Study looks at transit improvements for lakefront, southeast side communities

by La Risa Lynch
Eric Kitrel swore off riding the 79th Street bus.

His decision came after being crammed on the south side bus when his car broke down. He described the bus route as infrequent, overcrowded with long wait times.

“It is a slave ship on wheels,” Kitrel said of the often-packed bus. “That’s what it resembles when I’m riding the 79th Street bus. I was on there last week and vowed never to ride the 79th Street bus again.”

Kitrel would like to see increased service and a visible police presence on the route. But he contends a transit meeting held April 13th to discuss bus and rail improvements for the southeast and lakefront communities won’t bring any substantial changes.

“It seems like they do studies just to do studies and then there is another study that takes place after the study to study the last one they did,” Kitrel said. “Proof is in the pudding.”

City of Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) inconjunction with the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has begun a yearlong study to examine ways to improve public transportation within 13 south side communities. Those communities include Burnside, Douglas, South Shore, Washington Park, Avalon Park and Calumet Heights.

CDOT released the study’s preliminary findings during two separate meetings held on IIT’s campus. CDOT plans to hold several more meetings seeking public input as the project moves forward. CDOT hopes to complete the study early 2012.

The study area has several transit options with a mix of CTA buses and Metra lines, but service gaps exist, said Larry Englisher, of Cambridge Systematics, a consultant on the project.

The study echoed thee familiar complaints from those attending the meeting — the infrequency of transit services, lack of overnight service and long travel and wait times.

Englisher noted these gaps are notable on the Metra lines “where service operates every one to two hours on off-peak and weekends.” In urban areas, that present a challenge, he added. Overnight service on the Green Line or Metra Electric does not exist.

He also noted that there is a mismatch of rail service in certain areas. In high-density population areas, especially between 35th and 55th on Cottage Grove, there is no rail service. Other areas with rail service have low ridership because they are not densely populated, Englisher explained.

“Those are some of the areas we want to look at more closely for improvements,” Englisher said.

Improvements would include providing better transit service to retail and job centers, such as Midway Airport, Hyde Park and the Illinois Medical District in the West Loop. Englisher noted residents in the study area are transit dependent with buses as their primary mode of transportation.

Other proposed improvements include more cross town (east-west) transit routes, better bus tracker technology in the study area and easy transfers from Metra and CTA.

The study also will examine ways to reduce long travel times and improve reliability on routes like King Drive, Cottage Grove, Stony Island and Jeffery Express. The city received a federal grant to study rapid transit for Jeffery Blvd. The grant looks a infrastructure improvements such as bus shelters and improved signalization to move buses faster.

Some transit improvements have already begun, including the newly opened Metra station at 35th street on the Rock Island line. Metra also plans to rehab stations at 59th and 63rd Streets.

CDOT will fold previous transit recommendations into its study, including the Grey Line and the Orange Line, which proposes using existing Metra Electric rails as a CTA “L” service.

The aim is to not only improvement transportation but also “to support the economic vitality of the entire study area,” Englisher said.

Englisher rung a cautionary bell. While the study intends to produce short-and long-term transit goals, funding presents challenges. To keep RTA’s existing service in good repair cost $24.6 billion while CTA needs $1.35 billion to upkeep service in the study area alone, he noted.

Sandra Bevins, executive director of the 51st Street Business Association, was critical of the study area. She noted the study seems to focus on Hyde Park more than any other community. Bevins explained that Bronzeville wants to create a historic district and improved transit is critical.

“I’m not saying Hyde Park doesn’t have any issues, but there is nowhere in Hyde Park you can’t walk to something to get on something…,” Bevins said. “You can get on a train. You can get on the bus in Hyde Park. These other communities are not that lucky.”