Chicago 2100: Demand A World-Class Transit Future
Chicago 2100: Demand A World-Class Transit Future
The Issue
Petition Link: https://www.change.org/Chicago2100
Chicago 2100 Blog | Full Map PDF | Feasibility Information
Chicago’s transit just barely overcame a drastic fiscal cliff, now with the passing of Illinois bill SB2111, we can imagine and shape its future. The Chicago 2100 plan is ambitious, yet incrementally achievable that will improve every neighborhood for every Chicagoan, ensuring the city remains vibrant. Sign this petition now to demand the world-class system our city deserves
We need to be bold and truly aspire for something grand to work towards. Elements of the famous Daniel Burnham plan have continued to shape the city since its inception, why did our city stop dreaming big? The city that invented the skyscraper, reversed a whole river, and hosted 2 World Fairs shouldn’t shun away from optimism. A commitment by the city to the Chicago 2100 plan would help save and grow transit. This is a policy imperative for housing affordability, city fiscal sustainability, climate impact reduction, and of everyone's health & safety.
The city’s fiscal problems are deeper than just transit, with a deep deficit/debt and unsustainable pension obligations. Without increasing the tax base, the fiscal outlook is grim. The city used to be home to more than 1 million more people than today. Most underestimate the downsides of car dependent infrastructure - pollution, traffic death, negative health outcomes, and high infrastructure cost per resident. Our current development prioritizes this low-density car-dependency with uncompetitive transit options. Because of this, the city is traffic-ridden and facing an ever-increasing tax burden. Simply, more people cannot fit in this city without upgrading our infrastructure. With a housing and cost-of-living crisis, Chicago must build! Improving public transportation and promoting transit-oriented-development (TOD) with the Chicago 2100 roadmap is a critical step to alleviate these issues.
Death by car is startlingly common and democratic. It is the #1 leading cause of death in the US for those between 1-44 years old. Over 35,000 funerals a year in the US, because the majority of our cities are designed to accommodate and crowd out any other form of transport. Car crashes cause a significant number of life altering injuries, burdensome medical costs, and lost productivity. To add insult to injury, car congestion directly destroys our air, causing at least 50% of the pollution in cities. Tailpipe emissions are disturbingly carcinogenic, contributing to a higher rate of respiratory illness and death. There are a litany of other underdiscussed negative externalities: elevated noise pollution, storm water excess runoff, microplastic particles, and manufacturing / oil extraction pollutants. Read more about the dangers of car dependency here. It is time to reimagine our transportation network towards a more sustainable, safer network to end these appalling statistics.
Chicago 2100 calls for the city to improve, integrate, and expand the network. Before beginning any expansion, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed: the notorious reputation for safety on trains, dirty stations and vehicles, and unreliable 'ghost' service. With better management and procedures, we can work towards solving these very solvable issues. With miles of slow zones, deferred maintenance, and incongruent scheduling between existing service, it's clear the network as-is needs to be holistically revitalized before expanding. Raising the standards of service to be clean, reliable, and safe are not aspirational. It is a clear lack of accountability and transparency that needs to be fixed. For the sake of transportation that Chicagoans can rely on, the new NITA management needs to build trust that it can execute upgrades to make the system respectable.
Every addition to the network is an opportunity to increase people’s access to jobs, education, and recreation. The whole city deserves world-class rapid transit. As pictured, CTA should pursue extensions to most “L” lines and promote TOD along them. With the creation of a new teal line along western, cross city connections not centered on the loop are convenient. By bringing the pink line to the old Humboldt park alignment, that neighborhood is served and frees up the loop’s capacity. The southside extensions to the green and purple connect currently underserved and underinvested neighborhoods. The brown line connection gives the network easier O’Hare and suburban connections. The orange and yellow extensions connect to popular destination malls and further development opportunities. These alignments help connect every neighborhood more succinctly, without every trip going through the loop. To begin implementation and bridge remaining gaps, bus rapid transit (BRT) with dedicated right-of-way is drastically more cost-effective than rail built along other key corridors. A corridor for Ashland avenue already has a conceptual design, and a larger scale proof of concept beyond the existing and well-utilized loop link improvements. This would put every resident within a 20 minute walk to true rapid transit, drastically reducing car dependency in even the furthest stretches of the city.
Existing Metra trains are underutilized and under connected for city transport, mainly serving commuters. With new infill stations, comprehensive integration, and improved service, these new crosstown Metra “M” lines would better connect the city with additions to existing infrastructure. Chicago 2100 includes a once proposed suburban connector STAR and Mid-Transitway. Critical backbone projects to the Metra integration are the A2 flyover, St Charles Air Flyover, CHIP (Chicago Hub Improvement), Ogilvie/Union connection, and total electrification.
