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The Chicago region’s current hub-and-spoke transit system leaves nearly half a million Cook County residents stranded in transit deserts.

Chicago’s budget needs to advance bus and bike lanes

Active Trans Campaign Organizer W. Robert Schultz III, a 31st Ward resident, provided testimony at a Chicago City Council hearing on the city’s infrastructure needs on August 18. The following is an excerpt of his remarks.

I have lived in Belmont Cragin, Logan Square, and Uptown. Over the 30 years that I lived in Chicago, I have worked in nearly every one of its 77 community areas, and my Chicago experiences started as a frequent visitor to Englewood in the 1960s.

I chose to make Chicago home because I wanted to live a car free. This means walking to a Chicago Transit Authority bus stop if I am heading out for shopping or work, or recreational-, educational-, or health-related activities.

I’m excited to represent Active Trans’ 20,000 supporters today! Active Trans’ mission is to advocate for walking, bicycling, and public transit to create healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities.

Active Trans’ has two proposals relevant to this committee’s work and the 2021 Chicago budget:

We recognize making progress in these areas requires having sufficient city staff to do the work. That means the Chicago Department of Transportation needs resources to hire more full-time pedestrian, bike, and transit planners, in addition to more full-time traffic engineers. Current staffing in these areas pales in comparison to peer cities and is a major barrier to progress.

Chicago residents: Take action now to support 30 miles of new bus lanes by 2021 and masks for all transit riders.