I-GO donned the green (even more than our usual eco self) in Forest Park’s annual St. Paddy’s Day parade this past Saturday, March 6, piloting a pimped-out Paddy wagon (er, Prius) down Madison Street. The parade is one of the bigger suburban St. Pat’s shindigs, and our Prius is located in the village, thanks to I-GO’s suburban expansion initiative, launched in 2009.
Downtown:
425 E. Erie St., 2009 Honda Element (blue), vehicle ID# 4413
535 N. St. Clair St., 2007 Toyota Matrix (blue), vehicle ID# 4536
Wicker Park:
1511 N. Artesian Ave., 2006 Toyota Scion xB (blue), vehicle ID# 4459
In case you missed it, here’s I-GO’s March newsletter. Lots of fun stuff in this issue: how we’ll be getting greener than usual for St. Pat’s, how to set up text alerts for your reservations, and more.
Last April, we wrote about I-GO member Joe Baldwin’s personal crusade to promote sustainability by turning a CTA flat-bed rail car into a “Mobile Garden.” Far-fetched? Perhaps. But the UIC grad student and multimedia artist has proven that his dogged persistence may pay off.
His proposal was recently greenlighted by the CTA — as reported in Time Out Chicago this week — though Baldwin still faces a long haul, and potentially as many delays as current CTA service, to secure funding and insurance and retool the original design as a greenhouse structure, in order to prevent dislodged debris from causing any problems. Makes sense to us. Only cartoon characters should get thumped on the head with plummeting potted plants.
The other part of the plan — now scheduled for a 2011 launch — was to distribute plants to commuters at various rail stations. Joe told us earlier it would work as a “Bring a Plant to Work Day” sort of deal, but this has apparently changed to CTA workers passing out seed packets aboard the designated Mobile Garden train. Joe has managed to secure the packet donation from a Wisconsin CSA.
What he really needs, though, is seed money. If you’re interested in helping Joe cultivate his dream — sown as a school project and now getting signaled onto a different sort of Green Line — you can pitch in at www.giveforward.org/makeitreal.
Know someone who’s been on the fence about joining I-GO? Now’s the time to give your pal a nudge. Starting today, I-GO is a featured deal on Chicago Half Off.
We’re making 200 memberships available for just $25 a piece. So get ‘em while they’re hot.
Our colleagues at the Center for Neighborhood Technology (I-GO’s parent org) recently blogged on how the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s TIGER program (the acronym stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) is impacting the Chicago area through the various CREATE projects (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency). USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced last week that — under the aegis of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the feds are keepin’ it rail.
That sits well with us at I-GO. Along with CNT, we’ve been advocating for multi-modal sustainable transportation that moves folks and freight while causing the least amount of damage to the environment. In Chicago — which owes its very origins to waterway and rail infrastructure — investing in rail to create jobs and rebuild our communities shows refreshing foresight.
CNT has been at the forefront of tying transportation to housing and business development. I-GO, for its part, works with the CTA to offer a joint transit smartcard that allows users to access both our cars and CTA trains and buses (and suburban Pace buses, too, for that matter).
Columbia College’s Recycling Program staff recently launched the Green Biz Channel, a new YouTube video channel that will profile environmentally focused local businesses.
We’re flattered to report that I-GO is the subject of their first installment. The program’s Neale Baldyga interviews I-GO Communications Manager Craig Keller about I-GO’s green initiatives, which range from our joint smart card with the CTA to plug-in hybrid electric cars that get up to 100mpg. The interview took place on the college’s South Loop campus, which lies within close proximity of several I-GO cars.
I-GO has long offered discount sign-ups for students, faculty, and staff at Columbia College and many other area colleges and universities.
A very big thanks to Columbia College, Neale, and videographer Trevis Loosbrock for reaching out to us — and for fighting the good fight. Keep it green, guys.
Check out their new blog too.
Here’s the vid:
“Essential Chicago” sounds like the worst idea possible for a fragrance that captures the essence of the Windy City. Lucky for us it’s just the cover story feature in this week’s issue of Time Out Chicago. This time around, the mag’s annual feature targets “The New Essentials.”
Take a wild guess which car sharing company they consider essential. Man, we smell good!
Just five days left to win our current Deal of the Month member contest: a pair of tickets to the House Theatre’s multimedia-infused new show, Wilson Wants it All, now playing at the Chopin Theatre PLUS a $50 gift certificate to Mrs. Murphy & Son’s Irish Bistro.
Make it a double, bartender. It’s on the House.
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I posted 5 photos on Facebook in the album “St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 6, 2010″ http://bit.ly/berFIp
Newest I-GO car locations http://bit.ly/ce1ACT
@amontag Welcome to I-GO. Judging by that rainbow in your pic, we can tell you’ve finally seen the light!
@patrick0505 Hey, thanks for the shout-out, Patrick. We couldn’t agree more!
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…Super Taco. Able to circle the planet two and a half times before materializing… http://bit.ly/9g6cWE
We recently asked I-GO members: “Why did you join I-GO?” and “What do you like most about the service?”
