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Friends of the Major Taylor Trail

Information

Friends of the Major Taylor Trail

Goal: to maintain good trail conditions, plan for future improvement, and promote healthy activity on the Major Taylor Trail.

 

P.O. Box 43345, Chicago, IL 60643

Website: http://www.majortaylortrail.org
Location: Chicago
Members: 29
Latest Activity: Mar 1, 2022

Discussion Forum

trail conditions 27 Replies

Started by Anne Alt. Last reply by James Popp Mar 1, 2022.

rides and other events 19 Replies

Started by Anne Alt. Last reply by Anne Alt May 18, 2021.

meetings 24 Replies

Started by Anne Alt. Last reply by Peter Taylor Nov 13, 2018.

Comment Wall

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Comment by Peter Taylor on April 11, 2016 at 5:57pm

Earth Day on MTT

April 23rd 9am.  Earth Day Celebration at Whistler Woods in Riverdale.

We will be tackling some trail maintnenance in the vicinity of Whistler Woods, The southern end of the MTT

Comment by Anne Alt on March 23, 2016 at 2:15pm

Save the dates for next month's public outreach meetings for south side bike routes:

Monday 4/11 - Vodak-East Side public library, 3710 E 106th St, 5:30-7:30 pm
Tuesday 4/12 - Pullman visitors' center, 11141 S Cottage Grove, 5:30-7:30 pm
This is a follow-up to a previous round of public outreach that happened a few years ago to develop Streets for Cycling 2020, a plan for a citywide network of bike routes. 
The focus for these 2 meetings is safe access to Pullman and the area around Big Marsh. The National Monument designation of Pullman and improvement of Big Marsh, combined with lobbying for more equitable distribution of bike routes in underserved communities got to where we are now.
One of the important pieces of safe access to both Pullman and Big Marsh is getting a safer way for folks using the red line to get from 95th St. station to southbound bike routes. Many people are likely to be using the red line to reach Big Marsh.
We also need to improve safety along the section of Stony Island adjacent to Big Marsh, as well as 103rd St. (eastbound and westbound) and 122nd-Torrence to reach the path along 126th for southeast access.
Please share this info with anyone you know who is interested in safer bike access to these areas, and encourage them to share it.
FYI - CDOT tends to do these sessions primarily in an open house format, where maps are available to view, CDOT folks are available to talk with, and there are comment sheets for input. My understanding is that part of each meeting will be in a presentation format.
Comment by Anne Alt on October 18, 2012 at 10:11am

While this program won't go as far south as the trail, it may be of interest to many of you.

Got ideas for where Chicago's new bike share stations should be? Want to learn more about the program? Check out the City's interactive bike share website, which allows you to use a map to suggest locations. 

http://share.chicagobikes.org/

Upcoming meetings about the project which will also solicit location ideas. See the attached flyer for better formatting.

CENTRAL
Oct. 29, 2012
11:30–1 PM, 6:30-8 PM
Chicago Architecture
Foundation
224 S. Michigan Ave.

Oct. 29, 2012
3–5 PM
Union Station
500 W. Jackson Blvd.

NORTH
Oct. 30, 2012
6:30–8 PM
Lincoln Belmont
Library
1659 W. Melrose St.

SOUTH

Nov. 7, 2012

6:30–8 PM
Charles Hayes Center
4859 S. Wabash Ave.

Comment by Anne Alt on June 8, 2012 at 12:10pm

Brian - Sorry we missed you on 5/12.  If you can join us again on 6/24, it would be nice to see you.

I like the MTT/Blue Island combo because there are so many great BI destinations.

Comment by Brian Bender on June 8, 2012 at 11:14am

I actually missed the cancellation of the May 12 Ride to the River, went anyway.  The rain tapered off at 9 and I rode the entire trail, first North and then South. Exited Whistler Woods and went west to Ashland for the first time.

Much pleased to discover Broadway and a clear shot back into downtown Blue Island and lunch at Cafe Tenochtitlan. Added this to my catalog of favorite rides.

Comment by Anne Alt on May 16, 2012 at 9:38pm

There are a few ways to follow us and interact online: here, Twitter, and Facebook.  

On Twitter, search for @fomtt, #mttchi or #majtaylortrail.  If you want to share trail condition info, feel free to post it here or on Twitter to @fomtt.

Comment by Anne Alt on May 4, 2012 at 2:17pm

Yep, that was me.  Good catch. This was a small portion of what I said, but it captures some of the most critical points.

When I asked the developer how they intended to accommodate pedestrian traffic, he pointed to a section of the plan, indicating sidewalks along the front of the stores.  I asked "and how are pedestrians from the neighborhood supposed to get to that sidewalk across all that parking?"  

Mr. "I'm all about the cars" looked absolutely baffled.  A younger guy on the team came up with the line about not having gotten to that part of the plan yet, which sounded like a steaming pile.  Then I asked about bike access and bike parking.  The younger guy said "Oh, I didn't realize that was a factor here."  I said it was and asked what kind of installation they would do for bike parking.  He described stainless steel racks in sheltered locations.  I said that sounded fine.  I remain skeptical until I actually see a design that does accommodate peds and bikes in a reasonable way.

Others also spoke up about non-car access, to make the point that I wasn't the only one who had an issue with the car-centric design.

BTW, they're proposing 2 additional driveways on Western - at 96th and 97th.  Just picture what a mess that will make of the already horrendous traffic.

Comment by Brian Bender on May 4, 2012 at 1:23pm

I saw Anne quoted in the The Reporter commenting to the Evergreen Plaza rehabbers. They misspelled her name, but I heard her voice while I read it. Thak you, Anne, for representing.  

Comment by Anne Alt on March 12, 2012 at 8:06am

Thanks to Keith Holt for sharing this Rails to Trail video: Is it safe? Crime and perceptions of safety on urban pathways.

Comment by Anne Alt on February 24, 2012 at 12:55pm

Meeting info is here.

Unrelated to this, I happened to notice this magazine piece about the new housing development next to the trail at 105th & Vincennes.

 

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