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Transportation planner expands consulting
services
Carolyn Helmke will be the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s
new Senior Active Transportation Planner starting in June. She brings
more than 15 years of experience in alternative transportation education
and planning. She strongly believes that that urban design should
reflect the public value of bicycling and walking.
Carolyn’s work in transportation planning began with a personal
desire for more bikeable streets.
“When I moved to San Francisco, I found it very difficult
to bike – and not because of the hills. The problem was the
way streets and traffic were organized.”
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She became involved in bicycle advocacy to break down these barriers
to biking.
“I felt like I was doing a good thing by biking – for
myself, the environment, and the public. But the streets and the
city did not seem to recognize or encourage this good behavior,”
she said.
Carolyn’s continued work in bicycle advocacy eventually led
her to Stanford
University’s Parking and Transportation Department, where
she is the bicycle program coordinator. Her achievements include
managing municipal and regional bicycle and alternative transportation
programs, coordinating studies to assess municipal and regional
bicycle planning needs, and running a public health study on the
effect of bicycle helmet laws in Contra Costa County. Carolyn also
serves on the Regional Bicycle Advocacy Coalition board of directors.
Carolyn has been excited about biking since she got her first bike
at age seven. For her, biking is about a happier lifestyle. It’s
a convenient and social way to travel. She likes being able to pull
right up to the door of her local grocery store and to chat with
friendly strangers at stoplights — something that doesn’t
happen in a car.
When Carolyn is not making streets better for bicyclists and pedestrians,
she enjoys spending time with friends, gardening, reading and playing
with her beloved 4-year-old beagle, Flora.
A Midwesterner at heart, Carolyn is ready for the move to Chicago,
where many of her family and friends live. She grew up in Michigan
and received her degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I’m excited for the new change and to add to the Chicagoland
Bicycle Federation’s thriving work. My dog, however, has never
seen the snow, so we’ll see how she likes that.”
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