Editorial: Public transit hope on the horizon - for some
Thursday was Dump the Pump Day across the country, a day in which the American Public Transportation Association and public transportation systems encourage people to leave their car keys at home and take a train or bus to work to save money.
Sounds great in theory.
Our resident transportation expert, Marni Pyke, as is her tradition, did just that and took what she figured was the most direct public transportation route from her home to work.
So she left her home in Downers Grove, boarded a Metra BNSF train at the Downers Grove station, took it to Union Station in Chicago, walked to a CTA Blue Line station and took the train west to Rosemont, transferring from there to a Pace bus, which dropped her off a block from her office in Arlington Heights.
That took her more than 2½ hours, whereas it normally takes her 30 to 40 minutes by car.
Her commute back home took a more grueling 2:57 minutes.
Is commuting by public transportation this problematic for all suburbanites? No. Those who travel east or west to get to work usually have options. But if you live north or south of your place of business and you don't have access to a car, you're really behind the 8-ball.
Money for road improvements always comes easier than money for transit expansion, so don't count on big transit improvements along the Tri-State corridor anytime soon.
But there is a spot of good news on the horizon along the Jane Addams.
Pyke this week wrote about the glass-paneled bridge over the tollway just south of Barrington Road whose purpose seems to mystify many.
It will carry pedestrians to free parking lots as well as express buses on both sides of the tollway.
The tollway is working with Pace, the suburban bus system, on the project, which is expected to be operational late this year.
Between the two park-and-ride lots there will be 170 parking spaces.
The buses will take you from there to downtown Elgin, the CTA Blue Line station in Rosemont and the Northwest Transportation Center, which is tucked behind the Streets of Woodfield, in Schaumburg.
There will be stops on either side of the tollway where people can get on and off the buses without exiting the tollway.
The express buses will start using the new broad shoulders of the Jane Addams when traffic starts to creep at 35 mph.
Both improvements ought to speed things along nicely.
For as long as the I-90 reconstruction project has taken, it's been a boon for commuters. And these transit options will help those who don't want to - or can't - drive to work.
At least for those traveling east and west.