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Transportation and Transit 2015

33rd Ward Transportation Usage

Many of the recent and upcoming infrastructure projects in the

33rd Ward are transportation improvement projects. These

projects are both cost effective and impactful to improve the

quality of life for residents. Improvements to public

transportation, bikeability, walkability, traffic and parking are

projects that have an immediate effect on the way residents

commute, shop, and access recreation. The goal of these

projects and efforts is not to make car ownership and driving be

a less viable option, but rather to support other transportation

options. Having fewer cars on the road will reduce traffic and

make more parking available to those who continue to drive as

their primary mode of transportation.

Each year, Aldermen are given a specific amount of money to

spend on capital improvements within their respective wards.

Commonly funded projects include street repaving, lighting

improvements, and traffic control devices, such as speed

humps. These discretionary monies are commonly called menu

funds. 2014 Aldermanic Menu Fund allocations for the 33rd

Ward can be viewed here.

Complete streets are designed to accommodate different modes

of transportation safely and efficiently. There is separation of

uses to promote safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and allow

ease of access for all users. There is no one single design for

complete streets, each design is meant to address existing

conditions and anticipated needs. Incomplete streets are

designed and operated primarily for vehicular traffic, making

other modes of transportation inconvenient or dangerous.

Traditional street designs can deter the use of alternative

transportation methods, creating more vehicular traffic on city

streets. Heavy car dependence creates more carbon emissions,

discourages the health benefits of walking and cycling,

increases demand for parking and is more expensive for

residents.

In the City of Chicago, about 26% of households don’t own a

car. In the 33rd ward, rates of car ownership vary significantly

by neighborhood. Albany Park has three “L” stops, and all 33rd

Ward residents in Albany Park live less than half a mile from an

“L” stop. As a result, rates of car ownership are lowest in Albany

Park. Car ownership goes up as residents live farther from an

“L” stop.

Source: U.S Census 2012 ACS

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There is a misperception that low car ownership is most

prevalent in lower income neighborhoods, where residents don’t

own cars because they can’t afford them. While a car-free

lifestyle saves money, and there are many families that cannot

afford the expense, in Chicago some of the neighborhoods with

the lowest car ownership are in higher income areas as more

households choose to rely on the growing array of alternative

options.

Similarly, the area of the 33rd Ward where transit access is

lowest is also the area where commuting alone in a car is

highest. Commuting by car while driving alone or taking public

transportation are the two most common methods of commuting

in the 33rd Ward. Neighborhoods closer to the “L” have a much

higher ratio of residents commuting via public transportation.

Source: U.S Census 2012 ACS

We can see by this map that people who live near “L” stations

are most likely to commute via public transportation. People of

all income levels will choose to live in transportation served

areas if they want avoid a car-dependent lifestyle.

Housing costs have long been the most utilized measure of

neighborhood affordability, but many planners are now

incorporating the costs of transportation into the calculation of

overall affordability. Households that downsize to one car from

two and regularly utilize public transportation can save over

$10,000 per year. Living without a car at all and utilizing other

methods of transportation can be hugely impactful on household

budgets. The estimated cost of operating a bicycle for a year is

only $308. Residential property values are higher near transit,

though apartments near “L” stops in Albany Park are still far

more affordable than those in other neighborhoods.

“Go Albany Park” is an initiative that will be launched by the

Active Transportation Alliance in June 2015 to help educate and

encourage the use of alternative forms of transportation and

reduce the number of drive-alone trips. The program will work

with community groups to offer free resources and activities to

residents of Albany Park to promote walking, cycling, transit and

carpooling.

More information on “Go Albany Park” will be available through

the 33rd Ward and Albany Park Bikes as events are scheduled

in the summer of 2015.

