What do you believe are the greatest transportation challenges facing the City of Chicago right now?

The greatest transportation challenges facing Chicago right now are the reliability of our bike, pedestrian, and public transportation systems. My office routinely hears from residents that they have arrived late to work or an important appointment because of “ghost” trains and buses. Our public transportation is a resource that working Chicagoans rely on daily and we must restore it to pre-pandemic service—and then improve it beyond that. To that end, I have demanded a long-term plan from CTA leadership to address hiring shortages, unclear and unreliable scheduling, and cleanliness. Unfortunately, I do not believe that current CTA leadership is up to addressing these challenges quickly, collaboratively, and transparently.

In addition, we must protect bikers and pedestrians as they travel throughout our city. That is why I was proud to help bring the 47th Ward its first protected bike lane, and why I’m continuing to fight for a protected bike grid citywide. We also need to expand pedestrian safety infrastructure including raised crosswalks, bump outs, and pedestrian refuge islands. During my first term, I approved pedestrian safety improvements next to each of our public elementary schools, and successfully pushed CDOT and IDOT to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will allow us to bring sorely needed pedestrian safety improvements to six intersections along Irving Park Road.

Do you or members of your family regularly use sidewalks, bike, take transit, drive, or a combination of any/all to get around? Does this correspond with your preferred/ideal modes of getting around? If not, what barriers do you and your family face in using your preferred mode of transportation?

Currently my family does not own a car, so we use our bikes (including a large cargo bike) and the CTA to get around—not only to and from school and work, but also for errands and recreation more generally. As a father with two young children, I’m keenly aware of the inadequacies of our existing bike infrastructure for children and families, and believe strongly that our infrastructure should reflect how people get around and not simply the infrastructure priorities of the alderperson in whose ward you happen to be in.

Can you share a personal experience that changed your opinion about a transportation related policy matter?

This past summer, my friend Peter was hit and killed by a car while walking across Irving Park Road in a marked crosswalk. Tragically, this occurred only days after two other children were fatally struck by cars in my community. These preventable tragedies continue to motivate me to help secure permanent infrastructure solutions to protect my community. Recently, I was heartened to announce that CDOT and IDOT had entered into an MOU that will allow us to enhance pedestrian safety infrastructure along Irving Park Road—including at the intersection where Peter was killed. I hope that this modest success will help serve as a catalyst within and outside my community so that common-sense infrastructure improvements can be built proactively.

Chicago is a snowy city, and even one stretch of uncleared sidewalk can make it impassable – particularly for folks with disabilities, the elderly, and parents with young children. What is your position on implementing a universal city-wide sidewalk snow/ice removal service?

I am proud to support the Plow the Sidewalks campaign, which will help ensure that all Chicagoans are able to safely navigate Chicago streets and sidewalks during winter, without regard to whether they have a car at their disposal.

It is now widely recognized and understood that interstate highways were used to physically divide urban communities from one another – often along racial and class lines. How do you propose we overcome these divisions to restore the urban fabric of Chicago and reconnect our segregated neighborhoods?

The first Mayor Daley’s administration championed the building and use of interstate highways in racially and economically divisive ways that continue to negatively affect Chicago. Current City leaders can and must do our part to bring together communities that have been cleaved apart, including by ensuring that previously harmed communities have the resources they need to address lasting harm. We can start by investing in businesses around and even under the existing highways. Other cities have attempted to build pathways to navigate over the highways or further integrate the separated communities through public space or parks, both of which should be explored in Chicago.

The City must also connect those communities that had previously been blocked off from business corridors. That’s why I was proud to vote for the expansion of the Red-Line from 95th Street to 130th Street, opening up a vital transit option to communities previously unable to access it. For similar reasons, I also support reopening the shuttered 63rd Street/Racine Green Line station.

In addition, we must champion policies that help desegregate Chicago’s neighborhoods. I was proud to be the lead aldermanic sponsor for the ordinance that legalized Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) across many parts of Chicago, and I support making the program permanent and citywide. We also must continue building 100% affordable developments, especially near transit stations like the one I recently approved near the Western Ave Brown Line station, to ensure that we can all live in all of Chicago’s communities.

What role do you believe transportation plays in Chicago’s collective greenhouse gas emissions, climate responsibility, and overall environmental health?

Improving bike, pedestrian, and public transportation infrastructure citywide will help Chicagoans use cars less often, thereby reducing our collective carbon footprint. This must be a top goal for all City leaders, which is why one of the first pieces of legislation I passed in City Council declared a climate emergency in Chicago. This declaration can serve as a north star in prioritizing bold climate action moving forward.

Vehicles are the second-largest contributor to greenhouse emissions in Chicago after buildings, so getting Chicagoans to more frequently use the CTA and bikes as well as walk is key to decreasing Chicago’s carbon emissions. To that end, we must promote and increase the safety and reliability of these options citywide.

What is your position on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s current proposals for rebuilding North DuSable Lake Shore Drive? Do you believe the proposed designs will reduce congestion, improve transit access and make pedestrians and cyclists safer? How do you think the current proposals will impact access to the lakefront?

