About the Active Transportation Alliance Chicagoland s voice for better biking, walking and transit Founded 1985 7,000 members, ~33 full time staff Serve Chicago metro region 1
More Cars, More Driving in Illinois 1982 2012 Population... 13% Increase Motor Vehicle Registrations 42% increase Vehicle Miles Traveled.63% increase 2
Travel to Work Mode Share (2012) City of Chicago Biking: 1.6% Walking: 6.9% 34.8% non-auto: NYC 67%, DC 55%, Boston 52% Transit: 26.3% Cars/other: 65.2% Metro Chicago Bike: Walk Transit Cars/other 0.7 percent 3.3 percent 11.1 percent 84.9 percent US Census Bureau 2012 3
Metro Chicago Mode Share All Trips (2008) Car: 79.5% Walk: 10.4% Bike: 1.0% Transit: 6.9% CTA Bus: 3.3% CTA Rail: 1.8% Pace: 0.5% Metra: 1.2% Private Bus: 0.1% Taxi/other: 0.5% CMAP, Chicago Regional Household Travel Inventory (2010) 4
Over-dependence on cars is part of a sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle Walking, Cycling and Obesity Rates in Europe, North America and Australia - Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2008 5
Fatalities/Injuries in Illinois Urban Areas: City Streets: 54%/65% State Highways: 32%/29% Interstate/Expressway: 14%/6% 6
Bike and Pedestrian Crashes Chicago: 41% of traffic fatalities bike/ped; 34% ped Cook County: 33% of traffic fatalities bike/ped; 28% ped 6 other counties:13% of traffic fatalities bike/ped; 11% ped In Chicago alone, an avg. of 60 people injured or killed every day in traffic crashes; 12 are biking or walking Nearly 1 bike/ped fatality every 3 days in metro Chicago 19 bike/ped injuries per day in Metro Chicago 7
Transportation & Equity 1/3 of poor minorities lack access to a car (12% for poor whites) Minority pedestrian death rates are up to 70% higher than those of whites 560,000 people with disabilities never leave their homes due to transportation difficulties Older adults who no longer drive make fewer trips for health care, shopping, visiting family The Leadership Conference: http://www.civilrights.org/transportation/ Transportation Equity Network: www.transportationequity.org Policy Link Transportation Equity Initiative: www.policylink.org/ Transportation for American (T 4 America) Equity Caucus: www.t4america.org/equitycaucus National Complete Streets Coalition: www.completethestreets.org Dangerous By Design, Transportation for America 8
Benefits of Active Transportation Healthy Green Enhances community safety with more eyes on the street Encourages socialization Builds neighborhood cohesion Transportation for people who cannot/choose not to own cars Reduces congestion and enhances economy 9
But barriers exist in the built environment... Living in [car dependent communities] limits the opportunities to incorporate physical activity into daily life. Residents must drive to work, school, and services. * American Public Health Association: At the Intersection of Public Health and Transportation: Promoting Healthy Transportation Policy 10
Travel distance (connectivity) 11
Geographic distance (land use) Suburban sprawl : Isolated land use Lack of connectivity between roads Less density Civic anchors (schools, shopping, workplaces) sited on fringe of town Traditional urban design: Mixed land use Well-connected road network More density Civic anchors located centrally Many amenities within walking distance Few amenities within walking distance 12
Lack of safe, accessible facilities 13
Social environment barriers Time and convenience Inclement weather Social norming Status of car ownership Lack of political will *Driving will and should be an option for getting around...but not the only option! 14
Regional Transit System Underperforms Among six largest legacy (older) transit systems (Boston, Chicago, New York, Philly, DC, and San Francisco) and Los Angeles, the Chicago region is: Last in ridership growth Last in system expansion Last in transit-friendly development Next-to-last to LA for per capita transit spending In addition: Region allocates 25 percent less money on transit capital than 20 years ago despite 20% population increase Only 23 percent of the region s residents (12 percent in the suburbs) can use transit to reach a typical job in under 90 minutes 15
The Recipe for Change 1.Mix of destinations and land uses with walkable/ bikable distances around transit. 2. Good network of safe, convenient and accessible pedestrian, bicycle and transit facilities (sidewalks, safe crossings, bike lanes and paths, expanded transit network) 16
Strategies 1. Policies: change the rules to make healthy design the norm (local most important) 2. Planning: establish vision and priorities 3. Projects: build actual infrastructure that supports active transportation 4. Programs: change behaviors to increase walking, biking and transit trips 17
Complete Streets in Chicago Chicago Dept. of Transportation Adopted a Complete Streets policy Reorganized personnel around Complete Streets Developed new design guidelines Adopted pedestrian first mode heirarchy 18
Plans Recent Chicago plans: Make Way for Play Streets for Cycling 2020 Chicago Pedestrian Plan Make Way for People 19
Projects Sidewalks and street crossings On-street bike facilities Off-street paths Pedestrian/bike bridges and tunnels Lighting, benches, trees, drinking fountains Traffic calming measures (refuge islands, speed humps, curb extensions) Universal design (ADA) Transit stop and station improvements New transit service Divvy 20
Projects road diet 21
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Programs traffic safety education Chicago s Safe Routes and Bicycling Ambassadors 23
Programs public awareness campaigns 24
Programs traffic enforcement Must stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk No talking/texting while driving Unsafe pedestrian/bicycle behaviors Speeding Running red lights 25
Challenges Challenges: Built environment change takes time and $$! Federal transportation spending flat at best Local and state fiscal woes Balanced streets sometimes requires reprogramming car spaces Transit system that doesn t work for most people Regional development not happening near transit (i.e. no smart growth mandate, transit/jobs disconnect) 26
Opportunities Opportunities: Overall support for active transportation is growing; political will in Chicago is strong Divvy expansion into neighborhoods, including underserved areas High-profile projects in queue (Bloomingdale Trail, Navy Pier Flyover, next-gen bike lanes) Loop and Ashland Ave. Bus Rapid Transit Participatory budgeting (aldermanic menu funding, TIF) Transit Future campaign to secure new transit funding for Cook County 27