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Modes of Transportation

Pedestrian Access and Walkability

Pedestrian streets, or “P-Streets”, are a City of Chicago zoning

designation that is meant to preserve and promote a walkable

environment on neighborhood retail streets. New buildings on

pedestrian streets must be built adjacent to the sidewalk, and

driveways and street-front parking lots are prohibited. All

regulations regarding pedestrian street designation are in

section 17-3-0500 of the Chicago Municipal Code.

In 2014 Alderman Mell spearheaded Pedestrian Street

designation for Montrose from California to Kimball, Lawrence

from Sacramento to Central Park, and Kedzie from Montrose to

Lawrence. This designation passed City Council in November

2014. Evidence shows that there is a strong positive impact on

local retail vibrancy when improvements are made to pedestrian

access, and this new P-Street designation partially overlaps with

the newly designated Special Service Area #60. Carefully

planned, multi-layered efforts, made in conjunction with

community groups such as Albany Park Neighbors and the

North River Commission will serve to improve quality of life for

area residents along with the retail environment.

Walkscore.com assigns a score, out of 100 points, to

neighborhoods as an assessment of how friendly and useful

they are to pedestrians, transit users and bike riders. A high

score means that residents do not need to be car-dependent

because daily errands and commuting and recreational

opportunities do not require a car.

Neighborhood Walk Score Transit Score Bike Score

Albany Park 85 62 66

Ravenswood Manor 81 63 71

Irving Park 84 66 69

Avondale 80 69 70

North Center 87 67 75

North Park 78 58 69

Pedestrian Safety

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) data show that in

the Chicago Metro region, there were 33,780 pedestrian

crashes between 2004 and 2010, 23,768 of those were in the

City of Chicago. While about 70% of pedestrian crashes

occurred in Chicago, less than half of the region’s fatalities

occurred in the city. Similarly, the proportion of pedestrian

crashes that resulted in serious injury was lower in the city than

the region as a whole.

The number of regional pedestrian fatalities in a single year

peaked in 2005, with 63 fatalities. The total number of crashes

peaked in 2006 with 3782 in Chicago. Between 2006 and 2010

the number of crashes was reduced by over 12%. The number

of fatal crashes fell by more than half of this time period, from a

high of 63 in 2005 to 30 in 2010. The City of Chicago has set a

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zero-fatality goal for pedestrians and cyclists, and the Complete

Streets plan is geared toward that goal.

In the 33rd Ward, the 2005-2010 data show that the area

around the Kimball Brown Line station, along Lawrence Ave,

was the “hot spot” for pedestrian crashes. The Active

Transportation Alliance named the Elston/ Western/ Diversey

intersection as one of the 10 most dangerous in the City for

pedestrians in a study released in October 2014. A map of

pedestrian crashes shows that the majority occur in the

downtown area and near “L” lines. In general, pedestrian

accidents are most frequent in and near intersections, especially

6-corner intersections created by bisecting arterial streets such

as Elston and Lincoln. 78% of pedestrian crashes happen at

intersections.

Source: Illinois Department of Transportation

Bicycling

The City of Chicago Department of Transportation has set a

goal to become the most bike-friendly city in the country. In

2014, Bicycling Magazine named Chicago the second most bike

friendly city behind New York City. This ranking was up from 5th

place in 2012 and 10th place in 2010. Comprehensive planning

and aggressive implementation efforts have moved Chicago

toward achievement of its bike-friendly goals. Recent and

upcoming projects for the 33rd Ward are discussed later in this

chapter.

The Chicago Bike 2015 Plan has two overall goals:

● To increase bicycle use, so that 5 percent of all trips less

than five miles are by bicycle.

● To reduce the number of bicycle injuries by 50 percent

from current levels.

For the most part, these goals align with the transportation,

infrastructure, health and sustainability goals of the 33rd Ward.

The goals do not take into account a relationship between

ridership and injuries, so a measure of ridership rates should be

incorporated into the goal to reduce injuries. In addition, better

data collection methods of ridership and ridership trends would

be useful to future planning and assessment efforts.

