Active Transportation Alliance
Founded about twenty-five years ago as the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, today the Active Transportation Alliance deploys a staff of forty in a mission they describe as “to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel.” They work toward their goals through advocacy and lobbying, awareness campaigns and studies, and through hands-on consulting to municipalities looking to increase the presence of bike and pedestrian trails in their cities. And unlike so many nonprofits who pursue their goals with an almost comical seriousness, ATA puts fun right into their mission statement, and achieves it by producing events such as Bike the Drive, which takes over Lake Shore Drive one morning each spring and lets thousands of bicyclists enjoy the city’s promenade.
Best of Chicago 2009
