By Hector Montalvo
The Ashland BRT, Bus Rapid Transportation, project is a renovation plan aimed at increasing transportation and boarding speed along Ashland, traveling from 95th to Irving Park.
This will be done by using a wireless signal embedded in the buses that sends an alert to traffic lights. These lights are then switched to green, allowing the buses to pass without delay.
The project is expected to increase the average bus speed on Ashland and other routes by as much as twice of what it is now (15 mph versus 8 mph.) Not only will the speed be increased, but the busses will operate with little to no traffic in their lanes of the street.
On Dec. 10 & 11, public open house forums were held to discuss the implementation of the project. The project was given favorable support and its design stages have begun.
In June of 2012, Lane hosted a public CTA open house to discuss the Western and Ashland corridor of the BRT project. At this meeting, the results were shared from an Alternative Analysis, which examined the impact of the Ashland/Western Corridor BRT on the community.
One of the stops along the Ashland BRT route closest to Lane is the Addison stop, just a mile from the Addison/Western intersection outside of Lane.
The BRT would allow many students traveling from the south side of the city to take the Ashland bus to Addison. There they could transfer to another bus for the short ride west to Western.
The Ashland route serves many Chicago students on their commute to school. Students from nearly 100 middle schools and high schools could take advantage of the BRT when it is finished.
Some Lane students say installing a BRT on Western would be even more helpful for their commute. A route along Western is a candidate for a BRT project, though future plans are still tentative.
“Western would be a good candidate if the BRT [project] proves to be effective,” said Miles Strong-Austin, Div. 454. “The buses on Western can be extremely packed. There will be times where you can barely move.”
Other routes that will have BRT service are located primarily downtown, in the central Loop.
The J14, or Jump 14, is one of the few bus routes that has lanes reserved for express buses. It runs through the downtown area, specifically by Ogilvie and Union Stations.
Amelia Mroczkowski, Div. 451, used to ride the #147 bus, a route that turns express along certain sections of its route.
“Part of the ride was like any other bus ride, except the buses were substantially larger,” Mroczkowski said. “When it got onto Lakeshore Drive, it would run express until Michigan Avenue.”
It will take approximately three years to design and construct these new lanes.