The primary implementation of the Chicago Bike 2015 Plan is

the expansion of the city’s on-street bikeway network. In places

where protected bike lanes have been installed in Chicago,

peak time ridership has gone up by 50% or more. In September

2014, the New York City Department of Transportation did an

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analysis of the safety effects of protected bike lanes, which New

York began installing in 2007, and found the following results:

Crashes with injuries have been reduced by 17%

Pedestrian injuries are down by 22%

Cyclist injuries show a minor decrease even as bicycle

volumes have dramatically increased

Total injuries have dropped by 20%

75% decrease in average risk of a serious injury to

cyclists from 2001 to 2013

Cyclist injury risk has generally decreased on protected

bicycle lane corridors within this study as cyclist volumes

rise and cyclist injured decrease

The City of Chicago’s on-street bike network consists of over

225 miles of barrier protected bike lanes, buffer protected bike

lanes, conventional bike lanes, marked shared lanes and

neighborhood bike routes. The network of bike facilities is

growing every year with the goal of providing residents and

visitors the opportunity to feel comfortable riding a bike

throughout the City. Expanding the on-street bike network will

help establish Chicago as the most bicycle friendly big city in

America and promote the social, economic and health benefits

that result from increased ridership.

There are three different categories of bike lanes in Chicago:

buffered, shared and protected. Plans and projects to add more

bike lanes are ongoing, to keep up with where the current bike

lanes are, reference the City of Chicago bike lanes map.

Bike Racks

A critical part of utilizing a bike for everyday transportation is

knowing where to safely park your bike. There is a map of bike

racks on the City of Chicago open data page. While many riders

lock their bikes to fences, trees, poles and other objects, these

practices are likely to increase the possibility of bike theft.

Residents can view bike parking info, request additional bike

racks or view locations where racks have been requested here.

Bike Theft

Thousands of bikes are stolen in Chicago every year, and

recoveries are rare. The CDOT Complete Streets page has

information regarding bike theft prevention, including how and

where to lock a bicycle. In addition, bicycle owners are urged to

register their bikes with the Chicago Police Department. There

is also a citizen-driven effort to recover stolen bikes.

Divvy Bike Share

Divvy Bike Share is CDOT’s bike share system, introduced in

2012. For an annual membership or daily fee, riders can take a

bike from any station and ride a station near their destination.

The Divvy stations automatically log and lock the bikes, so the

rider has no additional responsibility for the bike.

As of the end of 2014, the Divvy program had 3000 bikes and

300 stations. The goal is to reach 400 stations and 4000 bikes

in 2015. Currently, all of the area bike share stations are east of

the Western Ave. In 2015, the program will be expanded, and

the proposed expansion will include 9 stations inside the 33rd

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Ward, and several more in close proximity to the Ward

boundaries.

Divvy stations will be placed at each of the 3 Brown Line stops

in the ward, so commuters will be able to take a Divvy bike to a

Brown Line station, increasing commuter access to the “L”.

Currently only the northern portion of the 33rd Ward has easy

access to L stations.

Planned Divvy Stations

Source: Chicago Dept. of Transportation

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Bike Safety and Enforcement

While most bike crashes are relatively minor, they are common

in Chicago. Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) crash

data analysis from 2005-2010 shows 8861 crashes occurred in

the City of Chicago. Of those, 0.36% of crashes resulted in

fatalities, or 32 fatalities out of 8861 crashes. Slightly more than

10% resulted in incapacitating injury, defined as an injury that

prevents normal function. A map of 2007-2009 crashes, color

coded by severity, can be viewed here.

This report shows an increase in the annual total of crashes

over this time period, though evidence shows that there was an

increase in bicycle ridership over that time. Other key findings of

the report include:

● Approximately 55 percent of fatal and injury crashes

occurred at intersections.

● A high number of crashes have occurred on or near

major diagonal arterial streets including Milwaukee

Avenue.

