Strengthening Transit Through Community Partnerships
It bodes well for the next eight years of Chicago transportation policy that mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot tapped Streetsblog Chicago cofounder and deputy editor Steven Vance for her Transportation & Infrastructure Transition Committee. [...] The members of the committee were asked to submit memos recommending a single strategy to improve transportation and/or infrastructure, and all the memos were published this week.
[Jacky] Grimshaw, vice president for governmental affairs at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, argued that “not only should the benefits and burdens of transportation investment be equally distributed, but transportation investments should proactively correct for past disparities.” She called for passing a state capital bill and expanding transit to Roseland and Altgeld Gardens by improving Metra service while pursuing funding for the CTA Red Line extension. Grimshaw also recommended taking steps to encourage affordable transit-oriented development as a strategy to help connect low-income and working-class residents with jobs and educational opportunities. In addition she called for implementing a reduced-fare transit program, similar to the Seattle region’s successful ORCA LIFT card.