Transit Future Update, 4/5

Several events in the past week have raised awareness of the transit crisis in Northeastern Illinois. The beginning of the three-year construction project on the Brown Line triggered protests and cries of frustration from leaders and residents alike in several North Side communities. The reductions in service and deterioration of our transportation system in Chicago have garnered national and international media attention: our region is being pointed out as a warning to government officials around the country as an example of the consequences that result from insufficient funding of mass transit (see our list of links to articles in The New York Times and The Economist). Finally, Mayor Richard Daley urged the Illinois General Assembly yesterday to address the transit funding problem and RTA reforms.

With the past week’s events drawing greater attention to the challenges facing transit, we believe the time is now to contact your state representatives to begin a dialogue about its future.

Also, please do not forget to sign up for these regular updates through the Transit Future listserv by sending an e-mail message to transitfuture-subscribe@cnt.org (if you are not already on it). Signing up for the listerv makes it more likely that message will get through to your inbox!

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Contents
I. Act Now: Take Action This Week!
II. CNT Calls for Greater Cooperation on CTA Brown Line Construction
III. Upcoming Meetings
IV. Recent News

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I. Act Now: Take Action This Week!

The current two week recess of the Illinois General Assembly presents the ideal opportunity to start a conversation with your state representative and state senator about the importance of transit funding and transit reform. The Illinois General Assembly is facing many serious issues this year, but we need to tell our representatives that transit funding and transit reform should be at the top. We ask that you go in person to convey the seriousness of the issue and also to get to know your legislators. Of course, if you are unable to meet them in person, please write them a letter and send us a copy. If you have a meeting, please let us know how it went so we can keep track. The goal in talking with our legislators is to convey to them the value we place as citizens on the importance of mass transit to the long term viability of Northeast Illinois. Whether driver, pedestrian or transit user, transit affects us all!

How to approach your representation in the Illinois General Assembly:

1. First determine who represents you in Springfield and where their offices are located. For help, please refer to CNT’s Civic Footprint at http://www.civicfootprint.org or the Illinois Board of Election website at http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator
2. Call and request an appointment with both your state representative and your state senator. Tell them that you are a constituent and that you would like to discuss mass transit and how it affects you. Remember to be polite. If you are unable to schedule a meeting with the legislator, ask to meet with the district director or chief of staff.
3. On the day of your meeting, come prepared to discuss how mass transit affects you on a daily basis:

• How long does it take you to get to work and home and what form of transit do you use?
• How many times a week are you on the CTA, Metra, Pace, or Paratransit?
• Which trains and buses do you ride regularly and when?
• What form of transit did you take to get to your legislator’s office?
• Where do you live and why did you choose to live there? Did you choose your home or apartment due to its proximity to transit?
• Start a stopwatch when you leave for the office and stop it when you arrive. Tell them exactly how long the trip took and the route you chose.

Below you will also find some additional talking points to help you focus your case. The most compelling argument is your own, so please speak to what brought you to the office.

Need for operations funding:

• Transit service in my area has not kept up with increasing demand. Trains and buses do not come as frequently and reliably as they should.
• Buses and trains are not clean and they reflect poorly on the system and the region.
• With the CTA currently on a six-month budget that expires on June 30, I want to know how I am going to get to work/school/home on July 1, 2007.

Need for capital funding:

• Mass transit in my area has not grown to accommodate the needs of my community. We need to expand the system to include more bus and train lines.
• Many of the train cars and buses used by the CTA are old and in need of replacement.
• Transit in Northeast Illinois has defined this region and made it as economically competitive as it is today. We must reinvest in the system in order to maintain our competitiveness and attract future investment in our region.

Transit is a vital part of my community and I am willing to invest in its future!

II. CNT Calls for Greater Cooperation on CTA Brown Line Construction

CNT President Scott Bernstein offered remarks last Friday at a special CTA board meeting at which CTA President Frank Kruesi recommended that one of four tracks serving the Red, Brown and Purple/Evanston Express Lines be shut down at the Fullerton and Belmont stations starting April 2. The 25 percent reduction in Brown Line service is expected to continue for almost three years to allow for construction on platforms. However, the construction’s great inconvenience to commuters drew a number of protests from community leaders, many of whom called for a delay in construction until the CTA has solicited more feedback from the public on ways to improve service while construction is underway.