There are so many hurdles to a plan like this, and it’s easy to write this off as overly-ambitious. These challenges exist, but peer cities have demonstrated it is doable today. Construction costs of transit nationwide are out of control and must be addressed to make this feasible. Along with institutional capacity for design, the city must reform its contracting and consulting models to avoid costs like the Red Line Extension at almost $1B per mile! This not only makes expansions difficult to pursue with limited resources, but cripples the budget with debt servicing in the long term. Adopting standardization of station designs and agency governance consolidation under the RTA are great first steps to mitigate costs. Overcoming local opposition to zoning and parking reforms requires a cultural shift to build trust that expanding transit is the only viable future. Chicago must rise to the occasion to continue to thrive as America's 3rd largest city.
With shown feasibility projections and better cost management, this system could be achieved BEFORE 2100 with capital investment of under $1.2B/year. This is a fraction of what the state and federal government invest in Illinois road network, ~$40B/yr. Both serve as important transportation infrastructure, but it is time to invest heavily in transit. Public transit has been underinvested-in for decades, and now is a shining moment to promote and grow the system. A Chicago-specific study by Argonne National Laboratory determined that every dollar spent on transit produces $13 in economic activity and societal benefit. The best way to fuel the region's economy and prepare for needed future growth is to adopt the 2100 Plan.
Nationally, public spending on transportation infrastructure is a crucial investment into local economies. Improving travel efficiency via new road, bridge, and public transit funds helps fuel local business and the regional economy. These are good investments, and provide returns that are compounding overtime. More resources should be allocated to regional public transportation projects, such as the Chicago 2100 plan. A detailed study by the urban institute illustrates investment overtime, illustrating the chronic underinvestment in city public transit systems by both state and federal governments.
"Since IIJA went into effect, our comparisons indicate only a limited increase in additional highway and street infrastructure created overall. We also find suggestive evidence of a net decline in investment in passenger and freight rail transportation over the same period and see no evidence that overall spending on public transit capital investments (e.g., bus and rail) increased, when accounting for rapid increases in labor and materials costs"
Supported and Critical Proposals:
The ambition of Chicago 2100’s transit is grand. It shouldn't stop there, we should inspire equally important projects that improve the city’s transit access and livability, such as:
- High Speed Rail Hub: The CHIP and regional development can affirm Chicago’s place as the vibrant center of a Midwest rail system. Shoutout to HSR Alliance for their advocacy.
- Rail Infrastructure Upgrades: Straightening alignment / removing slow-zones, Removal of All At-Grade intersections, aforementioned Metra flyovers and connections, Track platform screen doors, and upgraded Station amenities. The CREATE program is already in progress working on critical improvements.
-Chicago River Enhancement: An extension of the Chicago riverwalk and integration with the wild mile. The whole river should be a clean, beautiful, and natural draw for commerce and recreation. Shoutout to Friends of the Chicago River for their advocacy.
- Trails and Corridors: Wacker Dr Green Belt, 606 extension, Boulevard Enhancement, Englewood Nature Trail, Kenwood rail to trail conversion, and so many more already identified by CDOT. Shoutout to Active Transportation Alliance for their advocacy
-Zoning for Transit Oriented Development: Alleviate Chicago housing prices with transit-oriented development, parking reform, and make the city friendly to new housing and business development. Shoutout to CNT and Strong Towns Chicago for their advocacy.
-Neighborhood Pedestrianized Areas: New pedestrian-only streets near rapid transit for business, events, and community would be great gathering places in every area of the city. Examples include the recent Logan Square renovation, and temporary Lincoln Square pedestrianization + other improvements have made those segments the center of community affair.
- City-wide Neighborhood Pedestrian/Bike Infrastructure: Curb bump outs, raised crosswalks, lower speed limit, and so much more identified by CDOT. Shoutout to BetterStreetsChicago for their advocacy.
- Rethinking Urban Highways: Redefine the Drive, to create a safer, transit-friendly, and beautiful lakefront. Add caps: Cap the Kennedy and Cap DSLSD in Grant Park
-Previous Concepts of Chicago's Transit Future: https://cnt.org/projects/transit-future
https://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/04/04/cnt-and-active-trans-launch-transit-future-funding-campaign
https://tyznik.com/work/pastfuture#chicago
Other grassroots planning visions: https://www.reddit.com/r/TransitDiagrams/comments/1fws9p9/oc_hypothetical_expansion_of_the_chicago_l/
Please reach out with any constructive suggestions. Shoutout to MetroMapMaker for the web tool, however this inherently limits the design of any suggestions. I would love to improve on this and make it into a formal proposal that also ties into the Central Area plan and CMAP’s 2050 vision!
