Community Assets
North-Northwest Cook County, which stretches from
the shores of Lake Michigan to just short of the Fox
River, encompasses historic 19
th
Century railroad
suburbs, postwar towns of ranch homes, and newer
townhome and subdivision developments on former
cornfields. Home to international commercial
enterprises such as Motorola, United Airlines and
Sears, northern Cook County and its office corridors
and industrial parks provide employment for hundreds
of thousands of Chicago-area residents.
Older communities such as Evanston, Park Ridge,
Palatine and Winnetka originally took root along
railroads. Newer edge cities like Schaumburg and
Hoffman Estates sprouted seemingly out of adjacent
tollway interchanges. Laced with commuter rail, rapid
transit and tollways, the communities of North-
Northwest Cook County continue to prosper.
Transportation continues to play a big role in the lives
of businesses and residents in this region. Debate
rages today over tollway and rail expansion and over
the fate of the region's number one job generator,
O'Hare Airport.
Who we are
We came from across the region, from Wheeling and
Evanston, from Arlington Heights and Des Plaines
and from communities old and new. What brought us
together was our concern for the quality of life of our
communities and a desire to see a transportation
system that could enhance, not detract from it.
Meeting at a church in downtown Des Plaines, we
discussed the critical transportation issues that
concern us: the congestion that strangles our towns,
the lack of safe routes for pedestrians and cyclists,
and the lack of public input in transportation
decisions. We are concerned about the limitations
placed on people with disabilities because of
paratransit service boundary limitations. We are
concerned about the environment, urban sprawl and road
congestion, the results of too great a reliance on cars by
government and individuals.
Women (57%) slightly outnumbered men (43%) at the
summit, and our ages spanned the college years through
retirement years. Our households have 2.5 members;
98% of our families have at least one car.
How We Get Around
Although we expressed a strong desire for more transit
options, right now our primary means of getting around
our communities is in a car by ourselves. "By car, with
others" and on foot are our second and
third most likely modes. Almost two-thirds of us
walked recently to perform errands, reflecting our
expressed desire for walkable neighborhoods. Those of
us who walk do so about 5 times per week. The
desirability of walking for local trips is reflected in how
our children get to school. Thirteen families indicated
that a child under 14 was in the home; in 54% of those
families, youngsters walk to school.
Seventy-nine percent of us indicate the presence of
transit service that is at least hourly within one mile of
our home. Although 70% of us have taken transit in the
Connecting
Communities
North-Northwest Cook County
June 18, 2001
Bus and rail transit provide alternatives.
We want
options when it comes to which mode is available to
reach our preferred destinations. We value highly the
ability to use multiple modes to get around. We
offered a range of solutions to provide real
alternatives to traffic gridlock in North
-Northwest
Cook County. Expanded bus and shuttle service
should be part of the solution. Roads like Arlington
Heights, Golf, Milwaukee Avenue, Palatine-Willow
and Roselle should have frequent bus service
connecting the various employment and retail
destinations with residential neighborhoods and rail
transit stations.
A common desire expressed among summit
participants was for expansion of the Chicago Transit
Authority's Yellow (formerly Skokie Swift) Line.
We feel the line is not meeting its full potential. The
Yellow Line's present terminal is at Dempster Street
in Skokie. Trains make no stops between there and
the Howard Street station on the Evanston-Chicago
border. The line passes several important north-south
streets and residential neighborhoods in Skokie and
South Evanston without stopping. Stations should be
established at Oakton and Dodge to allow connections
with existing bus service. There continues to be
significant job growth along the Lake-Cook Road
corridor north of Dempster Street. In order to provide
an additional travel option for commuters to the city
as well as access for city residents to jobs in that
corridor, the Yellow Line should be extended to the
booming office area in Northbrook. Additional
stations should be established along an extended
Yellow Line at important destinations like Old
Orchard Shopping Center. Parking will need to be
provided at new transit stations as well as increased at
some existing stations.
We are enthusiastic about extending the Blue Line to
Schaumburg. To improve job access to the Elk
Grove
To Improve Travel We Would . . .
R espo ndents cho se 4 o f 8 catego ries
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Improve public transportation
Improve bike access
Pay more attention to the environment
Improve safety and mobility for seniors
Improve pedestrian access
Improve safety and mobility for children
Pay more attention to public health
Build new roads
last month, it ranks fourth in
usage among us. Several of
us ride transit daily, taking
as many as 55 to 60 trips
per month. Biking is our
least used mode to reach
the places we want to go in
North-Northwest Cook
County.
