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Trip to Guadalajara Offers Parkways Insight
By Rob Sadowsky
Imagine sharing a quiet morning bicycle ride with 150,000 neighbors.
Now imagine doing that every Sunday morning. The Chicagoland Bicycle
Federation had the opportunity to experience that when we brought
a delegation of 12 city officials and community leaders to Guadalajara,
Mexico for a conference on the
Sunday Parkways programs. It was fantastic.
Thanks to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, who sponsored
the trip, leaders from Little Village, Garfield Park, Humboldt Park
and Logan Square had the opportunity to learn first-hand about these
programs, which are sweeping through Latin America.
The group learned what it takes to create the programs and had a
chance to see one in action. We met with our new “amigos”
from Santiago, Chile; Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Zapopan, Mexico;
Bogotá and Medellin, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; San Borja
and Lima, Peru; and — closer to home — El Paso, Texas.
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| Board member Sherry Daun and Development Director
Arline Welty participate in La Red Ciclovia with a young girl
from Guadalajara. |
The conference, La Red de Ciclovias, was sponsored by the Pan
American Health Organization and Ciudada
Humana, a Colombian-based non-profit organization. The conference,
the second of its kind, allowed program representatives to discuss
their experiences and any lessons, struggles or successes they have
encountered along the way.
Cities sponsor Sunday Parkways for a variety of reasons: encouraging
public health through physical activity, economic development, and
environmental action. Participants asked questions and finally on
Sunday, got on bicycles and rode, rode, rode.
If riding, walking, rollerblading or skateboarding with 150,000
sounds wonderful, imagine doing this in Bogotá where up to
1 million participate 77 times a year. This is something that can
truly transform neighborhoods and the City.
Jaime De Leon, the New
Communities Program director for Little Village attended the
conference.
“It’s much broader than just closing down a few streets
so that folks can ride bicycles,” he said. “It’s
about environmental concerns. It’s about health concerns —
the way we design urban landscapes and the way we encourage people
to transport themselves.”
Is Sunday Parkways coming to Chicago? The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
is working with City and community leaders to do just that. It will
take much political will and we could use some help.
Let us talk to your local chamber of commerce, block club, church
group or community-based organization about the possibility of Sunday
Parkways and how it can impact public health in your neighborhood.
Or you can contact me at rob@biketraffic.org for information on
bringing Sunday Parkways to your neighborhood.
Want more? We’ve got pictures and video of Guadalajara’s
weekly event. Start at our myspace page at www.myspace.com/biketraffic.
Rob Sadowsky is the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s executive
director
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