Q&A:
1) What is the plan and why support it?
The plan is to save transit from the fiscal cliff in the short term (UPDATE: DONE!). Then promote and grow transit with Chicago 2100 being a map for that. It would add first create new rapid transit corridors in the form of Bus Rapid Transit, fully integrate / infill Metra to create a city-wide network, and feasible extensions to CTA lines. It uses mainly existing infrastructure and historic right-of-ways to connect every neighborhood with fast, reliable, and useful service.
The plan is necessary for the future of Chicago. Public transportation accounts for 1/3 of people's daily commute, so drastic cuts would add traffic and grind the city to a halt. It is the third largest city in the country, and the economic engine of Illinois. The state should invest in the system now and show a bright future, as it is clearly critical public infrastructure. That starts with this petition to engage interest in a world-class transit future. Peer cities have this kind of network now.
Especially as the city approaches other fiscal cliffs with its own debt and pension obligations, it needs to grow its tax-base. To do so, people need to be able to get around the city effectively without a car. How can the city fit more residents - who would rely on a car - if it is already the top 5 traffic-ridden city in the world? With transit-oriented development, more residents can start and frequent more businesses, contribute to our great city, and keep Chicago thriving.
2) What is the fiscal cliff? What will happen to the CTA?
UPDATE: Chicago’s transit just barely overcame a drastic fiscal cliff, now with the passing of Illinois bill SB2111. THANK YOU for helping cross this first crucial step
OLD: The state is not filling the current projected 2026 budget gap ~$200M, so service may have to be cut accordingly on CTA, Metra, and Pace routes. The Regional Transit Authority has an article explaining it well (linked). This is my take on the optimistic side of the coin, if funding was strengthened and how it would benefit every Chicagoan. The cuts for the CTA would be catastrophic to say the least (linked)
https://www.rtachicago.org/transit-funding/fiscalcliff
3) Is this realistic? Where would we ever find the money for this? Do we have the political will?
YES! Peer cities have this level of network now. Of course, construction costs in the US for large projects have ballooned, so that must be addressed. In the richest nation in history, we can find the money to invest in our people, our cities, the lifeblood of our economy. That support needs to come from the state and federal governments, as it is an investment in infrastructure that returns dividends. The system needs to be less restricted by fare revenue input, and should receive levels of funding current road infrastructure does. Chicago and the collar counties give per-capita more in taxes than they receive compared to other IL areas, justifying it as a worthy place to invest.
Tax Increment Financing can be used for project funding. As shown with other projects, increased value of land due to rapid transit access can offset capital costs and can help alleviate any funding issues. The current model within the city keeps added value from property appreciation within the private landholders; which is dependent on its access to the rapid transit built within its vicinity.
Politically, Chicago and Illinois do not have the best reputation. That should not write off investments that are properly managed. With such divisiveness nationally, it would be important for the city to come together and have a clear optimistic vision for the future. Constituents from all parts of Chicagoland should support better public transportation, even if you do not use it. Others would, lessening traffic, increasing economic output, and meet stated sustainability goals.
Full Feasibility Study is linked at the top, showing the viability of these projects with a meager investment compared to the allotted road improvement funds
4) What is on-going to make this reality?
Currently, the Red Purple Modernization completed a phase on the northside to improve service speed and station quality. The next phase is the red line extension to 130th. Other station modernization projects are ongoing.
UPDATE: The CTA has agreed to begin study on several identified corridors for Bus Rapid Transit. A Huge WIN!!!
There is no firm commitment to any other large capital projects that would grow the network. The new NITA needs to adopt a long-term framework, with backing from the city and state.
5) Why 2100? That's so far away I might not see it...
We need to dream big, and my goal is to show that in a future after many years of successive investment and development. The projects should be built iteratively, starting with critical connections, Metra enabling projects, and the BRT system, to increase mobility for the best cost. Then work to find large capital sums for larger line extensions, and then new line development.
A common sentiment in construction is that what we build today isn't for those of us in maturity today, it's for the next generation. Do what's best for the future of Chicago and the future Chicagoans.
6) Could this be more flushed out? Are these plans final?
Specific alignments should be more flushed out, but the general layout is what needs to conveyed. More neighborhoods connected by true rapid transit needs to occur, and the rest is coordinated with detailed engineering work. No plans or lines are final as part of this plan, it is open to change and constructive criticism.