In the public hearing, Scott Bernstein shared some findings from CNT’s research into the effects of transportation on the cost of living in Chicago. The average household transportation costs vary from as little as $580 per month in the most transit-friendly neighborhoods to as much as $1,200 per month in the farthest suburbs. Bernstein explained that the reason for the discrepancy in cost is rooted in access to mass transit and good amenities; residents in communities that enjoy both characteristics own fewer cars per household and use them less frequently.

In response to this crisis, Bernstein recommended that the CTA form partnerships with the City of Chicago, suburban municipalities, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning in order to identify best practices for easing the negative impacts of rail construction. Strategies could include finding increased funding for enhanced levels of bus service and making a variety of traffic flow improvements. Despite calls for a delay, the CTA board voted unanimously to begin construction on schedule.

III. Upcoming Meetings

Northwestern University Transportation Center Seminar Series: The Politics of Chicago Transit Finance – Rep. Julie Hamos

http://www.transportation.northwestern.edu/

Rep. Hamos was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1998, having served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, as counsel to then-State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley, and as an advocate for low income families and labor interests. As chair of the Transit Committee, Rep. Hamos is on the front lines of the battle to ensure financing for transit in the Chicago region and across Illinois.

Evanston: April 5, 7-8 p.m.
Northwestern University Transportation Center (Chambers Hall, Lower Level), 600 Foster, Evanston

Joint Hearing of the Legislative Audit Commission and the House Mass Transit Committee

http://www.juliehamos.com

The Illinois House Mass Transit Committee and Legislative Audit Commission will be holding a joint hearing to discuss the recent audits by the Illinois Auditor General of the RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace.

Chicago: April 16, 9-11 a.m.
Thompson Center Auditorium (Lower Level), 100 W. Randolph, Chicago

Connecting Communities Through Coordination: Workshops on Paratransit

http://hstp.rtachicago.com/participation/workshops.html

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) will be conducting a total of eight workshops on the coordination of public transit and human transportation services throughout the region. As part of the Connecting Communities Through Coordination planning effort, the RTA is seeking input from the general public on how to best coordinate existing community transportation services that focus on the elderly, disabled and low-income populations. The following is a list of the workshops, dates, and locations:

Chicago: April 16, 6–7 p.m.
United Way of Greater Chicago (1st Floor Conference Room), 560 West Lake Street, Chicago

North Cook County: April 16, 6–7 p.m.
Oakton Community College (Room 1604), 1600 East Golf Road, Des Plaines

South Cook County: April 17, 6–7 p.m.
Tinley Park Village Hall (Rooms C and D), 16250 South Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park

Lake County: April 18, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Libertyville Township Center (Meeting Room), 359 Merrill Court, Libertyville

Will County: April 18, 6–7 p.m.
Joliet Historical Museum (Caterpillar Inc. Auditorium), 204 North Ottawa St., Joliet

Kane/Kendall County: April 19, 5-7 p.m.
Kane County Government Center (1st Floor Auditorium), 719 South Batavia Ave., Geneva

McHenry County: April 19, 5–7 p.m.
McHenry County College (Rooms B166 and B167), 8900 US Highway 14, Crystal Lake

DuPage County: April 26, 10:30 a.m. -12 p.m.
Wheaton Park District Community Center (Lower Level), 1777 South Blanchard Road., Wheaton

Red Line Extension – Alternatives Analysis Public Meetings
http://www.transitchicago.com/news/ctaandpress.wu?action=displayarticledetail&articleid=102659

The Chicago Transit Authority will hold public meetings to receive input on the proposed extension of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line. The meetings are part of a federally required Alternatives Analysis study.

April 10, 6-8 p.m.
Chicago State University New Academic Library (4th Floor Auditorium), 9501 S. King Drive, Chicago

April 11, 6-8 p.m.
West Pullman Chicago Public Library, 830 W. 119th St., Chicago

IV. Recent News

“A Rail System (and Patience) Stretched Thin in Chicago” – New York Times, March 26
http://info.cnt.org/~annette/CNT Update/NYTarticle.pdf

“Gridlock on the Lake” – The Economist, March 31
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8934810

“Nightmare starts for commuters” – Chicago Tribune, April 2
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/columnists/chi-0704020103apr02,1,3604544.column

“Stay on Track” – New York Times Op-Ed, April 4
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/opinion/04weds4.html

“Daley: CTA’s plight not on state’s ‘radar screen’” – Chicago Sun-Times, April 5, 2007
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/328447,CST-NWS-daley05.article

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For more information or comments, please contact David LeBreton at dlebreton@cnt.org or 773.269.4043.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Transportation and Community Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.