Want to see a fight? Head over to Ashland Avenue, where a controversy is pitting car drivers against transit riders.
On one side is Michael Whalen, who lives near Cermak Road and Ashland Avenue on the Lower West Side. He takes the No. 9-Ashland bus eight to 10 times a week and is pulling for a $160 million proposal that would create an express Ashland bus that would get dedicated lanes and traffic signal priority over cars.
"The dedicated lane is by far the most exciting. For the bus to be able to slide through traffic like that, it would be perfect," said Whalen, 22. "It's as close to a train as you can get."
On the other side is Kristin Mathews, who lives near Chicago and Ashland Avenues in West Town. She has a car and takes the Ashland bus once a week. She is against the Ashland express bus proposal because the bus-only lane will replace a car lane in each direction. She also opposes the city's plan to severely curb the ability to make left turns on Ashland Avenue.
"Traffic on Ashland is frequently terrible, and I don't think that there are enough bus riders to justify taking up two lanes of traffic on a main artery in the city," said Mathews, 31. "It sounds like driving on Ashland is going to be a nightmare."
Welcome to the bus rapid transit debate. As the city and the CTA prepare to introduce bus rapid transit-a form of express bus service that generally includes bus-only lanes and early green lights for buses-this year in the Loop, there is already negative connotation attached to the "bus rapid transit" term as tensions flare over the Ashland proposal.
In the Loop, the city is expected to break ground this year on bus-only lanes on four streets to speed bus service for six routes.
While the city irons out its $32 million Loop construction plan, it is grappling with devising an express bus service program on Ashland Avenue that satisfies transit riders like Whalen, who want faster and reliable service, and business owners and residents like Mathews, who worry that traffic on Ashland Avenue will be impossible to navigate.
RedEye examines the battle over the city's bus rapid transit plans and their potential effect on Chicago.
tswartz@tribune.com | @tracyswartz
What is bus rapid transit?
Bus rapid transit typically relies on bus-only lanes and traffic signal priority for buses to mimic the speed of train travel. There are various forms of bus rapid transit in cities including Cleveland and Mexico City.
Chicago introduced a version of bus rapid transit in 2012 on a stretch of Jeffery Boulevard on the South Side that has allowed CTA buses to travel in dedicated lanes during rush hour. The city plans to begin work on a Loop system this year. It aims to have it up and running on Ashland Avenue in 2016.
The Loop project calls for dedicated bus lanes on Washington, Madison, Clinton and Canal streets and early green lights for the Nos. J14-Jeffery Jump, 20-Madison, 56-Milwaukee, 60-Blue Island/26th, 124-Navy Pier and 157-Streeterville as they make their way through downtown. Nearly 30,000 commuters would benefit from this project, the Chicago Department of Transportation says.
The Ashland Avenue proposal would stretch from Irving Park Road to 95th Street. The first phase would focus on Ashland Avenue between the Metra Clybourn and Ashland Orange Line stations.
The proposal calls for dedicated bus lanes in each direction, which would eliminate a travel lane in each direction. In the plan's current form, nearly 90 percent of left turns would also be axed. About 92 percent of parking on Ashland Avenue would be retained.
The express Ashland bus would stop every half-mile, and riders would see an increase of bus speeds up to 83 percent, the CTA says. The current No. 9-Ashland bus would still remain and make all the stops. About 10.2 million riders took that bus in 2012, making it the top bus in ridership.
Why is it so controversial?
Most of the controversy focuses on the Ashland proposal. Proponents of the plan say that the current Ashland bus is too slow and unreliable and these changes would eliminate bus bunching (when buses arrive in pairs) and gaps in service. BRT enthusiasts said the features are needed especially since the CTA eliminated the Ashland express bus four years ago as part of service cuts.
Opponents say car travel on Ashland Avenue would be too slow because cars and the local Ashland bus would be forced into one lane. At CTA hearings, some residents who live near Ashland Avenue have said they are concerned that traffic would be diverted to their side streets. Some business owners also have said they worry that left-turn removal would affect the way patrons and shipments would get to their companies.
How much will it cost, and who pays for it?
The $11 million Jeffery Boulevard pilot program was paid for by federal funds. The Loop project is expected to cost about $32 million-$24.6 million comes from a federal grant while $7.3 million is from tax increment financing, money intended to promote development in certain areas of the city.
The Ashland program, meanwhile, is estimated to cost $160 million and lacks a clear funding source but would be eligible for federal funding. The money would go toward the construction of lanes, center stations and more than 75 blocks of new streetscaping, among other features.
What is the next step for these projects?
The Jeffery project was supposed to see traffic-signal priority for buses last year, but that feature was delayed. Final traffic signal testing is continuing and should be ready for deployment this spring, CDOT spokesman Pete Scales said.
For the Loop plan, CDOT is still in the planning stages but expects to have an announcement about construction timetables this spring, Scales said.
On the Ashland Avenue proposal, the CTA recently received 1,100 public comments on the draft assessment of the project's impact. The Federal Transit Administration must approve the final environmental assessment, which is expected to be out in the spring.