Many thanks to those of you who joined us on our annual bike outing. We hope you had as much fun as we did. We will soon begin our search for another off-road trail for the tenth annual ride. If you find a trail you think others might be interested in trying, please let us know. Remember that our goal is to introduce riders to trails they might not otherwise explore.
In the August issue we reported on a meeting hosted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) called Connecting Communities. These meetings are being held across the Chicagoland area to provide input for a year 2030 Regional Transportation Plan. Meetings have already been held for the North Side of Chicago, Calumet Region, and North-Northwest Cook County, others are planned for Lake County, McHenry County, Chicago Central, Chicago South, DuPage County, Southwest Will/Southwest Cook County, Kane County, and West Cook County. You can find out more by calling CNT at 773-278-4800, extension 2030. You can also visit their Web site at www.cnt.org.
Back in 1991 Congress suggested that building more highways is perhaps not the best way to solve the problems of urban sprawl, highway gridlock, and environmental pollution. This resulted in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) that called for population centers across the country to examine their transportation needs. And while many cities ended up deciding that the best way to solve their transportation problems was to build more roads, the law did require that other modes of transportation be considered as well.
The ISTEA was signed into law on December 18, 1991. It allocated $151 billion to be spent over a six-year period to develop "a national intermodal transportation system that is economically efficient, environmentally sound, provides the foundation for the nation to compete in the global economy and will move people and goods in an energy efficient manner." It emphasized public transportation as a way to improve air quality, conserve energy, and improve mobility for the elderly and those with disabilities. In 1997 when it was time to reauthorize the bill Congress balked and communities across the nation feared that they had seen the end of this infrastructure funding. But before Congress adjourned it allocated $9.8 billion to keep the program going for another year.
Then, remarkably, in 1998 the Transportation Equity Act (TEA) was authorized, allocating $217.9 billion to continue to improve surface transportation (a significant increase over the 1991 legislation). This legislation will again run for six years and we can only hope that in 2004 Congress will produce some new legislation to continue what has only just begun. The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) is funded by this legislation; the organization is in the process of updating its 2020 plan to a 2030 plan.
CNT has assumed a role in providing input for the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan. You’ll be happy to read that nowhere in any of the CNT reports that have been completed so far do we find a statement suggesting that the public should be in favor of building more roads. Increased bus service, more trains, more rapid transit service, more bicycle lanes, and more sidewalks are all called for. The reports emphasize the need for better east-west public transportation, for more express bus service, for rapid transit and rail service extensions to the north and west, and for better biking and walking accommodations.
As you might guess, others are working on these same issues. We read in the "Neighborhood News" section of the Reader about a group calling themselves the Campaign for a Free and Clear Lakefront. These folks have a proposal to "depave" Lake Shore Drive. It sounded so crazy that we decided to attend one of their meetings. To our surprise and delight we met a group of clear-thinking, rational planners and architects.
The following is a quote of the stated purpose of the group: "To come up with specific short-term proposals to increase pedestrian, bike, and transit access to Grant Park and a long-term plan for decreasing and/or removing private automobile traffic from the downtown lakefront...." The meeting was well organized; input was requested from all attendees by way of small-group breakout meetings. The data collected at this meeting will become input for the Break the Gridlock 2001 Conference. We will report on this upcoming meeting in a future issue of Conscious Choice. To obtain more information from this group visit www.ForeverFreeandClear.org.
There are many groups working to break the gridlock. Why not get involved? You’ll be making a great start if the next time you head for your car, you decide instead to ride your bicycle. Remember, keep riding and stay healthy — and do something for the environment while you’re at it.