The City should actively explore the Double Flex alternative in the next term. For one, giving buses priority will help improve speed of service, thereby incentivizing more Chicagoans to use this safe and environmentally sustainable mode of transportation. In addition, variable-priced tolling for non-bus automobiles will allow the City to adopt the sort of congestion pricing that can both incentivize increased bus ridership and biking, as well as provide additional, sorely needed revenue for the City.

What barriers do you believe the Illinois Department of Transportation presents to Chicago pursuing better safe streets design standards and transit investments? How do you plan to work with City Council, the Governor, and State legislators to overcome these barriers?

The status quo of a mix of county, state, and local roads in Chicago makes it nearly impossible to create a uniform set of improvements. While I am proud that I was able to work with State Senators Feigenholtz and Simmons and State Representatives Williams and Harris to break the logjam between CDOT and IDOT to bring a suite of pedestrian safety improvements to Irving Park Road, this is not an efficient manner by which to improve infrastructure. I am looking forward to working with our state legislators as well as statewide leadership to better be able to protect our constituents.

The 99-year parking meter deal enacted by former Mayor Richard M. Daley has been a barrier to enacting safe street designs by privatizing large portions of Chicago’s streets. What is your plan to address this?

Mayor Daley’s parking meter deal was a short-sighted disaster on many fronts. Although the City and others have sought to alter or void the deal several times since its inception, they have been unable to materially improve the agreement. Going forward, the City can improve its infrastructure in a way that meets the moment by embracing a comprehensive set of pedestrian, bike, and public transportation improvements whenever it resurfaces an arterial street or undertakes a comparably major construction project. Although it may prove challenging to relocate existing parking meter spaces in order to accommodate these projects, I know from first-hand experience that it isn’t impossible. Simply put, we need aldermanic offices, CDOT, and DPD to prioritize safe street design over ease of compliance with this terrible agreement.

Studies show us that speed and distracted driving kill. What do you think are the most effective ways to reduce driver speed and increase safe driving behavior?

Reducing driver speed and increasing safe driving behavior starts with lower speed limits, particularly on side streets. This issue is deeply personal to me as my community lost several constituents due to speeding and reckless driving last year. We also must invest in pedestrian safety infrastructure that improves pedestrian visibility, particularly curb extensions and raised crosswalks. In my first term as Alderperson, I have approved pedestrian safety improvements near each of our CPS elementary schools, but there’s much more work to do. Data also shows that installing speed feedback signs and rapid rectangular flashing beacons near intersections where crashes happen most frequently help reduce drivers’ speed and increase safety for pedestrians.

What is your position on the City passing ordinances that attempt to regulate the size, weight, and/or safety features of personal and private vehicles?

I support this, as it prevents drivers and car manufacturers from improperly externalizing the cost of overly large vehicles. They have been shown to have a disproportionately negative impact on road conditions without compensating the public for their damages, and are likelier to injure – or worse -pedestrians and bikers when they hit them.

What is your position on establishing a dedicated funding stream for safe and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago?

I support establishing a dedicated funding stream for safe and universal pedestrian and bike infrastructure in Chicago. We must work backward from the infrastructure we want and need.

What is your position on creating select pedestrian-only streets?

In 2020, I was proud to help bring Chicago’s first Shared Street to Leland Ave. During the early months of the pandemic, it provided a critical opportunity for residents to walk, run, and bike safely, including in modest-sized groups. Anecdotally, my office heard that, when the Shared Street was up and running, many drivers avoided it, thereby giving pedestrians and bikers an added sense of safety. In the next term, I welcome the opportunity to work with a variety of community stakeholders to identify individual blocks and larger stretches of street that could be closed off to cars for any stretch of time, to enhance the opportunity for neighbors to congregate safely and enjoyably.

What policy solutions would you implement to ensure CTA buses operate on schedule, frequently, and quickly?

The CTA must accurately display arrival times for buses and trains to ensure that Chicagoans don’t wait for extended periods of time in the open and cold, especially during the Winter. I also support expanding bus-only lanes and bus rapid transit in Chicago. In addition, we must successfully advocate for more federal funding. Currently, the CTA is overly reliant on rider fares, which, as ridership fell during the pandemic, has led into a vicious cycle of decreased ridership, reliability, and investment.

Considering the role the CTA, Metra, and Pace play in providing public transportation within the city, what are your plans to address the impending fiscal cliff – a deficit of over $700 million – that the agencies will be facing in 2025?

As with other financial issues facing the city, it’s clear that the status quo is not sustainable. The CTA is currently overly reliant upon fares for financial solvency. Other cities have used creative ideas, such as dedicating part of the state gas tax indexed to inflation to fund their public transit budget. Another worthwhile idea to explore is a dedicated congestion tax to fund our public transit systems — a revenue source that would have people from across the Chicagoland area support systems that benefit us all, that would incentivize increased use of public transit.

What is your position on establishing a network of Bus Rapid Transit lines in Chicago?

I support it wholeheartedly.

Will you commit to securing the funding necessary to implement CTA's plan to become 100% accessible according to ADA standards? (yes/no)

Yes