Bumper to Bumper
Chicago is a beautiful city with amazing food, sports, and skyline, however it has a major flaw: traffic, specifically, the traffic and the Dan Ryan expressway (part of the I-94) is out of control. This stems from many factors from a densely populated city to poorly maintained roads, but mainly, the traffic is caused by a lack of adequate public transportation and no other commute options for south siders.
When it comes to traffic, Chicago is the very best (that is the best at being the worst). The author in the TimeOut article asserts that Chicago is one of the worst cities for traffic in the nation, and it is only getting worse. Presently, due to traffic congestion, citizens lose an average of $1,920 for productivity. Specifically, the I-94, which includes the Dan Ryan Expressway, is the cause for most of the traffic back ups, and is the worst throughout the city. In 2017, the average daily delay on this stretch of highway was 26 minutes. Traveling to and from work in the city from the southside should not be such a hassle. In the last ten years, Chicago has made no noticeable progress in traffic congestion. As traffic gets worse, more people want to move faster and with many cars on the road, crashes are a frequent occurrence on the Dan Ryan. For example, according to ABC 7 news, there was a crash Saturday morning (10/17/20) where the vehicle crashed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames. As a result of this crash, the Red Line service was delayed too.
Citizens are fed up with the long commutes and accidents that frequent this stretch of highway due to its congestion. Local southside resident John Ronan Dolan stated in a recent conversation I had with him, “It’s awful, I can’t get downtown without sitting in traffic for thirty minutes, and the way home is usually ten times worse. I could run faster than cars move at times”. He is not alone in this thought process. Chicagoans on the southside cannot take it anymore. However, they have no choice. Public transportation such as busses and trains do run, but not very efficiently and are very often delayed or extremely slow, even compared to Dan Ryan traffic. The only option right now is to battle the Dan Ryan and sit in traffic for extended periods of time.
Thankfully, Chicago might be soon headed in the right direction. The author in Cygnus Business Media article explains how Chicago is improving, or planning to improve, its bus and public transportation system. By pledging $5 million to fund the costly infrastructure necessary to improve the public transportation system, particularly in heavily congested areas (mainly on the South side), Chicago is moving a step in the right direction. If this plan is executed and works well, then many of the issues facing this stretch of highway might slowly fade away. One reason, people drive on the Dan Ryan because there are no viable public transportation options. However, if the bus system becomes more efficient, then less people will be on the road, delays will go down, and the dollars lost in productivity per person will certainly go down as well.
The CTA train system also seems to be taking the necessary steps to improve traffic flow and commute time. Jay Koziarz states in a Curbed Chicago article, “The improvements eliminate a “slow zone” and provide customers a smoother ride and more reliable service”. This would directly benefit the southside, and improve thousands, if not millions of people’s lives. Currently, the northside of Chicago has a better public transportation system, despite having roughly the same population as the southside. Their superior transportation system allows for roads and highways up north to be less condensed since people can effectively use the bus and trains. On the contrary, the southside has a is not as affluent as the northside and has a comparatively larger population of lower income individuals and families. As a result, the city does not invest as much funds into the improvement of public transportation in the southside as, in their eyes, it isn’t beneficial to divert extra funds to an “undesirable” part of the city. However, it is unethical to only help those with money and status. If the southside were given adequate resources, then it could be just as thriving as our neighbors to the north.
The benefits of a great public transport system can be seen in Singapore, where it ranks as the second best place for public transport, according to Travel + Leisure. On top of this, Singapore does not struggle when it comes to traffic and the flow of cars. Due to their road maintenance and stellar public transportation, people can effectively travel with and without a car. Granted, there will be some traffic at times due to its 5.6 million population, but when traffic occurs, it is not as big of an inconvenience as it is on the southside of Chicago. Those who do not want to pay the high costs of owning a vehicle do not have to sacrifice much. The public transportation options in Singapore are cheap and easily accessible. Citizens do not have to go broke to travel around their own city. U.S. News and World Report states, “The MRT subway system is extensive, clean, efficient, inexpensive, and easy to understand … Fares are based on the distance you travel and usually range from SG$1 to SG$2.50 (about $0.74 to $1.85)”. Chicago can take notes when it comes to providing adequate public transportation for all. Doing so would allow for Chicago to be more efficient, and most likely drastically cut time spent in traffic per capita.
The traffic on the southside and specifically on the Dan Ryan Expressway is inexcusable. Citizens should not have to wait hours just to get to work. If a better public transportation system was implemented on the southside and throughout the entire city, traffic and congestion would drastically decrease. The city seems to be planning on taking the necessary steps to improving and mending this issue. However, knowing the City of Chicago and how reliable it is, I will not believe the planned improvements until I see them.
Atkinson, Fort. “Chicago launches Bus Priority Zone initiative”. Cygnus Business Media, 1 Apr. 2019,
https://search-proquest-com.libproxy2.usc.edu/docview/2220304113?accountid=14749&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020
“Getting Around Singapore”. U.S. News and World Report,
https://travel.usnews.com/Singapore/Getting_Around/#:~:text=The%20MRT%20subway%20system%20is,(about%20%240.74%20to%20%241.85). Accessed 20 Oct. 2020
Johnson, Marty. “Chicago has a serious traffic problem, according to a new study”. TimeOut, 12 Feb. 2019,
https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news/chicago-has-a-serious-traffic-problem-according-to-a-new-study-021219. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020
Kay Hertz, Daniel. “Beyond the ‘L’”. South Side Weekly, 19 Apr. 2017,
https://southsideweekly.com/beyond-the-l-proposal-south-side-public-transit/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020
Kirsch, Jesse. “Fiery Dan Ryan crash leaves 1 hurt; Red Line service affected”. ABC 7 Eyewitness News, 10 Oct. 2020, https://abc7chicago.com/traffic/1-hurt-in-fiery-dan-ryan-crash;-red-line-delayed/6911749/Accessed 17 Oct. 2020
Koziarz, Jay. “CTA completes track improvements ahead of $2.1B Red and Purple Line modernization”. Curbed Chicago, 26 Apr. 2019, https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/4/26/18518165/construction-lakeview-cta-red-purple-line-modernization. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020
McClure, G.S. “The 15 Countries With the Best Transportation”. Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2017,
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/ground-transportation/best-easiest-countries-for-ground-transportation?slide=9bb14f86-dc82-42fd-9722-b4c4f64eb0e9#9bb14f86-dc82-42fd-9722-b4c4f64eb0e9. Accessed 19 Oct. 2020