● Six of the 77 community areas just north and northwest

of the Loop accounted for one- third of the injury crashes

but more than one-third of the bicycle miles. (The

neighborhoods of the 33rd Ward were not among these

high-crash areas.)

● The highest number of injury crashes was in West Town

(just west of the Loop) followed by Near North Side and

Logan Square.

Education and safety enforcement, along with infrastructure

improvements, are key components to achieving the goals of

the Chicago Bike 2015 plan. The Chicago Bicycling

Ambassadors program provides neighborhood outreach to

encourage bicycling and promote bicycling safety by educating

all users on how to safely share the road. Residents, community

organizations and schools can schedule ambassadors to attend

events to promote safety by visiting the Chicago Complete

Streets website.

In the summer of 2014, the 33rd Ward had 10 education and

enforcement events. These targeted enforcement events served

to make motorists and bicycles aware of the rules of the road

and issue warnings or tickets for violations. 24 tickets and over

450 warnings were issued at these events. You can see all the

details of these events on the 33rd Ward website.

CTA Buses and Trains

Use of public transportation has been on the upswing in recent

years, and for good reason. The economic, environmental and

social benefits are well documented, and the City of Chicago

has been making massive investments in public transportation

infrastructure.

The Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA, provides public transit

passengers with 530 million bus and rail rides annually. The

CTA system utilizes 145 rail stations and 224 miles of “L” track,

and 1780 buses traverse 4,000 miles of street. The CTA is the

second largest transit agency in the country by number of

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passengers served. The CTA publishes detailed annual

ridership reports and statistics and tracks daily ridership data.

The 33rd Ward has 3 Brown Line L stations within its

boundaries. The Kimball, Kedzie and Francisco stations are

situated along Lawrence Ave. in Albany Park. The Kimball

station is the terminal station on the Brown Line and the busiest

station in the 33rd Ward with 1.28 million passengers entering at

the station in 2013.

Entrances for the 3 stations combined were 2.44 million in 2013,

which was almost 13% of total Brown Line ridership for the year.

That ridership was a mere 1% of the “L” system total, as the

Brown Line is one of the least busy lines. The north branch of

the Red Line, from Grand to Howard, had more than double the

annual ridership at 41.8 million riders

Ridership at the Kimball Station was over 4,000 each weekday

in 2013. Total ridership was down 3.5% from 2012 to 2013. This

is likely attributable in part to the station closure for 10 days in

July 2013 in order for capital improvements to be made. Total

ridership for the 3 stations in the 33rd Ward was up by 31,000

from 2012 to 2013.

The 33rd Ward utilizes 11 bus lines, for an average combined

daily ridership of over 160,000 riders. The busiest stops in the

33rd Ward are along the Lawrence Ave route. The stops along

Lawrence between the eastern edge of the ward and Central

Park Ave serve over 1600 riders on an average weekday.

Alderman Mell has requested consideration of additional north-

south bus service in the 33rd Ward neighborhoods. Currently,

the only north-south bus that runs through the 33rd Ward is the

#82 Kimball bus. The #93 and #52 buses service the 33rd Ward

but both bus lines end in the 33rd Ward. To improve connectivity

to other forms of transportation, additional north-south service is

necessary.

Car Share

For residents who need only occasional access to a vehicle, car

sharing services are available in Chicago. Similar to bike-

sharing, these services require membership registration and

have various fee structures. With several locations in around the

33rd Ward, Enterprise and ZipCar services offer short-term use

of a vehicle and allow users to avoid long-term expenses and

parking concerns.

Traffic

Traffic may be tied with parking for the greatest source of

transportation stress for urban dwellers. The Chicago

Department of Transportation (CDOT) provides a real-time

traffic tracker where residents can see current and anticipated

traffic issues.

