You’re already an Active Trans member at heart. Become a member in action!

Dear Chainlinkers,

We know that you want safer streets in your community so you can cross the road without worrying about getting hit. You wish the Chicago region had more bike lanes and trails so you would feel more comfortable biking to work or visiting the park with your family. And you wish you had reliable and affordable transit options that were easy to get to and easy to use.

You already belong to our movement, and (even though you might not realize it), you’re already an Active Transportation Alliance member at heart. We invite you to solidify that commitment by joining us today in our fight for better transportation choices. It’s a painless commitment of just $1 or more, but every member we add puts more power behind our movement.

We have a bold vision for Chicagoland to substantially reduce crashes and increase trips made by biking, walking and transit. We are at a critical point on the road to making our vision a reality, and we need our supporters to come together to make it happen. Your support is the strength behind this movement!

There has never been a better time to become a member. Join Active Trans by Sept. 30 and a local donor will match your gift, doubling your impact! We’ll also enter you in a raffle for a $100 REI gift certificate. Sign up now with coupon code CHAINLINK to have your gift matched and to be entered in the raffle.

Sincerely,

Lee Crandell
Membership Director

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shawn C. on September 3, 2010 at 5:21am

I joined last week!

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Permalink Reply by Liz on September 3, 2010 at 6:24am

Me too. :(

Now I'm sad that I didn't wait to join.

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Permalink Reply by dan brown on September 3, 2010 at 7:14am

members get cool discounts a local bike shops ! and a cool membership card too ;-)

Liz said:

Me too. :(

Now I'm sad that I didn't wait to join.

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on September 3, 2010 at 7:50am

Shawn, Liz and Dan -- We're glad to have your support!

You can still help out by spreading the word to grow our movement this month. Read here to learn about a few ways you can help us keep up the momentum and bring in new advocates to make our voice stronger: http://www.activetrans.org/blog/lcrandell/your-mission-september-ge...

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on September 24, 2010 at 11:03am

What do you do with the money you save by driving less?

Cyclists can save a lot of money on their daily transportation costs. What do you do with that money?

Earlier this month, Streetsblog Capitol Hill featured a great article reminding us just how much the average American household spends on transportation.

While some residents of the Chicago region opt to ditch the car altogether, those who drive can still save serious money just by driving less and opting to bike, walk or take transit for more of their daily trips. Having access to more transportation choices (like better cycling conditions) gives you the option to save money. According the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s new Abogo tool, people who live near the Active Trans office, which has great transportation choices, can save an average of $275/month on transportation compared to the average household in our region.

So what do you do with all that cash you’re putting away by biking, walking and taking transit more often? I’d suggest that you use it to enjoy life if you have that luxury! Spend it on family time, a more comfortable apartment, a new bike, or better walking shoes. But I'll also suggest you set aside some of it to invest in ensuring our region continues to improve our transportation choices and improve conditions for cycling. Invest a little of that money in advocacy that helps you save money on transportation so you have more money to spend on enjoying life.

Try calculating your transportation savings compared to our region's average, and consider investing a percentage in protecting your transportation choices. If you’re not already a member of Active Trans, please make an investment by joining at http://www.activetrans.org/membership. You're probably already a member at heart! Join with coupon code HEART by Sept. 30 and Active Trans will enter you in a raffle for a $100 REI gift certificate. Or if you’re already a member and want to make an additional investment in better transportation choices, you can do so at http://www.activetrans.org/donate.

- Lee Crandell, Active Trans Membership Director

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 26, 2010 at 4:08am

Lee, those are amazing numbers/statistics and thanks for all you guy do for us cyclists, pedestrians and pub transit users.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

What do you do with the money you save by driving less?
Cyclists can save a lot of money on their daily transportation costs. What do you do with that money? Earlier this month, Streetsblog Capitol Hill featured a great article reminding us just how much the average American household spends on transportation.

While some residents of the Chicago region opt to ditch the car altogether, those who drive can still save serious money just by driving less and opting to bike, walk or take transit for more of their daily trips. Having access to more transportation choices (like better cycling conditions) gives you the option to save money. According the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s new Abogo tool, people who live near the Active Trans office, which has great transportation choices, can save an average of $275/month on transportation compared to the average household in our region.

