Better Streets for Buses: What You Missed During CDOT and CTA’s First Virtual Meeting
The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Chicago Transportation Authority (CTA) recently launched an initiative to improve bus service called Better Streets for Buses (gotta say, we love the name). The two agencies have launched a campaign website with several avenues of public input available, including a survey and the option for individuals to share their comments on maps.
Additionally, they’re hosting a series of three virtual public meetings, the first of which occurred on Wednesday, May 4th. Better Streets Chicago attended the meeting to learn more about what they have in mind for improvements, but walked away with a number of questions unanswered.
What we learned during the first Better Streets for Buses virtual meeting
With TSP, if a bus is behind schedule, it sends a message to the the traffic signal to request several extra seconds of green light time. With queue jumps, a bus enters the queue jump lane to bypass general traffic, then a separate bus-only signal phase gives the bus a head start.
During the meeting, CDOT and the CTA highlighted three main categories of improvements:
Getting to/from the bus
Waiting for/boarding the bus
Riding the bus
Though much of the information provided was general in nature, we were encouraged by some of what we learned.
Getting to/from the bus
There was mention of sidewalk condition and quality, including accessibility. The agencies also mentioned including bicycle parking at bus stops to expand first/last mile travel options.
Waiting for/boarding the bus
CDOT highlighted features new to Chicago, like bus stop bump-outs and boarding islands, and briefly mentioned features like level boarding and pre-paid/all-door boarding.
Riding the Bus
Improvements to ridership experience included improving bus frequency/throughput utilizing dedicated bus lanes and establishing bus priority at intersections using transit signal priority (TSP) technology and queue jumps.
The agencies also briefly spoke to planning corridors. However, they specifically stated that the goal of this community input period is not to identify corridors/networks, but to instead build a toolbox that can be implemented during future projects. Click here to see the list they’ve released showing initial corridors identified for improvement.
Notably missing from the presentation were mention of bus rapid transit or mode-shift away from private cars to buses and transit. There was also no discussion of making transit work more symbiotic with zero-emissions transportation like walking, rolling, and biking.
Our questions about Better Streets for Buses
However, given the vagueness of parts of the meeting, here are a few questions we walked away with:
Is mode shift away from private motor vehicles something that the agencies are targeting in their efforts, and if so what kind of metrics are they using? Are they referencing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in any specific corridors?
What kind of lessons have the agencies learned from previous failed attempts at bus lanes? Thinking of ones that can be found on Clark St. and Chicago Ave., both have been deemed parking at certain times but instead are treated as parking permanently by the public and never available for bus use. (It’s worth noting we don’t blame the public for doing this. It’s on CDOT and the CTA to design and build better infrastructure.)
We’ve seen these agencies fail to implement large-scale plans in the past, most relevant being the “Chicago Streets for Cycling Plan 2020.” CDOT failed to execute 85% of that plan by its 2020 due date. We’d love to know what lessons they’ve learned from that, and how they will prevent repeating such poor execution.
Speaking of cycling infrastructure, very little mention of it was given. The one bit that was pictured demonstrated a bike lane protected by a bus boarding island, but the bike lane was routed back to the street-side of parking instead of the preferred option of parking-protected bike lanes.
Given that CTA has been a force in opposing much needed cycling routes in the past, what ways are CTA & CDOT working to improve cycling infrastructure in conjunction with bus infrastructure? Given they often share similar struggles and solutions – and go hand-in-hand with reducing car-dependency – we’d love to see a fresh start here.
During the meeting, the need for more shelters was brought up. CDOT expressed some limitations in capacity due to the existing contract with JCDecaux. What wasn’t clarified is when the contract is up for renewal and how it impacts CDOT’s ability to build more shelters now. Is this something where increased capacity can be considered in a new contract with them, or should the City be exploring alternative partners?
It’s unclear in what capacity IDOT and the Mayor’s Office are involved, and whether they are supportive of this effort. We’ve seen recently that the Mayor referred to CTA ridership as not existing within the realm of reality and living on a different planet, and that Chicago is a “car city.” We’re curious how that has impacted CDOT/CTA’s ability to push for transit improvements. Additionally, IDOT is notoriously and historically resistant to non-car infrastructure, and many of CTA’s bus routes depend on streets in their jurisdiction. Are they open to being a partner?
Something that was brought up more than once was the way CTA has handled scheduling and arrival times during the pandemic, which has created signifcant difficulty for their ridership over the past two years. Initially, they simply stated that they’ve addressed this through service announcements at stations, but this isn’t a satisfactory answer in our view. We reiterated our frustrations and concerns, stating that CTA needs to seriously consider publishing a schedule that current staffing can fulfill.
We also explicitly requested an apology be issued to their ridership. A CTA representative did extend an apology directly to us in the meeting, and while we appreciate that the apology was given, it is their ridership at large who has been harmed. We believe it would be appropriate for the agency (preferably the President) to extend an apology to all ridership in a formal capacity, as well as a commitment to better transparency in the future.
How to attend the next Better Streets for Buses meetings
Did you attend the May 4th meeting? If so, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you missed this one, there are two more ahead on May 12th and May 17th. You can RSVP here: https://betterstreetsforbuses.com/virtual-public-meetings
