North Side Chicago

Community Assets

High-rises along the lakefront define the North Side of

Chicago for many. For others, it's the miles of bunga-

lows stretching to suburbia and O'Hare International

Airport. Chicago north of North Avenue is this and

more. Early settlements in the farming communities of

Lakeview and Ravenswood were transformed by waves

of immigrants, as population mushroomed north and

northwest along streetcar and railroad lines. New

industrial facilities opened along the railroads and North

Branch of the Chicago River, providing employment for

expanding residential neighborhoods nearby. By 1893,

most of what is today the North and Northwest Sides of

Chicago were annexed.

Transportation today is still key to the economic and

community life of the North and Northwest Sides. As

the 2000 census data show, new residents still flock to

the convenience of the North Side. Neighborhoods

close to the Kennedy Expressway, a conduit to jobs in

the Northwest Suburbs, are bustling with new residents.

Other North Side communities are home to immigrants

from across the globe. The wall of high-rises along the

north Lakefront is home to significant numbers of

seniors and disabled persons, putting them within

walking distance of neighborhood retail and transit.

The importance to the North and Northwest Side of

transportation infrastructure and the access to employ-

ment, services and recreation it affords cannot be

underestimated.

The North Side Chicago

Connecting Communities Summit

The North Side of Chicago is extremely diverse.

Latinos and African-Americans are migrating to for-

merly German and Scandinavian communities, as are

Asians, Africans and Eastern Europeans. Participants

in our summit represented all the major population

groups. Seniors and disabled persons were there to

make their voices heard. Thirteen students from North

Side College Prep High School added a welcome youth

component. Several summit participants commented

favorably on the dialogue between age groups present.

Bicyclists, transit riders, environmentalists, motorists,

and one public official rounded out those in attendance.

We came from across the North Side, with communities

along the northern lakefront predominating.

How We Get Around

There is a wealth of transit service available to us. We

take advantage of transit service; it is our number one

method of getting around our communities. Many of us

make 30 to 50 transit trips per month. Biking ranks

second as our mode of choice. Our third most preferred

mode is by car, driving alone. On average, we make six

walking trips a week to perform errands, with additional

walking trips at the beginning and end of our transit

trips.

The ratio of women to men at the summit was virtually

equal. Twelve households had children under 14 years

of age. Of those, half walked to school with the remain-

der either traveling by transit or being driven. On

average, households averaged 2.6 members and had 1 ½

cars.

Connecting

Communities

The North Side of Chicago

May 19, 2001

The top destinations we want to reach locally are em-

ployment, school, shopping and recreation. Downtown

Chicago and the Northwest and Western Suburbs are

primary destinations for employment. The thirteen North

Side College Prep students present made sure their

concerns about transportation were heard. The inad-

equacy of CTA service to their campus, to after-school

employment and to shopping and recreation were well-

documented. Major shopping trips warrant visits to the

Elston and Clybourn retail corridors and to shopping

malls in Skokie, Lincoln Village and along Clark Street.

For recreation, the parks along Lake Michigan and Forest

Preserves to the Northwest are popular destinations.

Our Vision

Our vision for the North and Northwest Side of Chicago

reflected most of the goals outlined in the first Citizen

Transportation Plan, with special emphasis on walkable

neighborhoods. Survey results revealed that we want to

be involved in local and regional planning, we believe

properly planned transit can be an economic asset and

that priority should be placed on reusing assets and

preserving the infrastructure the region has invested in.

We believe that the effect of transportation projects on

air and water quality are important considerations and

that a mix of housing, jobs and services in communities

creates economic efficiency and supports transit use.

The benefits and burdens of those transportation projects

the region builds should be fairly distributed.

Challenges and Solutions

Congestion and safety concern us. Traffic congestion

has become unbearable as North Side neighborhoods

continue their population boom. On weekday mornings

and evenings and warm weather weekends, many of our

streets become impassable. Traffic congestion, a short-

age of parking and noise detract from the benefits of

living in our part of the region. It seems everyone else in

metropolitan Chicago is regularly attempting to visit or

pass through our communities in their cars. Cyclists and

pedestrians who attempt to co-exist with cars risk injury

and have to contend with noxious fumes. Buses crawl

along in the same traffic. Those of us fortunate enough

to have rail as an option tolerate crowded conditions and

erratic service as the CTA struggles to handle crushing

crowds.

