Bus Zone Expansion Plan Unveiled, But Enforcement Still An Issue
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bus priority zones aim to make CTA buses faster, safer and more user friendly.
They already exist in several places, mostly in the Loop, but with the mayor rolling out a plan to expand, is this a successful project worthy of duplicating?
"If you look outside at this moment, what you're gonna see is total congestion and gridlock," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said while announcing the plan.
Few will argue with that assessment.
But the mayor's just-released $20 million plan to study and expand bus priority zones on these routes opens up the question of how effective they are.
CBS 2's Chris Tye put the question to Lightfoot, asking if the issue of other vehicles using designated bus lanes should be fixed before expanding.
"What your issue speaks to is better enforcement to make sure that we're policing those lanes," Lightfoot said.
CBS 2 decided to find out what that enforcement looks like, observing a bus-only lane on Dearborn off Washington for 30 minutes.
The unofficial experiment found the lane stayed clear for only six of those 30 minutes.
One truck idled for 15 minutes, only to be quickly replaced by a Chicago Police SUV, which stayed there for nine minutes -- and the officer never left the vehicle.
Of the seven buses that came through in this period, none used the bus lane.
This all occurred as two Traffic Management Authority workers were just steps away, but never stepping in.
"We will 'up our game' on doing that, and that's a note to self for Commissioner (Thomas) Carney and CDOT," Lightfoot said. "We've obviously got a lot of cameras that we're using. We're looking at ways in which we can better deploy traffic aides in the downtown area."
Over that same thirty minutes CBS 2 monitored a stretch of Washington where the red paint appears to deter idling. Thirteen buses used the lane in more than 30 minutes, with eight vehicles in the wrong lane.
The plan to expand bus priority zones is in an 18-month planning and design phase.
Depending on how it goes, the rollout of new zones would begin in 2021.