Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

Our community is served by 3 CTA train lines, a Metra line, and numerous CTA and PACE bus routes. We are well versed in the benefits of mass transit. We need a representative who will fight to ensure that our state's investment in mass transit is on par with its importance to our economy, environment, and well being. That means making smart investments in transit that will incentivize people to get out of their cars, onto buses, and onto trains. The right investments in mass transit will reduce congestion, reduce carbon emissions, grow our economy, encourage healthy walk-able communities and a stronger neighborhood feel.

Highways and expressways across the country are crammed with stories of communities failing to sufficiently invest in mass transit. Despite having one of the largest mass transit systems in the country, we cannot fail to adapt our infrastructure and operations to meet the challenges of a growing metropolitan area.

My Plan:

* I will ensure the state plays a larger role in funding mass transit, and see it as a primary investment in the environment, traffic relief, and economic growth. I will fight to level the playing field in the amount of state dollars that go to mass transit as compared to roads.

* I will also fight to repair the crumbling viaducts of the Red and Purple lines in Evanston, Wilmette, and Chicago to ensure the safety of members of our community.

* Reduce traffic congestion, speed service expansions, expand services more efficiently, and provide new incentives for mass transit use, I will work to establish Bus Rapid Transit systems and Bus Only Lanes along roads and highways. I will also explore the use of Bus Rapid Transit to connect downtown Chicago Metra stations with CTA stations to make a mass transit commute simpler for members of our community who work downtown.

* I will work to build High Speed Rail in Illinois to provide members of our community with a most time- and cost-effective option for traveling between Illinois and Midwestern cities. And when I mean high-speed, I mean real high-speed that can compete time-wise with air travel.

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