Championing Bike and Pedestrian Safety and Greenways in Infrastructure Planning

I am an ardent cyclist. I often refer to my commuter bike as my third arm, and ride about 50 miles a week across the cities, suburbs, and townships of the 9th District and northern Illinois. My vision points to Copenhagen for what true bike infrastructure could look like across US metropolitan areas. More and more greenways (safer and calmer road sections often designated for bike traffic) are being built with protected barriers to shield cyclists from needless and totally avoidable collisions with car traffic. Ultimately the goal should be safety for all.

I have passed several significant bills in the Illinois Senate that are intended to scale up construction of safer road infrastructure for cyclists, pedestrians, road users with a disability, and those using public transit. These infrastructure improvements will create greener, interconnected roadways and routes that afford safe trips for all while giving cyclists more opportunities to ride in lower stress, calmer, and protected spaces over great distances. This is the right way to go so that we reduce carbon emissions from transportation - which is the second largest source of carbon emissions.

• I worked to help broker the historic Memorandum of Understanding between the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Chicago Department of Transportation to facilitate faster progress on road safety improvements along state routes.
• I also brought forward and passed a bill to promptpedestrian and cyclist safety improvements located within 500 feet of routine maintenance worksites of state roads, like pothole or streetlight repairs.
• I also have proudly supported grassroots efforts to add a dedicated bus lane onto DuSable Lake Shore Drive and reimagine this iconic roadway as a people’s boulevard. We need policymakers in Congress who are willing to champion bike and pedestrian safety as a key part of the planning and near-term future of US cities and suburbs.