Challenges and
Solutions
Congested roadways plague our part of the region.
Palatine-Willow Road, Lake-Cook Road, and Golf
Road become parking lots for cars during rush hours,
making them unattractive for non-motorized users and
causing bus schedule disruptions. Excessive auto
traffic leads to safety challenges for users of the
transportation network as well as congested
conditions. Negative environmental consequences
are detrimental to our communities, our families and
ourselves. Air and water resources and species
habitat are negatively affected. Children, the disabled
and seniors have difficulty navigating communities
divided by these high-capacity roads. The network
of sidewalks along these roads and in many
residential subdivisions is incomplete, with sidewalks
abruptly dead-ending, leaving walkers and young
cyclists unsure of how to proceed.
There is a lack of sufficient east-west transit available
in North-Northwest Cook County. The service routes
that are provided are widely spaced and many operate
at such wide time intervals, that using transit is
unattractive. Information about service schedules is
difficult to find and often inaccurate.
Sprawl continues to devour the open space remaining,
with untold human and environmental costs. So-
called "leapfrog" development that occurs outside the
traditional built-up area makes it difficult for cyclists
and walkers to access goods and services within a
reasonable distance of their homes. Residents have
only their cars as a means to reach their destinations.
We feel there are ways to improve the ability of
people to access the places they want to go without
relying solely on the private automobile. In fact, we
rank road expansion last in our suggestions for
methods to improve the North-Northwest Cook
transportation network. Our number-one priority is to
improve public transportation.
business parks and the Woodfield/Schaumburg area,
we proposed that commuter rail service be
established on the Union Pacific freight rail line that
forms an arc from west of O'Hare, then north toward
Northbrook and into Lake County. This new rail line
should have station locations, in addition to Elk
Grove, at the crossings of the Metra UP Northwest
Line in Des Plaines, Bensenville, Milwaukee Avenue
and in Northbrook for a connection with the Metra
Milwaukee North Line.
A common concern is improving access from
throughout our region to O'Hare Airport. We
suggested new bus service from communities such as
Barrington, Des Plaines, Evanston, Northbrook and
Randhurst Shopping Center to the airport, providing
travelers an option other than the crowded roadways
leading into the field.
Existing and new transit service should operate with
schedules and fares coordinated to allow easy
connections between modes. In some places there are
no options for connecting service; in other places
buses leave just before trains unload their passengers.
Reverse commuters should have more transit options
so that they are not all forced to drive to the job
centers near our communities. We feel that above all,
convenient and safe transit service needs to be
provided in order to get people out of their cars.
Government policies have failed to adequately
consider the downsides of car travel on communities
and the environment.
Pedestrian and biking improvements are highly
valued.
Biking and walking are often unpleasant and
sometimes downright dangerous because of the
dominance of cars in our neighborhoods. We should
treat bikers and pedestrians as priority users. All
major intersections should have pedestrian signals;
pedestrian lights should last longer. We would like to
see bike racks on buses as well as policies that allow
bikes on trains during non-rush hour travel times.
Existing and future residential and commercial
developments must include complete networks of
sidewalks and bikeways. Local and regional
governments should promote bike- and pedestrian-
friendly policies that increase the safety of these
modes and further encourage their use as a means to
reduce auto dependence. We would like to see an
increase in funds committed to bicycle and pedestrian
infrastructure. We would like to investigate the
possibility of wider bike routes that are shared paths with
pedestrians.
We would like to try some innovative ideas.
We
would like more standard transit, bike and pedestrian
options. In addition, we believe the region should try
some innovative approaches to solving the congestion
and air quality problems that are choking us, literally
and figuratively. Some of the ideas that were
proposed included: express lanes for buses only, high-
speed rail to the Milwaukee and Gary-Chicago
airports, education programs on how to use transit,
bus shuttles operated by employers, the "Yellow
Bike" program, urban growth boundaries, berms
separating sidewalks from fast moving traffic, and
hydrofoil water bus service from Waukegan to Navy
Pier, with connecting bus service. We applaud the
abundance of ideas offered, although we did not try to
reach any consensus on which of these innovations we
most strongly support.
Our Vision
Individually and collectively we need to examine our
attitudes and values regarding why we travel so much
and who needs to travel in our families. We need to
look at staggered work hours and more funding for
transportation alternatives. Neighbors need to be in
the habit of sharing information about their needs.