Our elderly and disabled neighbors are literally trapped

in their homes during many parts of the day, unsure if

they'll be able to navigate crowded streets. Some

bicyclists, who fear street traffic, use sidewalks, further

complicating pedestrian trips. These dangers are espe-

cially evident at the intersection of Lake Shore Drive,

Hollywood and Sheridan Road in Edgewater. Hundreds

of thousands of vehicles pass through this intersection

daily in an attempt to access Lake Shore Drive. Attempt-

ing to cross this intersection on foot represents a chal-

lenge to the population of seniors and the disabled who

live in the vicinity. The noise and air pollution detract

from the quality of life of our community.

The Elston, Clybourn and Clark retail corridors are also

strangling in traffic congestion. The corridors have

developed along a more suburban, auto-centered model

with the result being intolerable traffic congestion. The

nearby Kennedy Expressway and inadequate public

transportation to the corridor promote car use and

congestion around these retail sites.

We feel that drastic measures need to be taken to address

the negative affects that so much traffic congestion is

having on our communities. Some public officials have

been supportive of our efforts by facilitating the installa-

tion of various traffic calming or speed reduction mea-

sures. In some instances, these measures are simply

band-aids, or divert traffic to other communities. Among

suggestions we proposed to deal with congestion were

improvements in rail transit to make it a more attractive

alternative for those who continue to drive. Park & ride

lots should be placed at key rapid transit stations in the

city and in suburbs north and northwest of Chicago to

siphon away traffic traveling through our communities.

Additional accessible Metra stations should be built,

especially adjacent to existing CTA rail lines to improve

interconnectivity between those modes. New Metra

stations should be constructed at Peterson and

Ravenswood Avenues and at Howard Street. Additional

accessible CTA stations, complete with secure bike and

car parking, should be built along the Yellow Line at

Dodge St. and Crawford Ave. Barring the wholesale

removal of Lake Shore Dr., suggested by several of us,

safe pedestrian passages need to be constructed at the

Hollywood/Sheridan intersection and others along the

roads leading to the Drive.

To provide alternative transportation to the Elston,

Clybourn and Clark corridors, we suggest buses operat-

ing frequently in a shopping loop from area CTA and

Metra stations. Bus traffic flow should be improved with

traffic signal prioritization. Alternate parking scenarios

should be investigated to clear major streets of parked

cars.

Despite the presence of public transit, there is room

for improvement. Our overwhelming support of public

transportation makes us well-suited to point out the areas

where we feel improvements need to be made. We

advise creation of faster transit service between the

eastern and western sectors of the North Side. Many of

us travel to the Northwest and Western suburbs and

existing travel options in the region are geared toward

people traveling to and from downtown Chicago. There

has been an expansion of employment at centers away

from the Loop. We suggest that planners recognize this

and provide more non-auto alternatives to accommodate

these new travel patterns. Alternatively, the significant

flow of people from the west to the cultural and recre-

ational activities on the lake could be addressed by

similar creative solutions.

In order to deal with inadequate transit east and west

across the North Side, the speed and frequency of buses

along east-west arterial streets needs to be increased.

Express bus routes, similar to one in existence on West-

ern Ave., should be established. New routes need to be

considered along sections of arterial streets lacking them.

Express bus service should be initiated from the end of

the Brown Line to the Blue Line at Jefferson Park and

continuing to O'Hare. Additional or improved bus

service along north-south streets would connect people

with the Blue Line, for easier access to the Loop and

O'Hare commercial areas. All new bus routes should be

disabled-accessible.

Ultimately, we feel an entirely new rapid transit line

should be constructed connecting the Red Line with the

Blue Line with possible continuing service to O'Hare.

We feel rail transit has the best chance of providing

commuters with an attractive alternative to their cars for

east-west trips.

Infrastructure changes needed to accommodate the

disabled and seniors. Our population of seniors and

disabled persons is strongly independent. They repre-

sent one of the fastest growing segments of our commu-

nity. It should be our responsibility to ensure their

continued independence by updating existing infrastruc-

ture to accommodate their needs. Few rail transit

stations on the North Side are accessible. The key

stations of Howard, Wilson, Lawrence and Bryn Mawr

need to be rebuilt quickly using universal design guide-

lines. Many bus routes are not accessible. The timetable

for adding accessible buses needs to be accelerated. Bus

and station signage needs to be improved.

Biking and walking form a foundation to be built

upon.Many of us already bike for a significant share of

our local trips. The key to increasing the number of

those trips and encouraging others to do so is the contin-

ued adoption of policies to make cyclists safer on streets.

