Transportation Equity Network Advocacy Committee Meeting 
At the June 4th Advocacy Committee Meeting, members of the Transportation Equity Network (TEN), Chairman La Spata, committee staff, and representatives from the Department of Transportation (CDOT) and CTA gathered in-person and online to discuss Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Chicago. From improved bus service reliability to potential air quality concerns, discussions centered on how to maximize the benefits of BRT while protecting vulnerable communities. 

Committee Meeting 
The Committee’s monthly meeting was held on Wednesday, June 5th. The agenda included routine legislation such as disabled parking signs, residential permit parking signs, parking restrictions, and speed limitations. Watch the meeting here.

Chicago Avenue River Bridge and Chicago/Halsted Viaduct Public Meeting 
Also held on June 5th was CDOT’s public meeting on the Chicago Avenue River Bridge and Chicago/Halsted Viaduct project. During the meeting, CDOT representatives–including CDOT’s Section Chief of Major Projects Soliman Khudeira and Complete Streets Director Dave Smith–presented the project’s final design which takes into consideration community concerns from the January 2024 public meeting. 

One pedestrian improvement coming to the intersection is the use of curb bumps, which according to CDOT help reduce the distance to cross the street by 30-40% compared to the previous design. Since the intersection will be narrower, turning cars will also have to slow down. All together, these design decisions will make the intersection safer by increasing visibility of pedestrians, reducing the amount of time they are in the crosswalk, and reducing vehicular speeds. 

Other elements included in the revised design are: permanent, 24-hour CTA bus lanes on Chicago Ave; sidewalk-level bike lanes separated from vehicular traffic; physical delineators separating bike lanes from the sidewalk; widened sidewalks; bus stop boarding islands and; bike signal for the protected bike lane on Halsted. (See the renderings provided by CDOT below).

Some of the public comments provided included feedback on additional landscaping, combining the bus and bike lanes, bus only lanes causing potential confusion for drivers making a right turn from Halsted on to Chicago, and a question regarding how business owners along Chicago Ave will receive information on construction. Work will take place in two stages and is tentatively scheduled to take place between Q4 2024 - Q3 2026. 

Public comment will be accepted via email or mail until Wednesday, June 19, 2024 at:

Soliman.Khudeira@cityofchicago.org 
or
Attn: CDOT Division of Engineering 
Soliman Khudeira, PhD, PE, SE
Chicago Department of Transportation
2 North LaSalle Street, Suite 820 Chicago, IL 60602

CMC Check-In
Lastly, committee staff met briefly on June 6th to discuss the upcoming Chicago Mobility Collaborative (CMC) this Thursday, June 13th taking place from 6:00 - 7:30 PM at Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento. The CMC is a public forum, hosted by the Department of Transportation, that meets four times a year to discuss walking, biking, transit, public space, mobility justice, and accessibility matters.

We’ll have our own Community Table where we’ll be discussing lowering the citywide speed limit in Chicago from 30 MPH to 25 MPH. There will also be three additional Community Tables with discussions led by other transportation groups. If you’re interested in joining us, please RSVP here.