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Entries (RSS)The launch of CNT’s new Housing + Transportation Affordability Index website has lead to news stories from Boston to Seattle and from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Austin. On Monday, NPR did a story on what it costs to commute in the D.C. area. CNT talked to individuals across the country who live in compact transit-rich neighborhoods about why they choose to live there. Here’s a sampling of their stories.
Update! The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index has received lots of attention around the country. From bloggers to the Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal to other industry professionals, here’s what people are saying.
CNT’s new Housing + Transportation Affordability Index interactive mapping tool has just launched; the new website - http://htaindex.cnt.org - will enable planners, policy-makers, housing and transit advocates, and individuals to calculate the true costs of housing and transportation in cities across the United States.
Over the course of the past year, CNT and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership have held a series of webinars and workshops aimed at educating transportation advocates, government officials, developers, and citizens on the transportation planning process. These have been part of a larger project whose goal is to improve the quality of public involvement during transportation planning.
As mentioned in the most recent Time Out Chicago!
Maps are not only tools to get you from point A to point B. They can also expose visually an important story about resource patterns and trends of a defined area. They tackle social questions like, “Are Starbucks an indicator of gentrification?” or “Do lower-income communities have less access to fresh produce?” Depicting instances like these help community members and planners better deal with the needs of an area that may not always be clear.
Good news for transit riders and advocates: CTA “Doomsday” has been averted through the Illinois Legislature’s $530 million plan to cover the CTA’s operating expenses. Just what do you need to know about this bill now as it stands right now?
A bill substantially similar to the much lauded SB 572 just passed in the Senate. This bill provides a permanent funding solution for transit in Northeastern Illinois, reforms the governing structure of the region’s transit agencies, and sorts out the CTA pension mess. The additional funds it provides come from a quarter-percent sales tax increase in the region.
The November 4th deadline for when 39 bus routes will be completely eliminated while fares climb to $3 is a mere 2 weeks away, and with no plans to make a move before this first wave of devastating cuts, the Illinois General Assembly continues to wallow in dispute over funding schemes.
Did you know that October is International Walk to School Month? Walking to school is a great way to improve the health of school-children, take care of the environment, and also raise community awareness of pedestrian safety all at the same time. Walking to school is an important part of community sustainability, as it promotes neighborhood involvement, health, care for the environment, and walkability. International Walk to School month is a movement world-wide to promote walking to school. Every year millions of students participate in all 50 states and countries around the world.
By the way, walking isn’t just beneficial for the young ones. Try walking to work, or even hauling it a few bus stops further from your home. Instead of hopping in your car for that trip to the post office, consider ‘hoofing’ it. Maybe even join your children on their walk to school.
CNT is a member of the regional Safe Routes to School task force that coordinates Walk to School Month/Day for Northeastern Illinois. CNT promotes walking by advocating for greater walkability and advising local decision-makers on pedestrian issues. Currently CNT is in the process of publishing a pamphlet that will explain pedestrian-related traffic laws targeted at drivers all over the state.
For more information on International Walk to School month and day, visit http://www.walktoschool.org/about/index.cfm.
The entire Northeastern Illinois region took a hit when the Illinois House failed to pass SB 572, a comprehensive transit funding and reform bill, which would have restructured the governance system for transit in Northeastern Illinois as well as guaranteed a long-term source of funding for transit. The bill would also have prevented CTA and Pace’s “doomsday” scenarios from coming into effect on September 16.
Moving citizens from their homes to their workplaces is a regional dilemma. Because the Governor has failed to present an effective solution to the mass transit crisis, low-income resident have the greater burden of carrying the cost of transit, versus an equitable tax increase to all residents.
All residents benefit from a viable transit system. A sales tax increase to all residents makes sense when reduced transit service and increased fares not only negatively impact tens of thousands of household budgets, but result in adding more vehicles to the region’s clogged roads and contributing to the region’s air pollution.
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Transit Future Update, September 5
Legislative News
Last night the Illinois House failed to pass SB 572, a comprehensive transit funding and reform bill. The bill would have restructured the governance system for transit in Northeastern Illinois as well as guaranteed a long-term source of funding for transit. The bill would have prevented CTA and Pace’s “doomsday” scenarios from coming into effect on September 16.
Speaker of the House Michael Madigan has said that he will continue to try to pass the bill, calling a special session when enough votes can be found. Opposition to the bill comes mostly from suburban Republicans, who want to link any discussion of transit to a capital bill. Madigan and other supporters of the bill reject this approach because the need for transit operating funds is urgent, and the doomsday scenarios would likely go into effect before legislators could come up with a capital bill.
CTA Response
In response to yesterday’s vote, CTA president Ron Huberman issued the following statement:
“Today’s vote is a disappointment. The CTA has worked hard to build a coalition of bi-partisan support along with CTA union support. Without the much needed state funding, the CTA will be forced to move ahead with the proposed fare increases and service cuts in less than two weeks. This is not the result we wanted for our 1.6 million daily CTA riders. We intend to keep working with the legislature to win the necessary support to pass legislation by the 16th.”
Community Response
Community leaders spoke out quickly in support of the bill. Jacky Grimshaw, vice-president for policy of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, asked residents of the Chicago region to pressure their representatives to pass the bill:
“All of us who care about getting around the region must contact our legislators and the governor to stress the urgency of creating a sustainable transit system for our region. As transit riders, drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, we all have a stake in a viable transit system. We cannot accept a do- nothing response from the people we elect to office to solve our problems.”
She also called on lawmakers to consider the long-term effects on the region:
“We need a public investment of transit for the social, economic and environmental future of the region. If we want to be a sustainable and livable region, we must invest in transit. We need long-term solutions not band-aids. We have to invest in our transit infrastructure to efficiently move citizens from the homes to their workplaces. Without a viable transit system, we will be clogging up the roads, increase air pollution and the cost of living in our region.”
We urge you to contact your legislator and express your disappointment in yet again failing to properly fund our mass transit system. Find your legislator at www.civicfootprint.org. Also read more in a press release CNT sent out today.
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The Center for Neighborhood Technology has launched the Transit Future campaign in response to the Chicago region’s transit crisis.
CNT’s mission is to promote the development of more livable and sustainable communities. We strive to recognize, preserve and enhance the value of hidden assets and undervalued resources inherent in our urban environment to make households, neighborhoods and regions more efficient, more economically viable, and more equitable.
We recognize that Chicago’s mass transit system is an undervalued asset and the Transit Future campaign will work to promote a system that benefits all residents of Northeastern Illinois.
If you would like to support the Transit Future Campaign, please make a secure contribution by clicking on the button below.