I took inspiration from several previous proposals online, and I think they deserve recognition too. A coalition of likeminded, transit-oriented groups and individuals should come together and put forward a unified plan. I hope Chicago 2100 is it, but want to hear community feedback
7) Ridership has been declining since before Covid and has not recovered to pre-Covid levels, why does a declining system deserve investment?
Yes, ridership has been declining since before Covid for several years, and even in 2025 has not returned to pre-covid levels. This is the reality of our current system, and it must be addressed before expansion. It has been steadily increasing since covid but still below prepandemic levels. Richard Day from streetsblog wrote a great article about this, and so did Ravi Mishra at Illinois Policy. There are several reasons for this decline:
- Commuter-focused system in a region that is more decentralized
- Poor service quality and perception of safety/cleanliness
- Decades of underinvestment
- Growth of rideshare and micro mobility
- CTA Budget Inefficiencies
- Subsidized Car Travel
The current system is commuter-focused, so as the region and greater economy has adapted, less people commute to the loop for work. Work from home has not helped, and suburb-suburb trips are more common for work. With a system that makes it difficult to traverse between neighborhoods, people will find more convenient transportation with their car, or with rideshare and micromobility. Without a well-connected world class network, people only find the current L useful to get to the loop. Therefore, as the demand for loop trips declines, so does ridership. CMAP performed a study on transit trends and concluded this is a critical ridership contributor. The system should look to adopt rapid transit aligned with Chicago 2100 to facilitate more convenient and reliable regional service.
Riders feel like the system has gotten worse, and it has. Track slow zones now account for almost ~25% of mileage, a criminally record-setting high amount that renders the system slow and ineffective. As this increases, ridership decreases. The system has gained notoriety for uncleanliness and safety concerns. Another CMAP study illustrated this decline in quality as well. Other peer cities / regions have better success, from big factors like social safety nets for individuals, to smaller things like available public restrooms.
The network has poorly managed its finances, and with the new bill passing, the governance structure of NITA should focus on budget constraints. When the CTA uses its budget to pay for more overtime than keeping service reliable, we end up with a fiscal cliff of obligations and undermaintained infrastructure.
The system, just like cars, is subsidized by the tax payer. This is a worthy investment in the economic engine of the region. When people can get around faster and easier, they will patronize more businesses and have more time for work and quality of life. Our road network deserves investment too, but currently owning a car is more subsidized with cheap gasoline, free roads and residential street parking, and unmitigated emissions / pollution. This is especially relevant for those who do not own a car and rely heavily on public transportation. The imperative is not to raise costs of owning a car, rather to increase and match that level of investment into transit. Compound overtime the investment in cars and underinvestment in transit and you're left with our system today, where roads are wide and extensive, and transit is decaying.
The city does need to grow, not just out, but up, in tandem with this plan via transit-oriented development. Would grow its tax base to support a world-class system and alleviate the already existing financial woes
8) What is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)?
BRT is a huge part of this plan because it fits well with Chicago's establish grid and main arterials. It can be many things, but there are existing plans to convert Ashland to BRT. Here, it would be center running bus-only lanes, include a paid entrance for boarding speed, traffic signal priority, ~1/2 mile stop spacing. All bus routes can use lane if passing through. Overall it improves the whole system and connectivity. Side benefit, emergency vehicles can use the lanes and would have better response times.
https://www.transitchicago.com/ashlandbrt/
9) What about bike and pedestrian infrastructure?
The sole focus of this proposal is public transportation. I heavily believe the future will also include better micro-mobility and pedestrian connectivity. Things like the 606 and lakefront trail have completely changed areas for the better, giving access to recreation and transportation. Similar infrastructure should be advocated for.
10) I don't want this ruining my neighborhood
The goal of increasing transit and aligning the city with the future of mass transit is to make every neighborhood better: more vibrant, more accessible, more sustainable. In addition, the plan would prioritize minimization of housing demolition. Proposed line extensions can run elevated above streets or alleys to avoid property demo.
A neighborhood would become more accessible to all Chicagoans with more rapid transit and connectivity. People should not be priced out of their homes, yet it would be hard to imagine Chicago today without many of the lines currently built, which faced the same opposition. Neighborhoods and areas change, often for the better. Stagnation is death in this economy
11) I want more connections! What about ___?
Other extensions have been considered, but for various reasons not included. In my mind, the more transit the better, but the plan heavily relies on existing infrastructure and previous right-of-ways. If the people have the will for one of these other extensions, I am all for it.
