Chicago Department of Transportation

Elaine Chao Details DOT’s Methods of Helping Truckers During COVID-19 Crisis

May 29, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao says she is planning to amp up the Department of Transportation’s efforts in supporting truckers throughout the country during this pandemic.

According to Chao, the federal government will soon begin working on new methods of improving national infrastructure, possibly by using funds from the COVID-19 relief package of $2.2 trillion. Chao also emphasized the importance of recognizing the efforts of truckers who are working harder than ever to meet the demands of this challenging time.

“I don’t think many Americans think about the supply chain much during ordinary times,” she said, “But now that phrase–the supply chain–is being talked about everywhere. So many more people now understand that it’s due to truckers and trucking companies that food shelves in a supermarket get stocked, or that gasoline stations are able to sell gasoline.”

So far, the DOT has temporarily waived of the hours-of-service requirements that were amended in mid-March by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, provided temporary enforcement discretion for drivers transporting hazardous cargo (such as lithium batteries and gasoline, and highly-sought-after goods like hand sanitizers), and has given hazmat drivers a 90-day relief period from taking hazardous material refresher courses that are typically required every three years.

Chao said the reasoning behind these decisions is that efficient delivery of these materials, as well as household goods, food, water, and medical supplies, is especially important right now.

“All these products don’t appear by magic,” she explained. “We are able to live and take care of our families during this very special time because of the hard work of truckers throughout the country.”

The FMCSA has also granted certain exceptions until at least June 30th for some expired commercial driver licenses and learner’s permit medical certifications, and has also restructured current guidance around drug and alcohol testing requirement compliance.

Chao also praised the efforts of the interim chief of the FMCSA and his work with individual states to keep rest areas open.

“We’ve heard from a lot of people in the industry about concerns that some states may close rest areas,” she said. “So, I’ve had FMCSA acting Administrator Jim Mullen reach out and work with the state departments of transportation and other relevant entities to keep this critical infrastructure open, so that more carrier drivers have a safe place to rest.”

In addition to these regulation relaxations, the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is providing small business loans and a Paycheck Protection Program to many small trucking companies.

“After an initial sharp rise in demand to restock shelves and deliver supplies, the decline in economic activity has had negative consequences for the industry with decreases in freight volumes and rates since their peak during the public health emergency in the 3rd week of March,” said Chao in a DOT blog post. “Certain sectors of the industry have been hit harder than others, and the emergency affects trucking companies of all sizes. Many independent drivers and smaller trucking firms, which employ 90 percent of all truck drivers, are struggling to survive.”

Chao also mentioned that trucking firms can utilize loan opportunities from the Small Business Administration, which has made additional funds available during this crisis.

“We hope that truckers and others can see that the U.S. Department of Transportation is looking out for their interests and helping the country regain our economic vitality and vibrancy,” said Chao.

The allocations from the CARES Act could also potentially go into infrastructure, according to Chao.

“The monies have not gone out yet,” she explained. “Let’s see how that will help people. We hope it will help a lot. The Department of Transportation has a mandate to get out transit grant dollars, and we are hard at work. We’re going to meet the deadline to get that money out.”

Chao also wanted to offer her gratitude to the truckers erving the country at this time.

“I know that it has not been easy, but the whole country is just cheering on America’s truckers,” Chao said. “I want the families and the loved ones [of] trucker drivers to know that we’re thinking about them as well. We appreciate so much their support for their loves ones–the truck drivers–so that they can perform an essential service for our country during this critical time.”

Chicago Traffic Safety: New Attempts to Change Bus and Bike Lane Violations

March 30, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

In the early months of 2020, Mayor Lori Lightfoot took another step in her administration’s attempt to curb what many Chicagoan’s have come to expect when entering downtown; traffic congestion. Just like any other densely populated city in the world, Chicago has long dealt with the ramifications of traffic congestion. Recently, we discussed the public outcry arising from what is known as “Blocking the Box” in high traffic areas throughout the city; blocking intersections in attempts to turn left on yellow and red traffic lights. While that global issue is certainly in need of a comprehensive approach that looks to a multitude of factors, the reality is that Chicago has a variety of other pressing issues that continue to plague downtown traffic.

