Introduction Transit Deserts in Current System

[Pages:4]TransitFuture Transit Deserts in Cook County

UP - N MD - N NCS

UP - N MD - N NCS

Introduction

Our regional hub-and-spoke transit system is centered on Chicago's Loop. In the system's early years, the Loop was the predominant business hub, and workers could conveniently reach jobs by transit.

Over the last 60 years, a combination of relatively cheap fuel and massive investment in highways literally drove people and jobs further and further from the center, and away from the benefits of transit.

Sprawl severed the connections between transportation, land use, and economic growth. While jobs and residents migrated to the suburbs, the transit system has remained more or less the same.

In many parts of Cook County, access to affordable, high-speed mobility options is either severely limited, or nonexistent.

In short, Cook County has too many transit deserts.

LAKE COUNTY

UP - NW

294 94

90

Lake Michigan

Transit Deserts in Current System

A transit desert is an area that has high demand for transit but lacks access to high-quality transit, meaning that it is more than a half-mile from a rail transit stop and a quartermile from high-quality bus service.1 High-quality transit can be rail, bus rapid transit (BRT), arterial rapid transit (ART), or bus routes with frequent service (average headways of 15 minutes or less).

The region's hub-and-spoke transit system leaves many transit deserts between the lines that radiate out from downtown. Approximately 438,500 Cook County residents live in transit deserts. Nearly a half-million people ? roughly one-tenth of the entire population ? face restricted mobility and limited access to all of the region's jobs and amenities.

UP - NW

LAKE COUNTY

Lake Michigan

MD - W

O'Hare Airport

290

MD - W

O'Hare Airport

UP - W

DUPAGE COUNTY

88

BNSF

355

55

Midway Airport

294

Transit Deserts in Cook County Metra Stations

55 Interstate Highways CTA Lines Metra Lines Transit Deserts City of Chicago County Boundary

HC SWS

WILL COUNTY

80

94

RI

ME

57

UP - W DUPAGE COUNTY

BNSF

Midway Airport

Transit Future's Vision in Cook County Transit Rail Improvements Transit Rail Extensions PACE ART Extensions Existing CTA Lines Existing Metra Lines Transit Deserts City of Chicago County Boundary

HC

SWS RI

ME WILL COUNTY

? 2014 Center for Neighborhood Technology

024

8

12

16

Miles

The current hub-and-spoke system leaves many Cook County residents stranded in transit deserts.

?2014 CENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD TECHNOLOGY

? 2014 Center for Neighborhood Technology

024

8

12

16

Miles

Transit Future's vision for expanded transit could connect more people to jobs and opportunities.

1

Jobs in Transit Deserts

The lack of mobility options doesn't just affect those who live in transit deserts. It's also a problem for people who work in them, regardless of where they live. Four of the region's top five job centers are in suburbs that are not well served by rapid transit.2 These employment hubs boast over 390,000 jobs, which means many workers are forced to spend hundreds of dollars a month on a car, and often to spend several hours a week commuting on congested roadways ? time that could be spent with family or pursuing education or other opportunities.

UP - N MD - N

NCS

UP - N MD - N

NCS

UP - NW 90

LAKE COUNTY

I-53 Corridor

Lake-Cook Road

294

I-294 Corridor

94

Lake Michigan

Evanston

UP - NW

LAKE COUNTY

Lake-Cook Road

I-53 Corridor

I-294 Corridor

Lake Michigan

Evanston

MD - W

DUPAGE COUNTY

I-90 Corridor

O'Hare Airport

I-94 Corridor

290 Elmhurst IL-64 Corridor

UP - W

Oak Park I-290 Corridor

I-88 East Corridor

88 NaperBvNilSleF

355 55

Midway Airport

294 Oak Lawn

Uptown

Chicago

U of Chicago

Job Centers in Cook County

HC

Metra Stations

55 Interstate Highways

SWS

94

CTA Lines

Metra Lines

High Concentration Job Centers Urban Core (840k jobs and above)