The network of on- and off-street paths should be

dramatically increased. All major east-west streets

should be striped for bicyclists, helping to provide

alternatives in these corridors. Major radial or angle

streets should be so designated. The North Branch Trail,

so popular among cyclists region-wide should be ex-

tended through the Caldwell Woods Preserve along the

Chicago River to a connection with the Brown Line and

continuing as an on-street route to the Lakefront. To

encourage safer cycling, the Lakefront Path should be

extended, in a manner that enhances pedestrian safety,

from its present end at Ardmore to the North Shore

Suburbs. To encourage bike and transit use, secure bike

storage and related service facilities should be available

at key transit stations.

The oldest form of transportation is sometimes over-

looked. Walking offers a solution to some of the trans-

portation problems that afflict our region. The safety

concerns we raise need to be addressed, especially where

pedestrians share space with cars and cyclists, if we are

to realize the full potential of walking to divert trips from

other modes. We cannot stress enough our concern with

how our communities have been overrun by cars driven

by people who are only passing through, unfairly burden-

ing us with noise, air pollution and discomfort.

Our Charge

Our primary values were best described by one of us who

used the term "placemaking." We want communities that

are easy to leave when necessary, but places that are so

pleasant we want to stay for as many of our daily pursuits

as possible. We want to reduce overall car use to en-

hance our communities.

In expressing our vision for how the North and North-

west Sides of Chicago can become more attractive places

to live and raise our families, we rely on the essential

values we share. We care about our neighbors and are

concerned about their physical health and that of the

environment we share. We value the diversity of our

communities and demand equality of access to its assets.

We want a pleasant, affordable, well-coordinated and

safe transportation system that is easy to use.

Transit Use by North Siders

(by percentage)

Live Near Bus

Live Near Train

Used Transit

Last Month

0

20

40

60

80

100

The Chicago North Connecting Communities summit participants came as individuals and as

members of groups. The people who helped plan the summit came from the following groups:

48th Ward

Break the Gridlock

Chicago Rehab Network

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

Connecting Communities Regional Partners

Lawrence Avenue Development Corp.

North Side College Prep High School

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

Preamble: As an incentive to reduce private car use, we recommend the following steps be taken.

Develop East-West Transportation Alternatives

New express bus service should be established along all east-west arterial streets. New accessible bus, trolley or jitney service

should be established along arterials and portions of arterials now lacking service. Install traffic signal prioritization for buses.

Develop a comprehensive neighborhood parking plan to clear arterials of traffic. Construct an east-west rapid transit line connect-

ing the Red Line with the Brown Line at Kimball and the Blue Line at Jefferson Park. Operate through service along this route

from North lakefront communities direct to O'Hare Airport.

Provide Meaningful Alternatives to Alleviate Congestion at Lake Shore Drive and Hollywood and along Elston

and Clybourn Corridors

Construct additional accessible Metra Stations with bike and car parking along the Union Pacific North Line at Howard Street

and at Peterson Avenue. Increase the speed of service along the CTA Red Line including expanding Purple Line Express service

and adding accessible stations with parking to the Yellow Line. In the interim, construct grade-separated walkways to increase

pedestrian safety. Consider diversion of motorized traffic from Sheridan to other routes. Add service to Elston and Clybourn

Streets, connecting on either end with Brown, Red, Blue Line and Metra trains at Clybourn (Armitage) and a new accessible UP

North Line station along the Brown Line. Consider trolleys and jitney service for residents and visitors.

Increase Inter-connectivity of Existing Transit Network

Construct additional accessible Metra stations at Howard Street, near Belmont and the Kennedy Expressway, and in Ravenswood

near an existing Brown Line station to facilitate connections between CTA rail and Metra service. Improve directional signs,

information and fare coordination to ease transfers between these modes.

Upgrade Existing Transit Infrastructure Using Universal Design Guidelines

Rebuild all CTA Red Line Stations, equipping them with elevators, escalators and other appropriate features in accordance with

universal design standards to accommodate seniors and disabled persons. Ensure appropriate curb cuts on sidewalks leading to

stations. Station upgrades should be accelerated at Howard, Bryn Mawr, Lawrence and Wilson, as there is a significant popula-

tion of seniors and disabled in adjacent communities. Speed the introduction of accessible buses to the CTA fleet.

Expand Lakefront Path to Evanston, Add Bike Lanes to Existing Streets

Create a safe, well-marked, multi-use connection from the end of the Lakefront Path at Ardmore to Evanston and North Shore

communities. Add bike lanes to all streets at ½ mile intervals and radial or angle streets to encourage more bicycling. Step up

enforcement of traffic laws and enlist the support of community organizations and volunteers to improve the safety of pedestri-

ans, cyclists and motorists. Provide bike parking and related services at transit stations at major employment centers.