2030 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN ENDSORSED BY STATE, REGIONAL, COUNTY AND LOCAL LEADERS
The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) Policy Committee has endorsed the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan for northeastern Illinois. Also approved by the committee were the FY 2004-09 Transportation Improvement Program and the 2004 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
The CATS Policy Committee, representing state, county and local elected officials, as well as regional planning agencies and transportation providers, approved the long-range plan and capital improvement programs at its October 9 meeting. The committee's endorsement culminates a planning process begun in 2001 by CATS, the metropolitan planning organization for northeastern Illinois.
Continued federal funding for train, bus, highway, bicycle and pedestrian transportation improvements in the six-county area served by CATS depends on having an approved long-range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) to guide the many capital programs that serve the region, according to CATS Executive Director Aristide Biciunas. "CATS wants to thank the public for their on-going interest and participation in the development of the plan," he said. "Knowing your concerns helps us to meet your transportation needs."
The final versions of the approved documents are available by contacting the CATS Communications Division, 312/793-3460, or visiting the CATS website at www.catsmpo.com.
The 2030 RTP outlines how an estimated $61 billion in local, state and federal funds will be spent between 2004 and 2030 to maintain and improve the regional transportation system. It includes 45 major capital projects throughout the region, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties and part of Kendall County.
Of the $61 billion, an estimated $47 billion will be needed to maintain the existing transportation system. The RTP recommends that $5 billion be earmarked for strategic improvement to the region’s "shared-use" system (comprised of arterial, bus, truck, bicycle and pedestrian facilities) and that $9 billion be allocated to expand the region’s highway and passenger rail network.
The plan’s goals are to maintain the integrity of the existing transportation system, to improve transportation system performance, and to employ transportation to sustain the region’s vision and values. To meet these goals, objectives were developed to be carried out during the legislative, taxation, budgeting and regulatory processes; when establishing priorities for capital programs; or during project development and design.
The RTP presents its recommendations in three parts: Regional Transportation Strategies, Strategic Regional Systems and Major Capital Projects.
Regional Transportation Strategies
provide general policy guidance in three areas: Community Strategies, Environmental Strategies and Management and Operation Strategies.Community Strategies offer communities a variety of efficient transportation choices, making transportation improvements that support existing and planned land uses, and encouraging compact land development. Environmental Strategies focus on ways in which transportation facilities can enhance environmental quality, such as promoting connections to greenways or protecting wetlands. Management and Operation strategies emphasize improving system performance and safety and accommodating the movement of commercial goods.
Strategic Regional Systems include guidelines for arterials, transit, bicycle and pedestrian and freight system improvements.The RTP emphasizes a "shared use" linkage of these systems, and recommends funding them as a group. "Shared use" facilities encourage and accommodate safe and efficient use by pedestrians, bicycles, buses, autos and trucks.
"We believe that the region is better served by more fully integrating arterial, transit, bicycle, pedestrian and commercial goods movement," said Kermit Wies, CATS director of plan development.
Specific recommendations include consolidated entrances or frontage roads, limited use of new traffic signals, safe accommodation of pedestrian and bicycle travel, grade separations between roads, railroads and bike/pedestrian trails and new expressway/tollway interchanges to allow commercial goods to move more freely.
Transit system improvements include prioritized traffic signals for buses, additional service on existing bus and rail routes, new service in unserved areas, more express buses, improved coordination at high-demand connection points, and more park-and-ride
facilities to encourage transit use.Bicycle and pedestrian system recommendations encourage better access to transit and providing bike/ped travel information and promotion as part of larger regional strategies.
Freight recommendations include coordinating freight rail operations with commuter rail service, reducing rail/highway crossing conflicts, establishing truck priorities during highway expansion projects, and providing "freight friendly" installations such as truck-only I-Pass lanes and improved intermodal connector facilities.