Regional Center (40k to 250k jobs)

Community Center (10k to 40k jobs)

City of Chicago

80

County Boundary

RI

WILL COUNTY

ME 57

MD - W

DUPAGE COUNTY

I-90 Corridor

O'Hare Airport

I-94 Corridor

Elmhurst IL-64 Corridor

UP - W

Oak Park I-290 Corridor

I-88 East Corridor

Uptown

Chicago

NaperBvNilSleF

Midway Airport

U of Chicago

Transit Future's Vision in Cook County Transit Rail Improvements

HC Transit Rail Extensions

PACE ART Extensions

Existing CTA Lines

Existing Metra Lines High Concentration Job Centers

Urban Core (840k jobs and above) Regional Center (40k to 250k jobs) Community Center (10k to 40k jobs)

City of Chicago

County Boundary

Oak Lawn

SWS

RI ME

WILL COUNTY

? 2014 Center for Neighborhood Technology

024

8

12

16

Miles

For many Cook County residents, it's simply impossible to get to work via transit.

? 2014 Center for Neighborhood Technology

024

8

12

16

Miles

With an expanded transit system, workers can save time and money ? and reduce impacts on the environment.

Living and Working in Transit Deserts

5,182,947

residents in Cook County

in 2010

438,490

people living in transit deserts

161,763

households in transit deserts

268,274

jobs in transit deserts

Cook County in 2040

Projected Change from 2010 to 2040, Source: CMAP

2

21%

Population

17%

Households

23% Jobs

TRANSIT DESERTS IN COOK COUNTY

Low-Income Access to Jobs

Low- to moderate-income households are especially impacted by the jobs-transit mismatch. There are hundreds of thousands of entry-level jobs in the region for residents with a high school diploma (or equivalent), some college, or an associate degree, but many of these jobs are clustered far beyond the reach of the current transit system.3 Transportation is already an average household's second-largest expense. Spending money on an automobile (a depreciating asset) and fuel (subject to price spikes) just to access entry-level jobs makes it difficult for Cook County's low-wage workers to get ahead.

Not only is it impossible for individuals to get ahead without being able to get to work, it's impossible for our region to prosper without investment in the kind of reliable, affordable mobility choices that benefit the entire economy and everyone who lives here.

UP - N MD - N

NCS

UP - N MD - N

NCS

MD - W

UP - NW

LAKE COUNTY

I-53 North Corridor

Lake-Cook Road

I-294 Corridor

94

I-53 South Corridor 90

Mt. Prospect 294

I-90 Corridor

I-94 Corridor

Lake Michigan

Evanston

O'Hare Airport

Uptown

290

Elmhurst IL-64 Corridor

UP

-

Central W

DuPage

DUPAGE COUNTY I-88 East Corridor

Oak Park I-290 Corridor

Chicago

88

Naperville

355

Accessibility to Job Centers

Low-income Neighborhood with Poor Access to Qualifying Jobs Qualifying Job Centers Major (40k jobs and above) Large (10k to 40k jobs) Moderate (5k to 10k jobs)

Minor (3k to 5k jobs)

City of Chicago

County Boundary

CTA Lines

Metra Lines

Metra Stations 55 Interstate Highways Note: Qualifying jobs are those that require some college, an associate degree, or less

BNSF

55 HC

WILL COUNTY

80

Midway Corridor

294 Oak Lawn

SWS

RI ME

57

U of Chicago

94

MD - W

UP - NW

LAKE COUNTY

I-53 North Corridor

Lake-Cook Road

I-294 Corridor

I-53 South Corridor

Mt. Prospect

Lake Michigan

I-90 Corridor

Evanston I-94 Corridor

O'Hare Airport

Uptown

Elmhurst IL-64 Corridor

UP

-

Central W

DuPage

DUPAGE COUNTY I-88 East Corridor

Oak Park I-290 Corridor

Naperville

BNSF

Accessibility to Job Centers

Low-income Neighborhood with Poor Access to Qualifying Jobs Qualifying Job Centers Major (40k jobs and above)