So what do you do with all that cash you’re putting away by biking, walking and taking transit more often? I’d suggest that you use it to enjoy life if you have that luxury! Spend it on family time, a more comfortable apartment, a new bike, or better walking shoes. But I'll also suggest you set aside some of it to invest in ensuring our region continues to improve our transportation choices and improve conditions for cycling. Invest a little of that money in advocacy that helps you save money on transportation so you have more money to spend on enjoying life.

Try calculating your transportation savings compared to our region's average, and consider investing a percentage in protecting your transportation choices. If you’re not already a member of Active Trans, please make an investment by joining at http://www.activetrans.org/membership. You're probably already a member at heart! Join with coupon code HEART by Sept. 30 and Active Trans will enter you in a raffle for a $100 REI gift certificate. Or if you’re already a member and want to make an additional investment in better transportation choices, you can do so at http://www.activetrans.org/donate.

- Lee Crandell, Active Trans Membership Director

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on September 28, 2010 at 7:56am

Eddie -- I'm sorry if Active Trans has fallen short of meeting your needs in the past. Regarding Milwaukee Ave., as a non-profit advocacy organization we unfortunately don't have authority over whether CDOT adds a bike lane or not. Active Trans does provide consulting services to CDOT for education programs and for long-term planning, and we advocate on behalf of cyclists to improve infrastructure in the ways you're asking for. We talked to CDOT about Milwaukee Ave. and learned that the work was state-funded and already past the point of being able to change the scope of the project. We would love to see a bike lane installed there right now, but CDOT believed the lanes would be better addressed after the construction through city funding. And since CDOT's budget has been stretched to meet the demand for more bikes lanes, Active Trans has been trying to find more money by advocating for Aldermen to commit some of their local Menu dollars toward improving bike infrastructure in their Wards. You can learn more about that here: http://www.activetrans.org/modeshift/03_07/menumoney .

Our Executive Director Ron Burke said that you mentioned your local community group had sent a letter to your alderman about Milwaukee Ave., and you were going to send him a copy of that letter. Could you send that to me at lee@activetrans.org? I'd like to get up-to-speed on your efforts and look into coordinating efforts with our members.

Best,
Lee Crandell, Active Trans Membership Director

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 28, 2010 at 8:17am

Thanks Lee. (I wrote the same thing on the LIB discussion as well)

I recommend any cyclist complaining that LIB/Active Trans or any other bike related org aren't doing enough/are doing the wrong things should:

A) Visit Detroit or Miami and then you will see what these orgs have done (Chicago was ranked top 10 bicycle friendly city in the US)

B) Volunteer with these organizations and/or talk to them at events

C) Really read their website/ join their listserves to learn about what projects they are involved in

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on September 28, 2010 at 8:24am

Thanks, Julie! And thank you for all you do for our community as well! I'm proud to be a part of a movement that has champions like you.

- Lee Crandell, Active Trans Membership Director

Julie Hochstadter said:

Lee, those are amazing numbers/statistics and thanks for all you guy do for us cyclists, pedestrians and pub transit users.

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Permalink Reply by Gin on September 28, 2010 at 9:03am

A lot of what orgs like LIB and Active Trans do is behind the scenes, working hard to educate planners and engineers about design options for cyclists while also working to build political and grassroots support for improvements. So much of what we take for granted as good ideas are still hard sells in many situations.

I often get frustrated by how slow the progress in our region seems to be. But I also see the huge impact LIB and Active Trans has had. We are the bike rack capitol of the country. We have great maps--paper and on-line--to show new and old cyclists how to get around. We do have an expanding network of bicycle facilities.

There is much more work to be done and I wish we didn't have to do it. I wish our neighbors and politicians did not have to be convinced to support investments in bikability--even when that means taking some public space back from cars. I wish we did not have to teach planners and engineers what they should have learned as a matter of course in their schooling. But, alas, we have to keep at it.

The folks at Active Trans and LIB are committed, talented and open to feedback. I am a member of both orgs b/c I support their mission . . .and I want to add my voice to the calls for better walking, cycling and transit options in our communities.