Bicycle and pedestrian advocacy training in the North Shore on September 23

In most suburban communities, getting around on a bicycle and on foot is often difficult and sometimes treacherous. As a result, many people who would like to bike and walk more often tend to avoid doing so.

The good news is that we can change this.

We can create suburban communities that have high-quality, low-stress bike lanes, sidewalks and multi-use trails that could connect you to local shops, work, school and neighboring communities. These communities can become places where you feel safe and comfortable getting to any destination you chose by bike or by foot.

But it'll take some work.

To help us get there, the non-profit Active Transportation Alliance launched Bike Walk Every Town, a new advocacy training program for the suburbs.

Bike Walk Every Town is designed to mobilize and support grassroots leaders and residents from across the region to give you the tools and access to resources you need to improve biking, walking and transit in your community.

The program begins in September and October with a series of suburban advocacy summits that will be hosted in each suburban region. The first summit will be held on Saturday, September 23rd at the Heller Nature Center in Highland Park. The summit is free, includes food and refreshments, and is open to any interested resident.

The summits will offer tools to help you develop an advocacy campaign, direction and assistance in advocating for better walking and biking policies, and opportunities to network with other like-minded individuals in your region.

Change starts with you. If you’re up for the challenge, we invite you to register for one of our free kick-off summits:

• North Shore: Saturday, September 23, 1:30pm to 5:30pm
• West: Saturday, October 7, 11am to 3:30pm
• Northwest: Saturday, October 21, 11am to 3:30pm
• South: Saturday, October 28, 11:30am to 4pm

To register or to learn more, visit activetrans.org/BikeWalkEveryTown or email Maggie@activetrans.org.