Large (10k to 40k jobs)

Moderate (5k to 10k jobs) HC

Minor (3k to 5k jobs)

Transit Rail Improvements Transit Rail Extensions PACE ART Extensions Existing CTA Lines Existing Metra Lines City of Chicago County Boundary

SWS

WILL COUNTY

Note: Qualifying jobs are those that require some college, an associate degree, or less

Midway Corridor Oak Lawn

RI ME

Chicago

U of Chicago

? 2014 Center for Neighborhood Technology

024

8

12

16

Miles

The disconnect between low-income neighborhoods and the location of entry-level jobs is stark.

? 2014 Center for Neighborhood Technology

024

8

12

16

Miles

Transit Future aims to make commutes more convenient and affordable for all residents.

Photo Credit: Chris Goldberg, Flickr/Creative Commons

?2014 CENTER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD TECHNOLOGY

3

Development Around Transit

Transit access doesn't just mean more job connections ? it can also create sustainable neighborhoods and enhance regional growth. Rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) stations can anchor local development, encouraging a walkable mix of housing, shops, and other amenities that keep living costs low and quality of life high. In both the city and the suburbs, prosperous neighborhood and village centers are often built around transit stations.

Transit deserts miss out on this type of transit-oriented development. By giving residents better access to jobs and creating opportunities for new development, transit can bring buying power to neighborhoods that need it. Plus, research has shown that residential sales prices for properties located near transit are healthier and more resilient than in the broader metropolitan region.4 Transitoriented development can be the first step in building stronger, more vibrant communities.

Transit Future's Vision

Cook County needs expanded transit service to fill gaps that leave people stranded and jobs unreachable. Improved, expanded and modernized public transit can eliminate transit deserts, energize the economy, connect workers to jobs, and provide real savings for real people.

Building a world-class transit system requires a steady, long-term investment ? an investment that will pay us back with faster commutes, reduced cost of living, improved air quality, growth and development around the system, and a host of other economic and environmental dividends.

In an era of increased competition for fewer funding resources, investment will flow only to the regions that take action to help themselves. Creating a local, matching revenue stream can unlock billions of dollars in federal and other funding for the kinds of transit projects that can make our region more livable, economically competitive, and environmentally sustainable.

Transit Future advocates that the Cook County Board of Commissioners adopt a robust revenue source to fund the improvement and expansion of transit. This new revenue source will enable the county to take advantage of federal financing tools like America Fast Forward5 that will let us expand the system faster and realize return on investment sooner.

There's no time to wait.

Photo Credit: ifmuth, Flickr/Creative Commons

1 Transit demand was calculated using the variables of the number of senior population (65+) per square mile, number of adults (18-64) per square mile, number of children per square mile, number of retail and non-retail jobs per square mile, and the number of total autos per square mile within a census block group.

2 Job clusters were identified using a combination of 2011 LED Census block group employment data and GIS to outline continuous block groups that met a minimum jobs threshold. These block groups were then combined to form employment centers. The total jobs were then summed and the employment centers were ranked.

3 A quantile regression analysis identified Census block groups with a mismatch between low-income households and qualifying employment opportunities within a 60-minute transit commute. Low-income Census block groups were defined as having a high concentration of households earning approximately 50% or less of the Chicago CSA median income (or less than $35,000 in 2012). LED 2011 employment data was used to identify qualifying jobs ? defined as jobs that require some college, an associate degree, or less ? accessible via public transit.

4

5

ABOUT THE TRANSIT FUTURE CAMPAIGN

Transit Future is a campaign to build a 21st century transit system in Cook County, making the region more livable, economically competitive, and environmentally sustainable. Efficient and affordable public transit helps link people to jobs, reduces congestion, and fosters sustainable economic growth. Transit Future's mission is to build broad support in Cook County for increased, impactful, and immediate investment in an expanded regional public transportation system.

vision.

4

TRANSIT DESERTS IN COOK COUNTY

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download