- Historic Westchester extension of blue
- Yellow along red as express to 130th
- Millennium Silver thru Streeterville to Lincoln park
- Express on blue/orange for O'Hare/Midway connection
- Outer circle via North / Cermak and along Ashland
- BRT on Stony Island, other main arterials
1,195
The Issue
Petition Link: https://www.change.org/Chicago2100
Chicago 2100 Blog | Full Map PDF | Feasibility Information
Chicago’s transit just barely overcame a drastic fiscal cliff, now with the passing of Illinois bill SB2111, we can imagine and shape its future. The Chicago 2100 plan is ambitious, yet incrementally achievable that will improve every neighborhood for every Chicagoan, ensuring the city remains vibrant. Sign this petition now to demand the world-class system our city deserves
We need to be bold and truly aspire for something grand to work towards. Elements of the famous Daniel Burnham plan have continued to shape the city since its inception, why did our city stop dreaming big? The city that invented the skyscraper, reversed a whole river, and hosted 2 World Fairs shouldn’t shun away from optimism. A commitment by the city to the Chicago 2100 plan would help save and grow transit. This is a policy imperative for housing affordability, city fiscal sustainability, climate impact reduction, and of everyone's health & safety.
The city’s fiscal problems are deeper than just transit, with a deep deficit/debt and unsustainable pension obligations. Without increasing the tax base, the fiscal outlook is grim. The city used to be home to more than 1 million more people than today. Most underestimate the downsides of car dependent infrastructure - pollution, traffic death, negative health outcomes, and high infrastructure cost per resident. Our current development prioritizes this low-density car-dependency with uncompetitive transit options. Because of this, the city is traffic-ridden and facing an ever-increasing tax burden. Simply, more people cannot fit in this city without upgrading our infrastructure. With a housing and cost-of-living crisis, Chicago must build! Improving public transportation and promoting transit-oriented-development (TOD) with the Chicago 2100 roadmap is a critical step to alleviate these issues.
Death by car is startlingly common and democratic. It is the #1 leading cause of death in the US for those between 1-44 years old. Over 35,000 funerals a year in the US, because the majority of our cities are designed to accommodate and crowd out any other form of transport. Car crashes cause a significant number of life altering injuries, burdensome medical costs, and lost productivity. To add insult to injury, car congestion directly destroys our air, causing at least 50% of the pollution in cities. Tailpipe emissions are disturbingly carcinogenic, contributing to a higher rate of respiratory illness and death. There are a litany of other underdiscussed negative externalities: elevated noise pollution, storm water excess runoff, microplastic particles, and manufacturing / oil extraction pollutants. Read more about the dangers of car dependency here. It is time to reimagine our transportation network towards a more sustainable, safer network to end these appalling statistics.
Chicago 2100 calls for the city to improve, integrate, and expand the network. Before beginning any expansion, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed: the notorious reputation for safety on trains, dirty stations and vehicles, and unreliable 'ghost' service. With better management and procedures, we can work towards solving these very solvable issues. With miles of slow zones, deferred maintenance, and incongruent scheduling between existing service, it's clear the network as-is needs to be holistically revitalized before expanding. Raising the standards of service to be clean, reliable, and safe are not aspirational. It is a clear lack of accountability and transparency that needs to be fixed. For the sake of transportation that Chicagoans can rely on, the new NITA management needs to build trust that it can execute upgrades to make the system respectable.
Every addition to the network is an opportunity to increase people’s access to jobs, education, and recreation. The whole city deserves world-class rapid transit. As pictured, CTA should pursue extensions to most “L” lines and promote TOD along them. With the creation of a new teal line along western, cross city connections not centered on the loop are convenient. By bringing the pink line to the old Humboldt park alignment, that neighborhood is served and frees up the loop’s capacity. The southside extensions to the green and purple connect currently underserved and underinvested neighborhoods. The brown line connection gives the network easier O’Hare and suburban connections. The orange and yellow extensions connect to popular destination malls and further development opportunities. These alignments help connect every neighborhood more succinctly, without every trip going through the loop. To begin implementation and bridge remaining gaps, bus rapid transit (BRT) with dedicated right-of-way is drastically more cost-effective than rail built along other key corridors. A corridor for Ashland avenue already has a conceptual design, and a larger scale proof of concept beyond the existing and well-utilized loop link improvements. This would put every resident within a 20 minute walk to true rapid transit, drastically reducing car dependency in even the furthest stretches of the city.
Existing Metra trains are underutilized and under connected for city transport, mainly serving commuters. With new infill stations, comprehensive integration, and improved service, these new crosstown Metra “M” lines would better connect the city with additions to existing infrastructure. Chicago 2100 includes a once proposed suburban connector STAR and Mid-Transitway. Critical backbone projects to the Metra integration are the A2 flyover, St Charles Air Flyover, CHIP (Chicago Hub Improvement), Ogilvie/Union connection, and total electrification.
