John Vande Velde to Speak at Active Transportation Meeting

U.S. Olympic and National Champion cyclist John Vande Velde will address the community on Lemont's walking and biking amenities Wednesday at the village's second kick-off meeting for its Active Transportation Plan.

The community forum will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Lemont Township Community Center, 16300 Alba St.

Earlier this year, the village to create safer, more convenient places for walking, biking and other physical activities. The money was awarded by the Cook County Department of Public Health and the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, which gave a total of $4 million to 41 agencies in suburban Cook County to promote health and wellness within their communities.

As part of the grant, the village has partnered with the Active Transportation Alliance, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that "works to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit and engage people in healthy and active ways to get around." The organization will work with village officials, the and Lemont schools to develop an Active Transportation Plan.

"We're very excited to get this process started," Village Planner Charity Jones told Patch last month. "This is a great opportunity for us to evaluate our walking and biking paths, and to promote healthier living within the Lemont community."

Jones said in January that the grant would be put toward a number of initiatives, including an evaluation of the village's current transportation plan, installation of bicycle signage and incorporation of the Complete Streets policy into all road construction.

The Active Transportation Alliance is working with several Illinois communities through Cook County's Model Communities program, which seeks to “align with the nationwide effort of developing local-level policy, system and environmental change that result in residents having increased access to healthy foods and having safe places to be physically active," according to the press release.