Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about State Policy

Saving Time and Money Through Transportation Demand Management

By Kristen Maddox | Dec 9, 2013 | 4 Comments

Traffic jams cost Chicagoland residents more than $7.3 billion every year in wasted time and fuel, according to the Metropolitan Planning Council’s 2008 report “Moving at the Speed of Congestion.” And we’re not headed in the right direction: The share of drive-alone commuters in the region increased from 46 percent to 51 percent from 1990 […]

How Can Chicagoland Fix Its Regional Transit System?

By John Greenfield | Dec 5, 2013 | 56 Comments

In the wake of the recent Metra patronage scandal, the Regional Transit Authority has come under intense scrutiny. Many journalists, elected officials and policy experts have argued that the current system of separate boards for the CTA, Metra and Pace, overseen by the RTA, lends itself to interagency competition and corruption that gets in the […]

Bike Writer Elly Blue Discusses the Economics of Cycling

By John Greenfield | Nov 26, 2013 | 18 Comments

On Friday I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion of cycling and economics with bike writer Elly Blue, author of the new book “Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save The Economy,” at City Lit bookstore in Logan Square. Blue’s work has appeared in various biking, sustainability, and feminist publications, and she’s also the author of […]

How the Illiana’s Shaky Financing Puts Illinois Taxpayers at Risk

By Steven Vance | Nov 14, 2013 | 9 Comments

The Illinois Department of Transportation is moving forward with its portion of the 47-mile Illiana Tollway in rural Illinois and Indiana, issuing a “request for qualifications” to potential contractors. The document sheds light on how the state intends to finance the billion-dollar highway — and how taxpayers will be on the hook. To get the […]

A New Pot of Funding Is Available for Illinois Safe Routes Programs

By Kristen Maddox | Nov 11, 2013 | 6 Comments

Illinois students celebrate National Walk and Bike to School Day. Photo: Champaign-Urbana MTD As autumn turns to winter, parents across Illinois hustle through the sleepy, pre-dawn period to bundle up children and get them ready for school. By this time of the year, the rhythm has become engrained. However, the daily task of commuting to […]

Graphic: Huge Cost Disparities Between Highway, Transit and Bike Projects

By John Greenfield | Nov 7, 2013 | 14 Comments

It seems like every time the city proposes an innovative sustainable transportation project, there’s someone who attacks the plan as an irresponsible waste of money for our cash-strapped city. For example, Roger Romanelli and his Ashland-Western Coalition anti-bus rapid transit group have repeatedly argued that the CTA’s plan to build 16 miles of fast, reliable […]

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