Commuter profile: Ann Alexander

Name: Ann Alexander
Location: I live in Oak Park and work in the building adjacent to Ogilvie Transportation Center downtown Chicago.

How do you get around?
Weather permitting, I ride my bike to the Oak Park Train Station and take Metra. Sometimes on errands around town, such as to the library or the farmers market, I’ll put my 4-year-old son in a bike trailer. I used to take him to day care in the trailer, but ultimately found the intersections we had to cross to be too scary and intimidating due to the volume of traffic. I decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

Why do you support local advocacy organization? Why is it important to you?
There is a huge and well-funded automobile lobby in this country. It’s essential that we have organizations speaking up for those of us who get around in other ways. If we don’t, we’re going to find ourselves swamped with development that is inhospitable to bikers and walkers.

What is the best part of your commute?
I relish the few moments outside, since I spend almost all my workday inside. And I like that I can’t access my blackberry when I’m on my bike and, hence, am temporarily free from it.

Describe your ideal commute.
My dream commute would be to bike all the way downtown to work. Right now, that’s just not possible – the roads between Oak Park and downtown are unsafe for all but the most intrepid biker. But I sometimes wonder why we couldn’t take a few million dollars to build a well lit and well-policed dedicated bike path between the Western Suburbs and the Loop, perhaps on an elevated platform. It sounds like a fantasy, but I bet it could be done.

Was there something in particular that inspired you to bike, walk and use transit?
I’m a professional environmental advocate – I go to work everyday to fight to reduce pollution and stop global warming. The least I can do is walk the walk (Or bike it, anyway).