In light of these concerns being in the press recently, many expected for an announcement to soon come on how the City would handle such issues. With the news of Lightfoot’s announcement, many should be looking forward to what appears to be a strong plan to curb another critical area that Chicago has been dealing with; bike and bus lane violations. As part of the announcement, Lightfoot proposed a new city ordinance that allows for ticketing agents of the city to take photos of cars or other vehicles that are illegally parked in bike and bus lanes. This approach is in response to what has long been a loophole for violators who simply drive off before ever receiving an actual ticket. At the City Council news conference, Lightfoot stated “there have been instances where people are about to get a ticket and they drive off, so all this does is essentially allow the ticket the ability to take a photograph and use that as evidence is support of a ticket.”

The logistics of the new ordinance are simple. Ticketing agents for the city would be allowed to take pictures of vehicles that are in violation by being parked in bike and bus lanes. The agent would then mail the violation and the photograph of the vehicle to the license holder of the vehicle within 30 days and no longer than 90 days after the Secretary of State’s office establishes who the owner of the vehicle is. If the vehicle happens to be leased, then this deadline would increase to 210 days. As for the cost of violating the ordinance, violators can expect a fine of $60-$150, which is the same amount as the previous law; however, the sole goal with this new ordinance is to ensure that drivers cannot get away with the violation by driving away prior to receiving the ticket.

Chicago’s Recent Uptick in Traffic Congestion Crackdown

For our team, this city ordinance appears to be a long time coming; however, the reality is that while Chicago’s traffic congestion struggles are bad, many individuals are likely going to be wondering just how far the city will go to attempt to resolve issues such as bus and bike lane violations. Lightfoot’s announcement comes on the heels of her administration’s implementation of the Ride-Share Tax that went into effect in the beginning of January. We have written countless times on the reasoning behind such laws and once again we remain optimistic, that these approaches by the City are calculated decisions to benefit the safety of its residents. Based on Chicago Comptroller, Reshma Soni’s interview with The Chicago Sun Times, this once again appears to be the administration’s motivation, and for good reason. “There’s so much of this in the central business district area. We’re trying to do whatever we can to curb congestion. And it’s a safety issue as well. People are opening doors in bike lanes. Also, in bus lanes. Accidents are happening. We’re trying to rectify that,” stated Soni. However, Soni’s statements will likely be met with some criticism as the administration has also had a track record of minimizing fines and violations for non-moving vehicles in an attempt to “create a level playing field, so people in heavy debt can have a clean slate and hopefully stay in compliance.” This understanding and philosophy is in response to the administration’s hardline stance on minimizing scofflaws by what the Chicago Sun Times stated was “expanding payment plans and stopping drivers’ license suspensions for non-moving violations.” So, the question then must be asked, if Lightfoot’s administration is determined to stand for alleviating the burden that non-moving traffic violations have on those in debt, is the new city ordinance the exception or the rule?

In light of the new policies the City is establishing, the clear hope is that resident safety will be put in a far better situation. It cannot go unsaid that having vehicles in bus and bike lanes is a serious issue with serious consequences. Although Lightfoot and her administration have made it well known that they are looking to lessen the burden that such scofflaws have on residents, we should be clear in stating that when it comes to the road, your safety is what is most important. Let’s hope the City maintains that reasoning for good and continues to work to make the streets safer and less congested.

E-Scooters Returning to Chicago

March 29, 2020 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

After a widely covered 4-month test run of Chicago’s pilot scooter program, the city has officially announced that the controversial and efficient scooters will be returning at some point in 2020. The second pilot, which has yet to be given a start date, will certainly bring about more polarizing opinions regarding whether this new transit method should stay for good or officially be banned by the city. As we have written in the past, the lack of regulations for these scooters render those who use them incredibly vulnerable. Coupled with the fact that most often these scooters are being used in bicycle lanes, this not only places the riders at risk, but it places bicyclists in harm’s way as these scooters can ride up to 15mph in the city.

