And seriously, 7 PR flacks? How about assigning more staff to the suburbs?

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on July 26, 2011 at 3:00pm

I think an objective answer would require looking at how the membership breaks out, as well as the funding they receive.  My guess - simply based on the Bike Federation's long history in Chicago - is that Active Trans has activities which are roughly proportionate to where their members live and where the funding comes from.

 


The problem with your question is that it's simply too vague and all encompassing - WHICH suburbs are being ignored/getting the short end of the stick would be the question that people could answer one way or another.

 

Remember that people don't even agree on where the suburbs end and become "exurbs," and then there's the complication of when you simply get into rural areas that got little cul de sac'd housing development during the boom - are they suburbs at all?  Antioch, IL got a Metra stop a few years back, and it was being pitched (and heavily developed, now they are ghost developments) as a new commuter suburb.  Well, in that case that's just crazy talk.  So some baseline definitions need to come into play.

 

by the way- I hope you understand Chicago has had 2 area codes for something like 15 years.  312 is now pretty much just downtown and leftover cell phones.

Thank you everyone for your comments. But all these comments about the nature of suburban infrastructure miss my point. Is Active Trans too focused on the City of Chicago? Not if there are good bike lanes or trails or whatever in the suburbs. But is Active Trans the organization doing enough outside the 312 area code?

 

And why is there no response from Active Trans? You have a 7 person marketing and communications team listed on your website. Can't you respond to this post? And seriously, 7 PR flacks? How about assigning more staff to the suburbs?

Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on July 26, 2011 at 3:14pm
The suburbs were built by and for people who dislike active transportation. I don't think there's any big mystery here.
Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on July 27, 2011 at 3:37am

Hey Chainlinkers, and hello A Suburban Cyclist, we apologize for not responding sooner. Our executive director wrote a post for this thread and we'll get that up today.

 

We've been a bit overwhelmed with some great bike (and other) advocacy work this summer. Personally, I've been missing the Chainlink conversations and that's a bummer.

 

I'm very proud of the suburban work we do, which is quite a bit, and have been struggling to communicate it. But we've got some big M&C plans for 2012 and the suburbs are in it (to win it).

 

Thanks much,

Ethan Spotts, Active Trans

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on July 27, 2011 at 3:38am
The suburbs, in my opinion, are the next frontier of bicycle advocacy.
Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on July 27, 2011 at 4:37am

I can understand how my fellow suburbanites (I live in Oak Park) might get the impression that Active Trans is more vested in the city than the ‘burbs. Even though roughly half of our resources are devoted to work in the suburbs, you wouldn’t know it from reading the Tribune, Sun Times, Chainlink, CTA Tattler, and so forth. Our work in the city tends to get more regional press and blog coverage, while the suburban work is often under the radar or gets mentioned in the local papers. 

In 2011, we have worked in more than 75 suburbs to write bike and pedestrian plans, create new policies and fund new infrastructure. We also delivered education and encouragement programs to thousands of children and adults in the suburbs through programs like Safe Routes to Schools, Walk Across Illinois and the Commuter Challenge.

 

We are working on 11 active transportation or bike plans this year in suburban Cook County for the Communities Putting Prevention to Work program. Just this year, we worked on the Mt. Prospect Bike Plan (Cook County), the Wheaton Bike Plan (DuPage County) and are currently helping craft the DeKalb County Bike Plan and the McHenry County Transportation Plan.

In the past year, Oak Park added new bike lanes and bike parking based on the bike plan we did for the community. Active Trans organized two suburban Open Streets events closing down local streets for the exclusive use of pedestrians and cyclists. And we welcomed more than 9,000 suburbanites to Bike the Drive (and, yes we realize the irony of driving to the event). Over the years, Active Trans has helped steer hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding to bike, pedestrian and transit projects in the suburbs. This year was no exception.

 

It’s true that the City of Chicago is scheduled to receive much of the federal CMAQ bike/ped funding programmed this year, and the suburbs got more for non-bike/ped projects. But the outlook for the suburbs is actually good. We helped position the suburbs to receive bike/ped funding from other pots of federal funding, and the suburbs also got a lot of great projects funded with CMAQ dollars. These include the Burnham Gap, Calumet-Sag, and Skokie Valley Trails—three Active Trans priorities. There was also more than $4 million in CMAQ funds allocated for projects identified in the Active Trans-drafted Northwest Municipal Conference Bike Plan.

 

We definitely want to do more in the suburbs, and we appreciate hearing your ideas!

 

Ron Burke
Executive Director
Active Transportation Alliance

PS: Have suggestions or want to learn more about the work we do in the suburbs. Please get in touch.

 

 

Ruth Myers
West Suburban Coordinator
ruth@activetrans.org
312.427.3325 Ext. 242

 

Steve Buchtel
Southland Coordinator
steve@activetrans.org
708.365.9365 (text and voice)

Barb Cornew
North Suburban Coordinator
barb@activetrans.org
312.427.3325 Ext. 383

 

Leslie Phemister
Cook County Suburban Coordinator
leslie@activetrans.org
708.798.0788

Permalink Reply by Gina Kenny on July 27, 2011 at 5:00am

I agree that the south suburbs do definitely need help to become more bike friendly. I grew up in Chicago Ridge and have lived in Orland Park for 10 years. I do bike quite frequently for transit, including taking my son to pre-school and summer camp. But, I would be lying if I said it is easy to get everywhere I want to go by bike. I also work for the League of Illinois Bicyclists, worked for ATA on their Southland Footprints program and helped out when they were revising their map with the some of the south suburb sections. Are ATA and LIB doing work in the south suburbs? Yes. Would I like ATA and LIB to do more in the south suburbs? Definitely. However, I realize that ATA is a regional organization and that LIB is a state-wide organization and that the south suburbs is just part of both.

 

I do think it is helpful to that you are voicing your opinion; although, I'm thinking it would have been better if you contacted ATA first. I also think it would be helpful if you take an active role in helping the southland become more bike friendly. Does your town already have a bike task force? If so, volunteer to be on it or ask your community to start one. Are you a member of ATA, LIB and other bike advocacy groups? Do you volunteer for them? As others have mentioned, Steve Butchel is the south suburban coordinator. He has contacted me several times to help out with bike events in the Southland. He can always use more help. I have attended quite a few events this year for LIB as well as helping out ATA. LIB has also had board members attend a few events. But, there have also been several events where I have been unable to find a volunteer.

 

Please feel free to contact myself at gina@bikelib.org or (708) 334-2244.  I would love to talk with you about how we can make the Southland one of the most bike-friendly places around.

-Gina

 

Gina Kenny
LCI# 2446
Program Manager
League of Illinois Bicyclists
gina@bikelib.org
(708) 334-2244
http://www.bikelib.org/
www.facebook.com/bikeLIB
Making Illinois a land of safe and enjoyable bicycling for all; promoting bicycle access, education and safety.

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