The City of Chicago gathers city-wide traffic data every 10 years

at various points around the city in order to compile Average

Daily Traffic (ADT) counts. This data is used by planners,

developers to make long-term decisions regarding public

transportation and infrastructure. Businesses may use this data

when making location decisions

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33rd Ward Traffic Volume Data

Traffic Volume Count Location Address Street

Date of Count

Total Passing Vehicle Volume

Vehicle Volume By Each Direction of Traffic

2737 West Belmont Ave 10/16/2006 23800

East Bound: 11900 / West Bound: 11900

2925 West Lawrence Ave 10/31/2006 23400

East Bound: 11400 / West Bound: 12000

3023 West Addison Ave 8/14/2006 29800

East Bound: 15300 / West Bound: 14500

3056 West Irving Park Rd 10/16/2006 47300

East Bound: 23400 / West Bound: 23900

3120 West Diversey Ave 8/10/2006 18500

East Bound: 8800 / West Bound: 9700

3235 North Kedzie Ave 12/11/2006 15000

North Bound: 6900 / South Bound: 8100

3242 North California Ave 10/9/2006 11900

North Bound: 5900 / South Bound: 6000

3313 West Lawrence Ave 8/16/2006 21000

East Bound: 9700 / West Bound: 11300

3765 North California Ave 11/16/2006 13500

North Bound: 6900 / South Bound: 6600

4710 North Kedzie Ave 9/18/2006 15500

North Bound: 8100 / South Bound: 7400

4875 North Kedzie Ave 8/16/2006 14300

North Bound: 7300 / South Bound: 7000

Parking

For many residents, finding parking is a source of daily stress.

Current building codes require that any new housing units be

built with at least one parking space per unit, unless they qualify

as Transit Oriented Development units. However, because the

majority of the housing units in the 33rd Ward predate the

current ordinance, not all homes have dedicated parking,

leaving residents to try to find parking on their street. One way

to alleviate this issue is the creation of a residential parking

zone.

From the Chicago City Clerk website:

Residential Zone Parking limits parking on designated

streets in densely-populated or highly-trafficked areas to

residents and their guests only, for either all times or for

certain days/hours. It is applied at the discretion of your

alderman.

Vehicles parked in a Residential Parking Zone during

applicable days/hours must display a Chicago City

Vehicle Sticker with Annual Residential Zone Parking or

a Chicago Residential Parking Daily Permit. The Zone

number on either the Chicago City Vehicle Sticker or the

Daily Residential Parking Permit must match the

Residential Parking Zone permit number posted on the

street signs.

Daily Residential Parking Permits are valid for 24 hours

from the time entered on the permit and for the

residential zone number indicated on the permit. They

must be displayed on the lower passenger side corner of

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the windshield. The current Chicago Residential Parking

Daily Permits expire on December 31, 2015 and are sold

in books of 15, with a two-book minimum purchase

required for online transactions. Be certain to write on

these permits in ink and to make no additional markings

in the space provided.

To determine if you live in a zoned parking area, visit the

Chicago City Clerk’s website or you can view the entire zoned

parking map. Residents interested in creating zoned parking for

their residential street, please contact the 33rd Ward office at

(773) 478-8040 for more information

Improperly parked vehicles may be towed or relocated. Some

residents may return to where they parked to find it missing and

don’t know if it was moved or stolen. Before filing a police

report, you can the City of Chicago Towed vehicles list to get

impound information, or the relocated vehicle’s location.

Residents can now pay for metered parking through the

ParkChicago app, allowing cashless payment and remote

extension of meter time. More information, along with meter

locations and rates, is available on the Chicago Meters website.

Sustainability

The strategies enumerated in this and previous chapters are all

oriented toward improving efficiency and sustainability in the

daily lives of 33rd Ward residents. The Chicago Climate Action

plan has a several different approaches to sustainability, and

the transportation agenda is most actionable for the 33rd Ward.

These plans can be implemented on an ongoing basis through

cost-effective measures that have an immediate impact.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) was discussed in previous

plan chapters, but we can reiterate here how the advanced

planning efforts reflected in this plan will foster development that

meets the goals of improved quality of life for residents,

sustainability and economic development.