After the initial 2019 pilot program ended in October of 2019, the Transportation and Business Affairs and Consumer Protection departments of the City released a report establishing that during the length of the pilot program there were 821,615 trips logged on the scooters. Of that large number of rides, 192 injuries requiring trips to the hospital were reported. After seeing this disparity, you may believe that the numbers are far too low for people to be skeptical of adopting scooters in the city. Afterall, over 821,000 rides is significant for a 4-month pilot program. However, those numbers must not deceive us. By the city adopting another method of transportation and allowing for it to take place without any strict rules or regulations, it places Chicago residents at a severe disadvantage and adds another dimension to what is already a fragile infrastructure that is growing denser. Included in the report released by the City was a survey that found that the most significant negative feedback centered around both safety and parking, and for good reason. True, these scooters offer an efficient and individual commuting experience that many who aren’t willing to ride a bike to work or school can easily get on board with. But at what cost? Why risk putting yourself in danger when the city has yet to establish any real safeguards?

This argument does not serve the function of holding that the scooters should be completely banned. Chicago faces a real issue when it comes to traffic congestion and as we all know, traffic congestion raises the cost of maintenance on vehicles, but also increases the likelihood for situations that have dangerous ramifications. With that being said, scooters have proven, through the 2019 pilot run, that they serve a purpose. There is no denying that over 800,000 rides were logged in a 4-month period. As impressive as that number is, it simply cannot take away from the fact that nearly 200 riders were injured in those 4 months. There’s a reason cities are beginning to heavily regulate scooter use and many have issued temporary bans. Why regulate all other forms of transportation in Chicago and fail to adequately establish appropriate standards of care for scooters? The fact that they are relatively new should not be an excuse.

Turning towards the future, Curbed Chicago was able to obtain a statement from Stefan Shaffer, City Strategist for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in which he stated “as Chicago wrestles with its response to traffic congestion, air pollution and climate change, the e-scooter pilot gave people a popular and low-cost option to ditch their cars, which should continue.” Further, Mr. Shaffer also went into detail in an article published by the NRDC in which the e-scooter program was again touted for the safety precautions the city took. “Before the program began in June, the City met with various community leaders, disability rights advocates, transportation groups and other stakeholders to ensure the scooter pilot would enhance mobility for residents. The City’s extensive regulations and preparedness for issues with the scooters ultimately contributed to the low number of incident reports and injuries over the 800,000 rides taken during the pilot.” For what it’s worth, Mr. Shaffer is not wrong, in fact it has been good to see that the scooters were implemented into the city and so many rides were taken. However, one cannot help but argue that when it came to city regulations and enforcement, the pilot program had plenty of areas to be addressed. Before we go “all-in” and hold that scooters deserve the same amount of space in public transit as bicycles, properly enforcing the abundant number of scooters left in the middle of sidewalks, riders taking scooters outside the appropriate zones, and use of scooters in streets, should be an absolute priority.

As a City, we should want a diverse experience for all residents and that includes transportation options that are affordable and convenient. However, even in instances where the City is “testing” whether to adopt certain approaches to alleviate traffic congestion, rider and pedestrian safety should remain the first priority and not be sidestepped because a new form of transit proved to be efficient. In fact, one should truly begin to ask questions about what happens when these scooters are present throughout the long winter months. No matter what, safety should remain at the forefront of the discussion.

Chicago Transit 2020 Budget Announced–What Upgrades are in Store for the City?

November 19, 2019 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority has proposed its operating budget of $1.57 million for 2020, which will luckily call for no service cuts or fare increases.

The budget, announced late last month, will use tens of millions of dollars to modernize Chicago’s public transit infrastructure and will aim to make for an overall better commute experience for all city travelers.

The proposed $5.1 billion five-year budget for 2020 to 2024 will also include a monumental funding plan for the passage of the State of Illinois’ Rebuild Illinois capital bill from June of this year.

It will also continue more than $8 billion of historic transit investment that has been started, completed or announced since 2011. These particular projects include: rehabilitating rail stations and implementing new ones, expanding public arts, rail and bus modernization, rail slow zone removal, and new technology additions. This work will aim to increase reliability, reduce commute times, improve safety, and strengthen the transit experience for all customers.