There are so many hurdles to a plan like this, and it’s easy to write this off as overly-ambitious. These challenges exist, but peer cities have demonstrated it is doable today. Construction costs of transit nationwide are out of control and must be addressed to make this feasible. Along with institutional capacity for design, the city must reform its contracting and consulting models to avoid costs like the Red Line Extension at almost $1B per mile! This not only makes expansions difficult to pursue with limited resources, but cripples the budget with debt servicing in the long term. Adopting standardization of station designs and agency governance consolidation under the RTA are great first steps to mitigate costs. Overcoming local opposition to zoning and parking reforms requires a cultural shift to build trust that expanding transit is the only viable future. Chicago must rise to the occasion to continue to thrive as America's 3rd largest city.
With shown feasibility projections and better cost management, this system could be achieved BEFORE 2100 with capital investment of under $1.2B/year. This is a fraction of what the state and federal government invest in Illinois road network, ~$40B/yr. Both serve as important transportation infrastructure, but it is time to invest heavily in transit. Public transit has been underinvested-in for decades, and now is a shining moment to promote and grow the system. A Chicago-specific study by Argonne National Laboratory determined that every dollar spent on transit produces $13 in economic activity and societal benefit. The best way to fuel the region's economy and prepare for needed future growth is to adopt the 2100 Plan.
Nationally, public spending on transportation infrastructure is a crucial investment into local economies. Improving travel efficiency via new road, bridge, and public transit funds helps fuel local business and the regional economy. These are good investments, and provide returns that are compounding overtime. More resources should be allocated to regional public transportation projects, such as the Chicago 2100 plan. A detailed study by the urban institute illustrates investment overtime, illustrating the chronic underinvestment in city public transit systems by both state and federal governments.
"Since IIJA went into effect, our comparisons indicate only a limited increase in additional highway and street infrastructure created overall. We also find suggestive evidence of a net decline in investment in passenger and freight rail transportation over the same period and see no evidence that overall spending on public transit capital investments (e.g., bus and rail) increased, when accounting for rapid increases in labor and materials costs"
Supported and Critical Proposals:
The ambition of Chicago 2100’s transit is grand. It shouldn't stop there, we should inspire equally important projects that improve the city’s transit access and livability, such as:
- High Speed Rail Hub: The CHIP and regional development can affirm Chicago’s place as the vibrant center of a Midwest rail system. Shoutout to HSR Alliance for their advocacy.
- Rail Infrastructure Upgrades: Straightening alignment / removing slow-zones, Removal of All At-Grade intersections, aforementioned Metra flyovers and connections, Track platform screen doors, and upgraded Station amenities. The CREATE program is already in progress working on critical improvements.
-Chicago River Enhancement: An extension of the Chicago riverwalk and integration with the wild mile. The whole river should be a clean, beautiful, and natural draw for commerce and recreation. Shoutout to Friends of the Chicago River for their advocacy.
- Trails and Corridors: Wacker Dr Green Belt, 606 extension, Boulevard Enhancement, Englewood Nature Trail, Kenwood rail to trail conversion, and so many more already identified by CDOT. Shoutout to Active Transportation Alliance for their advocacy
-Zoning for Transit Oriented Development: Alleviate Chicago housing prices with transit-oriented development, parking reform, and make the city friendly to new housing and business development. Shoutout to CNT and Strong Towns Chicago for their advocacy.
-Neighborhood Pedestrianized Areas: New pedestrian-only streets near rapid transit for business, events, and community would be great gathering places in every area of the city. Examples include the recent Logan Square renovation, and temporary Lincoln Square pedestrianization + other improvements have made those segments the center of community affair.
- City-wide Neighborhood Pedestrian/Bike Infrastructure: Curb bump outs, raised crosswalks, lower speed limit, and so much more identified by CDOT. Shoutout to BetterStreetsChicago for their advocacy.
- Rethinking Urban Highways: Redefine the Drive, to create a safer, transit-friendly, and beautiful lakefront. Add caps: Cap the Kennedy and Cap DSLSD in Grant Park
-Previous Concepts of Chicago's Transit Future: https://cnt.org/projects/transit-future
https://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/04/04/cnt-and-active-trans-launch-transit-future-funding-campaign
https://tyznik.com/work/pastfuture#chicago
Other grassroots planning visions: https://www.reddit.com/r/TransitDiagrams/comments/1fws9p9/oc_hypothetical_expansion_of_the_chicago_l/
Please reach out with any constructive suggestions. Shoutout to MetroMapMaker for the web tool, however this inherently limits the design of any suggestions. I would love to improve on this and make it into a formal proposal that also ties into the Central Area plan and CMAP’s 2050 vision!
