Public meetings for Ashland BRT: The scoop on what an environmental assessment is and why we need you to show up!

Calling all Bus Rapid Transit supporters! We need you to keep up your great work in pushing for BRT to come to Chicago. The CTA recently released the environmental assessment for the project and is holding two public meetings to gather input about their plans to make transit faster and more reliable along 16 miles of Ashland Avenue.

In addition to attending one of those meetings, please join us for a rally on December 10 to show your support for the project!

What’s an environmental assessment?
Over the summer, the CTA and CDOT got to work analyzing the social, economic and environmental impacts of building the BRT project. This is standard procedure for all transportation projects of this size and it’s a requirement for receiving the federal dollars used for this study. It’s also good practice to make sure everyone understands how a new project may change the surrounding area.

The environmental assesment is now complete and CTA and CDOT would like your comments on it, which can be made at the public meetings or by e-mail at ashlandbrt@transitchicago.com.

What’s going on at these public meetings?
The meetings will summarize studies of the project impacts, including traffic analyses that have been performed as part of the formal environmental assessment. This is a chance to take a detailed look at the effects of the Ashland BRT project on your street and the route overall.

CTA and CDOT heard from various key stakeholders about the plan for BRT on Ashland over the past 6 months. Now they're holding two public meetings as an extension of this outreach to gather additional input from all Chicago residents. The Ashland BRT design is not yet final, and the CTA and CDOT are still considering options and modifications (adding more left turns to the plan for example) based on feedback they get at the meetings. This is an excellent opportunity for riders and residents to show up and let them know what you think.

Why should we go?
CTA and CDOT will consider the results of their analyses, the impacts of any possible changes to the BRT plan and all public comments before they move forward with the next phase of the project.

For supporters of BRT on Ashland, this is an important time to stand up and let people know why we're so strongly in favor of the project. We need to review the plans carefully and let CTA know that we want the fastest, most reliable service possible. For the more than 30,000 people taking the bus every day on Ashland Avenue, it’s important that we speak up to make gold standard BRT a reality.