Major Capital Projects include new road and rail projects, improvement of existing facilities, expansions to manage growth and change and new transportation corridors for the future. (See attachment for complete list of projects.)Among the capital projects are a Chicago Transit Hub that consists of continued planning
for the Circle Line, a strategic link to the city's "L" system; a West Loop Transportation Center under Clinton Street; airport express rapid transit to O'Hare and Midway; a central area bus rapid transit system; and an Ogden Avenue Transit corridor.The plan also includes rapid transit upgrades and improvements on the Green, Yellow, Orange, Blue and Red lines.
Rail commuters will see infrastructure and service upgrades. New stations are on tap for the Heritage Corridor. Extensions are planned for the Rock Island, Southwest Service, Metra Electric, North Central, Milwaukee District West and North, Union Pacific Northwest and West, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe lines.
The plan includes safety and traffic flow improvements and possible reconstruction on many major highways. Lanes will be added to I-90 (Northwest Tollway), I-88 (East-West
Tollway), I-294/94 (Tri-State Tollway), I-80/94, I-57, I-80, I-55, the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway and I-290 (High-Occupancy Vehicle Lanes). In addition, a segment of the existing arterial of IL394 could be converted to freeway design.
The existing system will see expansion to manage growth and change. Major bus transit improvements are proposed for Cermak Road and on strategic routes in DuPage County.
New facilities are proposed to serve major regional employment centers, including Southeast Commuter Rail Service to Will County and the proposed South Suburban Airport, the Elgin-O’Hare and West O’Hare Bypass, and the Suburban Transit Access Route (STAR Line).
Looking into the future, the plan envisions new rail and highway transportation corridors. The rail lines include a Mid-City Transitway serving Chicago’s west and south sides; an Inner Circumferential, a new rail line connecting Midway and O’Hare airports; and extensions of the STAR Line along the EJ&E rail line serving Lake, Cook, DuPage and Will counties.
New highway corridors include Richmond-Waukegan, Central Lake County, North-Central Will County, South Suburban, I-57/IL394 Connector, the Illiana Expressway, and the Prairie Parkway.
Nearly $20 billion in major capital needs were identified during the
Shared Path 2030 planning process. Because only $9 billion is expected to be available, the 2030 RTP also provides guidance for identifying, refining and advancing proposals with the greatest merit. They are divided into categories indicating their state of "readiness":•
"System Recommendations" are major capital proposals that can be implemented in a relatively shorter time frame.
• "Project Recommendations" have consensus on a preferred alternative, but project studies, design, acquisition and construction are expected to require nearly the full 25-year planning horizon to complete.•
"Corridor Recommendations" are major capital projects for which a preferred alternative or multi-modal coordination scheme needs to be developed.The plan underscores its recommendations with the encouragement of "shared use" facilities, "context-sensitive solutions" facilities and "transit-oriented development."
As mentioned, "shared use" facilities encourage and accommodate safe and efficient use by pedestrians, bicycles, buses, autos and trucks.
"Context-sensitive solutions" focus on the effects transportation facilities have on the environment and communities. This means mitigating disruption to community quality and that transportation’s harmony with the values of the area is as important as improved mobility and accessibility goals.
"Transit-oriented development" incorporates the design and development of land around public transit stations and bus stops to encourage people to use mass transportation.
To create the 2030 RTP during the two-year planning process, CATS worked with elected officials, regional and local planning agencies, civic and advocacy groups, transportation implementers and providers, and concerned citizens.
In addition to the 2030 RTP, the Policy Committee endorsed the FY 04-09 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the Air Quality Conformity Analysis for the 2030 RTP and TIP, and the FY2004 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ).
The TIP, northeast Illinois’ agenda of surface transportation projects, lists federally funded projects and regionally significant, non-federally funded projects planned for implementation in the upcoming six-year period. Updated at each meeting of the CATS Work Program Committee, it is a tool to help the transportation community and the general public track the use of local, state and federal transportation funds.
The Air Quality Conformity Analysis analyzes the RTP and TIP together to ensure that they are consistent with state and federal clean air requirements.
The CMAQ is a federally-funded program of surface transportation improvements designed to reduce congestion and related air pollution.
All of the above-mentioned documents are available for public review on the CATS Website,
www.catsmpo.com. They can also be obtained by calling CATS at 312/793-5041.Click here to view a listing of major capital projects.