Connecting Communities
North Side of Chicago Caucus
January 27, 2004
A Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission project in partnership with:
Andersonville Development Corporation, NFP, & the Edgewater Development Corporation
Connecting Communities caucuses are a public involvement
follow-up to the Connecting Communities summits that
involved over 500 people from throughout northeastern Illinois.
The caucuses are designed to take a "snapshot" of a
community's views on progress toward their summit
recommendations. Some recommendations were major
projects that could only be accomplished over a long time
period. Others were practical, short term, and inexpensive
solutions to community mobility deficits.
The North Side of Chicago Connecting Communities
Caucus was itself an example of why the "choice" theme
was so prominent in the summits of 2001 and 2002.
The scheduled date arrived with a snowstorm usually a
meeting organizer's worst nightmare. In a reversal of
conventional wisdom, the turnout was larger than the
advance registration. Most participants came on
transit, and a few walked. People in this compact,
transit-rich section of the city find themselves fortunate
to have a variety of travel options despite adverse
weather.
Attendees expressed remarkably strong agreement on
major themes. The group strongly supported recent
innovations like bike racks on buses and universally
criticized the poor connectivity between transit systems.
In assessing transit access for persons with disabilities,
these Northsiders noted improvement in bus access but
stagnation in rail station access.
Develop East-West Transit Alternatives
Caucus participants felt some minimal strides had been
made to improve east-west transit. New technologies,
like traffic signal priority and GPS (global positioning
systems) capacity on buses, seem to offer a solution to
congestion-induced bus scheduling problems. Plans to
use GPS to offer precise bus arrival information was
seen as a near-term benefit. There was a sense that
the city had unexercised opportunities to make
economical street-side improvements to support east-
west transit growth, like an improved pedestrian
environment, increased density, stronger parking
enforcement policies, and more bus shelters.
The express bus on Irving Park Road met with wide
approval; participants wished there was more than one
east-west express option. The group recommended a
continuum of transit investment over time. They felt
that a highly successful express bus route might evolve
into a dedicated bus lane or a bus rapid transit system;
if ridership continued to grow, that corridor should be
considered for rail.
Provide Alternatives to Alleviate Congestion
Two problematic corridors were identified at the summit
in 2001: Lake Shore Drive/Hollywood and Clybourn. By
the date of the caucus, a positive impact could be seen
in the Lake Shore Drive corridor with the addition of
new CTA bus service. The Clybourn corridor was still seen as
problematic; many people mentioned the need for bus service
along both Elston and Clybourn.
Caucus attendees offered other ideas to reduce congestion --
safer and more numerous bicycle alternatives, non-rush hour
Purple Line Express service, more in-city Metra stops and
business-sponsored shuttle service.
Increase Inter-connectivity of Existing Transit Network
Participants at this caucus were dismayed by the lack of
movement on this recommendation; they were unable to identify
any sign of progress and moved directly to a detailed critique of
the responsible parties. They found fault with Metra for its
lack of cooperation on a universal fare card, failure to improve
physical connectivity with CTA, and lack of accessibility for
persons with disabilities. Many people pointed out that Metra
conductors frequently fail to collect fares; this seemed to provide
Excerpt from the North Side of Chicago
Connecting Communities Summit Report, May
2001:
Transportation today is still key to the economic and
community life of the North and Northwest Sides. As the 2000
census date 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 employment, services, and
recreation it affords cannot be underestimated.
