Transportation Grades

Housing Grades

2007 Grade	2007 Grade Prediction for the Future	2010 Grade
C	D +	D

The city continues to provide a lack of adequate public transportation service across the entire city, particularly on the South and West sides, despite its review of several plans – such as the downtown congestion tax – that might provide much-needed revenue to repair and modernize trains, uses, and the transit infrastructure. CTA’s most recent cuts only exacerbate the inequities in service provision across the city. Beyond that, the parking meter privatization deal has by far lent the most weight in lowering the city’s grade in this area. It was not only the manner in which the deal was railroaded through City Council that residents found most alarming, but also the agreement itself, which former Inspector General David Hoffman reported made far less money for the city than it should have made. Recommendations

1. Enact a congestion fee in designated downtown areas in order to reduce traffic and to provide financial resources to assist CTA in its restoration and expansion of services.
2. Ensure the full enforcement of policies that require all lifts and ramps on CTA buses, as well as elevators on CTA platforms to be in optimum working order, and operated by properly-trained staff that provide quality customer service to citizens with disabilities.
3. In an effort to restore CTA service cuts and to increase frequency of trains and buses, change RTA funding system to ensure that a greater proportion of state funding goes to the CTA.
4. Support the Gold Line, which would run South Shore Metra line with CTA frequency and CTA fares, and build new stations in Bronzeville to rectify the huge transportation inequity on the Southeast side of the city.
5. Lobby to secure state and federal funding to complete the expansion of the Red Line to 130th Street.