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

There are many transportation challenges in Chicago. Yet the most vexing and glaring is the mass surface transportation. In the 1940s-1950s there was a concerted effort to remove the street cars and replace them with the automobile. This was a time of post WW2 and the expansion of the middle class and their move to the suburbs. This left a wide gap in the transportation options.

The most pressing at this moment to address the CTA shortfalls in service and dependability. It is the working families that make this city tick, and we should be very cognizant of this fact, especially after COVID. We need to add more routes to the underserved areas, especially areas where transportation is a challenge. We need to ensure a safe and dependable transport that our working families can depend on. After all, we depend on them.

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?

We are a family that use all these methods. We live in the Beverly neighborhood and my wife works in Galewood, near Oak Park. She is an outside salesperson who visits clients throughout the city. My son goes to school at Harold Washington and has just turned 19. He has yet to get a driver’s license, as everything he needs is a train ride away. I work from home and rarely need a car, only when I do food rescue on Saturday mornings. My daughter walk to and from school.

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

When I was a teenager and was driving to work, I was in an accident. Not a serious one, but one that was going to make my car incapacitated. My parents thought this was strictly my problem and I would have to pay the consequences. So in order to get to work, I need to figure out the bus schedule. When we were very young we used to take the bus to Ford City, but I was with my older brothers, but when I need a bus to get to work I was like 19 years old. I had to walk to the bus stop, about ¾ miles away. I had to take two buses to get to Oak Forest Hospital and again on the way back. What dawned on me waiting for the bus was that families had to depend on buses as transportation for their livelihood. This made me acutely aware that buses were not the novelty as I had always used them. From this experience I was very conscience of the public transportation experience. From the walk to the bus stop, to the lack of places to sit and wait. From this point on I realized that families depended on public transportation to go grocery shopping and everyday chores. This might seem very naive of me, but I don’t believe I am alone in this outlook. The way Chicago funds transportation, it seems they have a similar outlook. We need to take public transportation more seriously.

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 fully support the program known as Plow The Sidewalks program

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?

This is a very difficult issue to overcome because since the structures already exist. Yet, roads will need repairs and updates will be needed over time. We should take these opportunities to either tunnel or bridge the communities. There have been creative ways such as the 606 and New York’s Highline that use structures for pedestrian use, which brings community together. I am sure there are many other ways to bring the communities, but I will leave this up to the communities themselves. It is important to bring the communities together and atone for these past transgressions.

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

There are so many vehicles on the road today and it plays out in the number of hours commuters spend in their cars and trucks. Chicago does not have HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles) lanes like many other metropolitan areas. There are many vehicles that have only one person, which is extremely inefficient. The transit system does not serve all of the resident in the city. We need to look to mass transit and encourage cycling. We need to initiate a Department of Environment to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions and climate become a priority.

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?

North DuSable Lake Shore Drive proposal promises more green space with people-first focus. Yet with the addition of more lanes, this would actually take away greenspace. Yet what is currently proposed has many good points, we need to be very conscious of encouraging mass transit and cycling to relieve the number of vehicles. The impact along Chicago’s lakefront will be monumental. We need to ensure that we do not leave any of the residents behind in overhauling the drive.

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?

IDOT’s focus is on moving vehicles. We need to sit down with IDOT and CDOT to help recalibrate the priorities that include mass transit and shared transit with bicycles as the most pressing issue.

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?

We need to go back to the bargaining table to ensure that safe street design is a priority.

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?

Potential examples of effective ways to reduce speed are speed cameras, red light cameras, speed humps, curb bumpouts, traffic diverters, chicanes, circles added in the middle of intersections.

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 am in complete support to reducing the size of vehicles. This would help greenhouse gas issues as well as parking issues within the city.

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

Yes, this is an excellent idea, but should not be a tax on pedestrians or cyclists. This should be a cost of using a vehicle in Chicago.

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

I fully support pedestrian-only streets. This could be a complete pedestrian-only street or semi-pedestrian-only street. Streets could also be pedestrian-only during certain days or times of day

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

CTA needs more bus drives and supporting personnel. CTA needs to make an concerted effort in hiring. Sign-on bonus is an incentive that can bring people aboard. Real time tracking for residents feel they can count on buses and trains. Make the buses and trains experience more appealing and safer.

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?

We need to find a funding source. We should consider the TIF surplus to bring the agency back on its feet. We need to enact ways to discourage drivers to drive large personal vehicles into the city, while rewarding those who use mass transit.

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

I would support the establishment of a network of BRT (bus rapid transit) throughout the city of Chicago.

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

Yes