Released: Oct. 4, 2009

Contact: Margo O’Hara

margo@activetrans.org 312-42-3325, ext. 224

Families, friends gather to honor cyclists, pedestrians for fifth year

Friends and families from the biking and walking community gathered with the Active Transportation Alliance for the fifth year to honor bicyclists and pedestrians killed in traffic.

Each year, the Herron Memorial Bike and Walk honors victims of traffic crashes while empowering Chicago youth. Donations from the event help fund Herron-Active Trans internships and scholarships that open doors for Chicago’s young people by creating employment opportunities and in paying for textbooks, tuition and other educational costs. Donations also are supporting initiatives to reduce distracted driving among teenagers through local high school organizing.

“This is the fifth year that families and friends have come together in community to remember family and friends who died in crashes and to in turn loss into opportunity by supporting our youth,” said Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance. “The Herron Memorial Ride allows us to do something with that grief and to transform the future.”

Every year, nearly 200 bicyclists and pedestrians are killed in the city of Chicago. The event is named for Dick Herron who was killed during a group bike ride. His wife, Jane, is an educational consultant who founded the event in 2005.

Participants enjoyed a 15-mile bike ride along the lakefront or a five-mile walk through Lincoln Park. A light brunch followed with some of Dick’s favorite snacks with his family and others from the community.

The Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit, member-based advocacy organization that works to make bicycling, walking and public transit so safe, convenient and fun that we will achieve a significant shift from environmentally harmful, sedentary travel to clean, active travel. The organization builds a movement around active transportation, encourages physical activity, increases safety and builds a world-class transportation network. Formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Active Transportation Alliance is North America’s largest transportation advocacy organization, supported by more than 6,000 members, 1,000 volunteers and 35 full-time staff. For more information on the Active Transportation Alliance, visit www.activetrans.org or call 312.427.3325.

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