If you've ever wished there were an easier way to figure out which areas of the city are friendliest to those on foot, then you'll be excited about Walk Score's new walkability maps and neighborhood rankings. Walk Score today published rankings for the most walkable cities (Chicago is ranked fourth), as well as the most walkable neighborhoods in each city -- in Chicago: the Loop, Near North Side, Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Uptown. They also have wonderful color-coded walkability maps for each city illustrating which areas are most walkable.

Two new transit map services debuted this week from the CTA and Google that make it easier for riders to plan their trips. Google has added Chicago to the growing number of cities it offers public transit trip planning for on Google Maps -- allowing riders to use the familiar interface to plan their rides. A great added feature is that it provides an estimated cost comparison for the trip by transit and driving. My work commute at $2.00 per train trip came in as a cost savings over driving at $2.25 per trip. It would be wonderful to see a carbon calculator added in as well for driving and transit directions.

I was happy to learn that Ron Huberman went carfree shortly after becoming the new president of the CTA. It's encouraging to know that he's experiencing first-hand both the freedom and frustrations of giving up automobile dependency. I think adopting the lifestyle he's promoting will give him a healthy perspective. Previous leadership seemed to view transit more as a social service rather than as essential to urban living as roads.

This came up in an interactive online video chat that RedEye's Kyra Kyles hosted with Ron Huberman. To see the full chat, visit http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-101707-tchat-flash,0,157189.flash . Here's the quote from the chat:

3 Jeff asks: Do you or your people actually use the CTA, even on a semi-regular basis?

Don't miss the transit rally at 11:30 a.m. Tue., Aug. 28, in front of the Thomspon Center. If funding and reforms don't come through by Sept. 16, we'll see major service cuts across the region and another funding crisis again next year. The local press has made it clear that we can't afford to shortchange our transit any more. But until now we haven't seen crowds of Chicagoans demanding better transit in the streets. Maybe that's what it will take to get reform.

Rep. Julie Hamos and my Rep. Sara Feigenholtz have sent out emails announcing the event (see below).

Dear Neighbor:

Join me and other members of the Mass Transit Committee, civic, business and labor communities and transit advocates from across the region in support of mass transit on Tuesday, August 28th at 11:30 a.m. at the Thompson Center's outdoor plaza at Clark and Randolph streets in the loop.

Senate Bill 572 (which would create a long term funding source for the CTA) will soon be considered by the Illinois Legislature and we need to make it very clear to the rest of the General Assembly and the Governor that we cannot live with the CTA's proposed service cuts that will go into effect September 16, 2007 if this or similar legislation isn't passed immediately.