Having such knowledge enables people in the same
community to combine trips as well as car pool to
work and to children's after-school activities.
We, the residents of North-Northwest Cook County
share a concern for the environment and the economic
health of our communities and our neighbors. We
feel very strongly that walkable communities and
transit-oriented development build stronger and more
satisfying neighborhoods. Existing communities
should be enhanced, maintained, and where
necessary, rebuilt. We want to preserve open space,
not just as land "to be developed," but as having
intrinsic value. We desire communities that offer
equal access to persons with disabilities and are not
isolated from the rest of the world. We believe that if
the public is involved in local and regional planning,
community goals will be better realized.
Transportation is a right. Transportation provides
residents access to employment and integrates our
community with the larger Chicago region.
Transportation should provide these benefits without
unduly burdening our physical environment with
pollution.
The Citizen Transportation Plan is a project of the Chicagoland Transportation and Air
Quality Commission, part of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, 2125 W. North Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60647, 773-278-4800, ext. 2030. Visit us on the web at www.cnt.org/2030.
Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization
Interreligious Sustainability Project
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Metro Seniors in Action
Metropolitan Planning Council
Mid America Institute on Poverty
Sierra Club
Sustain
The North/Northwest Cook Connecting Communities summit participants came as individuals and as
members of groups. The people who helped plan the summit came from the following groups:
Evanston Sustainability Circle
Interfaith Housing Center of the North Suburbs
Palatine-Willow Road Community Mobilization Team
Recommendations
Extend rapid transit/rail service.
Extend the CTA Blue Line from O'Hare Airport to the Schaumburg/Woodfield area. An
intermediate station should be located to serve industrial parks in Elk Grove Village. Upgrade the level of service provided
by the CTA Yellow Line. Add intermediate stations along the existing route, to serve south Evanston and Skokie at Dodge
and at Oakton. Extend the Yellow Line north from its terminal at Dempster Street to Lake-Cook Road
. The Old Orchard
Shopping Center, Lake-Cook Road and a point between Willow Road and Dundee Road should be three of several
intermediate stations. Extend a branch of the Yellow Line south to connect with the Blue Line at Jefferson Park. Add
commuter rail service along an existing Union Pacific line connecting Northbrook, Glenview, Des Plaines, O'Hare and
business parks west of O'Hare Airport. Increase frequency of rail service, especially Metra weekend service and Purple
Line evening and weekend service. Integrate parking facilities.
Expand bus and shuttle service to provide an alternative to car travel.
Increase the schedule frequency of existing
bus service, especially along major east-west arterials. Priority for new and expanded bus service should be on Palatine-
Willow Road, Milwaukee Avenue, Golf Road and Lake-Cook Road. Use express buses or bus rapid transit. Provide
new bus service from local communities to O'Hare Airport. Establish local service loops (small shuttle buses making
frequent stops, with a lower fare) connecting major employers, shopping malls, hospitals, transit stations and villages.
Improve the ease and safety of biking and walking for short trips
. Priority should be given to ensuring pedestrian
and bicycle safety, including changes in traffic signalization, dedicated routes and physical barriers separating motorized
vehicles from walkers, bikers and other non-motorized travelers. More funding should be dedicated to pedestrian and
bicycle improvements. Provide adequate bike parking, bike racks on buses, CTA-style access on Metra trains.
Incorporate sidewalks and bike lanes and paths into existing residential and commercial developments. All new
developments should be required to include these amenities. Establish new dedicated multi-use paths along the railroad
right-of-way from Barrington to Chicago and along the Lakefront from Lake-Cook Road to Evanston. Connect all Forest
Preserves with multi-use paths.
Transportation planners must be accountable.
Current funds must be used to support direct service rather than high
administrative costs. Correct the fundamental flaws in RTA funding that enrich one service board at the expense of the
others. Advocacy is needed to ensure representation of all social sectors, not just the powerful. Better regional
coordination is needed, as is a focus on moving people rather than moving cars.
Integrate transit fares and services.
Use the existing system more efficiently. Provide an integrated fare card,
preferably a smart card. Provide more options like the Link-Up pass. Investigate the expansion of zoned systems and/or
the role of advanced technology to integrate zoned systems with flat-rate systems.
Business and Professional People for the Public Interest
Chicago Design Consortium
Chicago Metropolis 2020
Chicago Rehab Network
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
Citizen Action-Illinois
Council for Disability Rights
Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest
Friends of the Chicago River
Connecting Communities Regional Partners