Kimball Brown Line Station

Source: Chicago-L.org

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Projects

Completed: Pedestrian Street designation

Montrose from California to Kimball, Lawrence from Sacramento

to Central Park, and Kedzie from Montrose to Lawrence was

designated as a Pedestrian Street in November 2014.

Completed: Kedzie Ave buffered bike lane

Protected bike lane completed on Kedzie from Milwaukee to

Addison in the fall 2014.

Completed: Digital bus trackers

Digital bus trackers have been installed in the bus shelters for

the west-bound #80 bus at Irving Park and Kimball and for the

east-bound #80 bus at Irving Park and Kedzie.

In progress: Elston Ave Buffered Bike Lane

Installation of buffered bike lanes on Elston from Webster to

Milwaukee was initiated in the fall of 2014 and will be completed

in the spring of 2015

In progress: Foster Streetscape

Streetscape improvements on Foster from Kimball to Albany

were initiated in the fall of 2014 and are scheduled to be

completed in the spring of 2015

Planned: Addison Underbridge Project

A plan is underway to create a path for bikes and pedestrians

underneath the bridge at Addison. CDOT has received approval

from the State for the bridge type. Construction is slated to start

in the spring of 2015.

Planned: Divvy rollout:

In the spring of 2015 9 new Divvy stations will be installed in

the33rd Ward, including one at each of the 3 Brown Line

stations. (See Bike Share)

Planned: Western Ave. Viaduct project

The 52 year old Western Ave. Viaduct over Belmont and

Clybourn is deteriorating. While it’s still safe, now is the time to

make improvement that will increase safety, decrease traffic

congestion, improve traffic flow into and out of surrounding

neighborhoods, and more. No homes or active businesses will

be displaced as a result of this improvement project. This

project is scheduled to enter the Construction Phase in the

spring of 2015, pending funding.

Planned: Safe Routes to School/ High School Pedestrian

Improvements - Roosevelt High School

Infrastructure improvements to increase pedestrian safety will

be implemented in the fall of 2015.

Planned: Walk to Transit Pedestrian Improvements - Kimball

Brown Line

Infrastructure improvement to increase pedestrian access to the

Kimball Brown Line station will be implemented in the fall of

2015.

Proposed: Belmont Ave Bikeway

Proposed bikeway for Belmont Ave from Kedzie to Halsted,

expected 2015.

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Proposed: Manor Ave. Greenway

Construct greenway to connect Horner Park on the south to

Ronan Park on the north. Will serve to calm traffic, improve

pedestrian safety and continue riverfront path safely and cost

effectively.

Pending: Irving Park Underbridge project

A project to completely rebuild and improve the bridge over the

Chicago River at Irving Park Road is currently underway by the

Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT). The project is

scheduled include widening of the bridge to fit the current

dimensions of Irving Park Rd, as well as an underbridge

riverwalk to connect to the Horner Park Riverwalk (currently

under construction) to the existing riverfront path south of Irving

Park. This project is currently in the design phase and

tentatively scheduled for federal funding from the fiscal year

2015 and construction in the spring of 2016.

Pending: Elston/ Western/ Diversey intersection improvements

Improve pedestrian safety through traffic calming and visibility

measures.

Goals

● Advocate for better bus service in underserved parts of

the 33rd Ward

● Promote Go Albany Park and similar programs to

increase use of alternative forms of transportation

● Improve bike and pedestrian safety through infrastructure

and education

● Improve connectivity through projects such as the Manor

Ave. greenway

● Decrease dependence on a car-centric lifestyle by

improving:

○ Public transportation access and ridership

○ Bike ridership

○ Walkable housing and retail development

○ Necessary infrastructure to support all of the

above, such as bike lanes, crosswalks, complete

streets, Divvy stations and river access points

Sources

Census data

Chicago City Clerk

Chicago Department of Planning and Development

APTA.org

IDOT crash data

CMAP

Pedestrian and Bike Information Center