Q&A:
1) What is the plan and why support it?
The plan is to save transit from the fiscal cliff in the short term (UPDATE: DONE!). Then promote and grow transit with Chicago 2100 being a map for that. It would add first create new rapid transit corridors in the form of Bus Rapid Transit, fully integrate / infill Metra to create a city-wide network, and feasible extensions to CTA lines. It uses mainly existing infrastructure and historic right-of-ways to connect every neighborhood with fast, reliable, and useful service.
The plan is necessary for the future of Chicago. Public transportation accounts for 1/3 of people's daily commute, so drastic cuts would add traffic and grind the city to a halt. It is the third largest city in the country, and the economic engine of Illinois. The state should invest in the system now and show a bright future, as it is clearly critical public infrastructure. That starts with this petition to engage interest in a world-class transit future. Peer cities have this kind of network now.
Especially as the city approaches other fiscal cliffs with its own debt and pension obligations, it needs to grow its tax-base. To do so, people need to be able to get around the city effectively without a car. How can the city fit more residents - who would rely on a car - if it is already the top 5 traffic-ridden city in the world? With transit-oriented development, more residents can start and frequent more businesses, contribute to our great city, and keep Chicago thriving.
2) What is the fiscal cliff? What will happen to the CTA?
UPDATE: Chicago’s transit just barely overcame a drastic fiscal cliff, now with the passing of Illinois bill SB2111. THANK YOU for helping cross this first crucial step
OLD: The state is not filling the current projected 2026 budget gap ~$200M, so service may have to be cut accordingly on CTA, Metra, and Pace routes. The Regional Transit Authority has an article explaining it well (linked). This is my take on the optimistic side of the coin, if funding was strengthened and how it would benefit every Chicagoan. The cuts for the CTA would be catastrophic to say the least (linked)
https://www.rtachicago.org/transit-funding/fiscalcliff
3) Is this realistic? Where would we ever find the money for this? Do we have the political will?
YES! Peer cities have this level of network now. Of course, construction costs in the US for large projects have ballooned, so that must be addressed. In the richest nation in history, we can find the money to invest in our people, our cities, the lifeblood of our economy. That support needs to come from the state and federal governments, as it is an investment in infrastructure that returns dividends. The system needs to be less restricted by fare revenue input, and should receive levels of funding current road infrastructure does. Chicago and the collar counties give per-capita more in taxes than they receive compared to other IL areas, justifying it as a worthy place to invest.
Tax Increment Financing can be used for project funding. As shown with other projects, increased value of land due to rapid transit access can offset capital costs and can help alleviate any funding issues. The current model within the city keeps added value from property appreciation within the private landholders; which is dependent on its access to the rapid transit built within its vicinity.
Politically, Chicago and Illinois do not have the best reputation. That should not write off investments that are properly managed. With such divisiveness nationally, it would be important for the city to come together and have a clear optimistic vision for the future. Constituents from all parts of Chicagoland should support better public transportation, even if you do not use it. Others would, lessening traffic, increasing economic output, and meet stated sustainability goals.
Full Feasibility Study is linked at the top, showing the viability of these projects with a meager investment compared to the allotted road improvement funds
4) What is on-going to make this reality?
Currently, the Red Purple Modernization completed a phase on the northside to improve service speed and station quality. The next phase is the red line extension to 130th. Other station modernization projects are ongoing.
UPDATE: The CTA has agreed to begin study on several identified corridors for Bus Rapid Transit. A Huge WIN!!!
There is no firm commitment to any other large capital projects that would grow the network. The new NITA needs to adopt a long-term framework, with backing from the city and state.
5) Why 2100? That's so far away I might not see it...
We need to dream big, and my goal is to show that in a future after many years of successive investment and development. The projects should be built iteratively, starting with critical connections, Metra enabling projects, and the BRT system, to increase mobility for the best cost. Then work to find large capital sums for larger line extensions, and then new line development.
A common sentiment in construction is that what we build today isn't for those of us in maturity today, it's for the next generation. Do what's best for the future of Chicago and the future Chicagoans.
6) Could this be more flushed out? Are these plans final?
Specific alignments should be more flushed out, but the general layout is what needs to conveyed. More neighborhoods connected by true rapid transit needs to occur, and the rest is coordinated with detailed engineering work. No plans or lines are final as part of this plan, it is open to change and constructive criticism.
I took inspiration from several previous proposals online, and I think they deserve recognition too. A coalition of likeminded, transit-oriented groups and individuals should come together and put forward a unified plan. I hope Chicago 2100 is it, but want to hear community feedback
7) Ridership has been declining since before Covid and has not recovered to pre-Covid levels, why does a declining system deserve investment?
