Communities and City Collaborate for Safer, More Accessible Biking, Walking Infrastructure

The city’s transportation department has been installing a new grid of bike routes in Belmont Cragin and Hermosa, two predominantly Latino neighborhoods on the West Side, as part of the Chicago Works Capital Plan launched in April.

“These processes for transportation improvements can often seem very opaque and feel inaccessible to local residents,” said Lynda Lopez,  Advocacy Manager for Active Transportation Alliance, and Transportation Equity Network co-chair. “I think the Belmont Cragin project had a lot of engagement from community residents, and they were leading with their own ideas and had a lot of say in the process.”

Lopez says the collaborative process behind this project – which also included the Northwest Side Housing Center  – has been unique. She says residents who were a part of the planning process had a chance to look at their community maps and weigh in on biking and walking in the area.