Proposed bike path would connect Oak Lawn and Cal-Sag

The Reporter Online
Oak Lawn officials are attempting to pedal the village closer to its goal of becoming a sustainable community that encourages and enables active living.

The Village Board on Jan. 26 saw and heard a comprehensive bicycle plan created by the Active Transportation Alliance. Steven Buchtel, Active Trans’ Southland coordinator, presented a 31-page plan and PowerPoint overview at a meeting attended by many avid area bicyclers.

Oak Lawn hired Active Trans, formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, in 2008 to put the plan together at a cost of $10,000.

Adopting the plan would make Oak Lawn sustainable and “green” in a couple of different ways, according to Buchtel.

“It’s sustainable on at least two fronts,” he said. “One from an energy conservation standpoint, and secondly from an economic standpoint.

“Obviously, the more car trips you can replace with a non-motorized trip — biking or walking, the lower a community’s carbon footprint will be.”
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