“Public transportation is the great connector of Chicago, and this city has a fundamental obligation to ensure all residents of all communities have access to affordable, accessible and equitable transportation options,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as the new CTA budget was revealed. “I’m proud to say this budget reflects not only our priorities, but most importantly our values.”

According to the CTA, public transportation usage has dropped significantly in recent years. To gain more riders, the CTA plans to upgrade rail stations and improve the system’s reliability and quality of service.

“Despite continued cuts by the state legislature to the CTA operating funds,” said CTA President Dorval Carter, “we are grateful to Mayor Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for fighting to finally provide CTA with a capital program that will help improve and modernize our infrastructure.”

From this budget, the CTA will invest $310 million into the $2.3 billion Red Line rail route extension project, which will work to extend the Red Line–which connects Chicago’s north side and south side to the Loop business district–south by 5.3 miles. The Red Line Extension project will also include four new and fully accessible stations at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue and 130th Street.

These funds are the largest contribution the CTA has ever committed towards the RLE project, and be funneled into the new engineering and design work needed in order for it to receive federal funding.

The 2020 budget will also fund $78 million for the All Stations Accessibility Program, a plan to make all CTA rail stations completely vertically accessible. This plan was announced by President Carter in 2018 and is the first blueprint of its kind that aims to modernize rail stations that are currently non-vertically accessible. The plan will improve 42 of Chicago’s rail stations in this manner and will also upgrade elevator systems to align with the renovations.

For the first time in a decade, CTA received an extremely significant funding commitment in 2019 for a State capital plan, which came in the Rebuild Illinois bill.

This capital bill will give CTA $1.2 billion in bond funding through the next five years, and includes $141.5 million in proposed projects–implementing an overhaul of the Cottage Grove Green Line station and the first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization Program, which broke ground this fall and will include a rail bypass to meet future capacity requirements and will rebuild four Red Line Stations.

Additional projects from 2020 funding will include 20 new electric buses, Blue Line O’Hare Branch traction power upgrades, Blue Line station and signal improvements, and 10 new prototypes of the 7000-series railcar, the transit system’s newest generation railcar.

The 2020 budget also includes over $26 million in cost savings and operational efficiencies such as the hiring freeze, which is projected to affect at least 200 positions–an increase of 50 from 2019. The savings will also lock power costs in at historically low prices.

CTA has continued to be negatively impacted by operating fund cuts by the State of Illinois, President Carter said. “CTA losses since the state cut our operating funds will total $180 million through 2020. We continue to call for the restoration of full operating funding for this agency so that we may better serve our customers.”

Final stage of construction project at Western/Belmont set to begin next week

June 27, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Monday marks the beginning of the end for the lengthy Western/Belmont/Clybourn construction project, now approaching the final stage a roughly year-long plan.

Starting Monday (and barring any issues arising from the state’s budget impasse), construction crews are expected to repave Western Avenue to make way for a newly revitalized stretch of road that Chicagoans travel frequently. The construction project stems from the removal and demolition of the Western/Belmont overpass in 2015.

For how long: Like previous stages (there are five total) of the plan, repaving will take place at night and last for two weeks.

Why it matters: The city is expected to shut down at least one lane in each direction between Logan Blvd. and Waveland Ave., based on information provided by the Chicago Department of Transportation. That means more traffic congestion, slower speeds, and longer commutes.

On the bright side: The finished project will create a much more conducive environment for a smoother traffic flow for motorists and commercial buses, making it safer on multiple levels. That includes nearby pedestrians. The revitalization project has been a long road (no pun intended) to pay dirt, but it’s certain to improve safety and encourage better driving. We can safely say it was long overdue for an upgrade.

Advice: The CDOT encourages motorists to find alternate traffic routs to avoid long delays. As has been in effect since the beginning of the project in March 2016, Ashland Avenue is recommended as a north-south alternate route. Diversey or Addision are recommended for those heading east-west.

Public transit: CTA routes will not be affected. You can email additional questions directly to the CDOT at westernavecdot@cityofchicago.org.