Yes, ridership has been declining since before Covid for several years, and even in 2025 has not returned to pre-covid levels. This is the reality of our current system, and it must be addressed before expansion. It has been steadily increasing since covid but still below prepandemic levels. Richard Day from streetsblog wrote a great article about this, and so did Ravi Mishra at Illinois Policy. There are several reasons for this decline:
- Commuter-focused system in a region that is more decentralized
- Poor service quality and perception of safety/cleanliness
- Decades of underinvestment
- Growth of rideshare and micro mobility
- CTA Budget Inefficiencies
- Subsidized Car Travel
The current system is commuter-focused, so as the region and greater economy has adapted, less people commute to the loop for work. Work from home has not helped, and suburb-suburb trips are more common for work. With a system that makes it difficult to traverse between neighborhoods, people will find more convenient transportation with their car, or with rideshare and micromobility. Without a well-connected world class network, people only find the current L useful to get to the loop. Therefore, as the demand for loop trips declines, so does ridership. CMAP performed a study on transit trends and concluded this is a critical ridership contributor. The system should look to adopt rapid transit aligned with Chicago 2100 to facilitate more convenient and reliable regional service.
Riders feel like the system has gotten worse, and it has. Track slow zones now account for almost ~25% of mileage, a criminally record-setting high amount that renders the system slow and ineffective. As this increases, ridership decreases. The system has gained notoriety for uncleanliness and safety concerns. Another CMAP study illustrated this decline in quality as well. Other peer cities / regions have better success, from big factors like social safety nets for individuals, to smaller things like available public restrooms.
The network has poorly managed its finances, and with the new bill passing, the governance structure of NITA should focus on budget constraints. When the CTA uses its budget to pay for more overtime than keeping service reliable, we end up with a fiscal cliff of obligations and undermaintained infrastructure.
The system, just like cars, is subsidized by the tax payer. This is a worthy investment in the economic engine of the region. When people can get around faster and easier, they will patronize more businesses and have more time for work and quality of life. Our road network deserves investment too, but currently owning a car is more subsidized with cheap gasoline, free roads and residential street parking, and unmitigated emissions / pollution. This is especially relevant for those who do not own a car and rely heavily on public transportation. The imperative is not to raise costs of owning a car, rather to increase and match that level of investment into transit. Compound overtime the investment in cars and underinvestment in transit and you're left with our system today, where roads are wide and extensive, and transit is decaying.
The city does need to grow, not just out, but up, in tandem with this plan via transit-oriented development. Would grow its tax base to support a world-class system and alleviate the already existing financial woes
8) What is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)?
BRT is a huge part of this plan because it fits well with Chicago's establish grid and main arterials. It can be many things, but there are existing plans to convert Ashland to BRT. Here, it would be center running bus-only lanes, include a paid entrance for boarding speed, traffic signal priority, ~1/2 mile stop spacing. All bus routes can use lane if passing through. Overall it improves the whole system and connectivity. Side benefit, emergency vehicles can use the lanes and would have better response times.
https://www.transitchicago.com/ashlandbrt/
9) What about bike and pedestrian infrastructure?
The sole focus of this proposal is public transportation. I heavily believe the future will also include better micro-mobility and pedestrian connectivity. Things like the 606 and lakefront trail have completely changed areas for the better, giving access to recreation and transportation. Similar infrastructure should be advocated for.
10) I don't want this ruining my neighborhood
The goal of increasing transit and aligning the city with the future of mass transit is to make every neighborhood better: more vibrant, more accessible, more sustainable. In addition, the plan would prioritize minimization of housing demolition. Proposed line extensions can run elevated above streets or alleys to avoid property demo.
A neighborhood would become more accessible to all Chicagoans with more rapid transit and connectivity. People should not be priced out of their homes, yet it would be hard to imagine Chicago today without many of the lines currently built, which faced the same opposition. Neighborhoods and areas change, often for the better. Stagnation is death in this economy
11) I want more connections! What about ___?
Other extensions have been considered, but for various reasons not included. In my mind, the more transit the better, but the plan heavily relies on existing infrastructure and previous right-of-ways. If the people have the will for one of these other extensions, I am all for it.
- Historic Westchester extension of blue
- Yellow along red as express to 130th
- Millennium Silver thru Streeterville to Lincoln park
- Express on blue/orange for O'Hare/Midway connection
- Outer circle via North / Cermak and along Ashland
- BRT on Stony Island, other main arterials
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Petition created on October 28, 2025