Cook DuPage Corridor
December 2005
Prepared by the Regional Transportation Authority
Travel Market Analysis
Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
Final Report
Prepared by the Regional Transportation Authority with Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
December 2005
Regional Transportation Authority 175 W. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1550 Chicago, IL 60604 312.913.3200 www.rtachicago.org
This document was prepared by the Regional Transportation Authority with the assistance of Cambridge Systematics, Inc. This document was funded by the Regional Transportation Authority and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Authority or IDOT. Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...... ES-1
1.0 Introduction ...... 1-1 1.1 Study Background ...... 1-1 1.2 Study Objectives ...... 1-3 1.3 Structure of the Report...... 1-5
2.0 A Mobility Framework ...... 2-1 2.1 Congestion, Mobility, and Accessibility...... 2-1 2.2 A User Perspective To Travel Market Evaluation...... 2-2 2.3 The Dynamic Nature of Mobility ...... 2-3
3.0 Existing and Future Conditions ...... 3-1 3.1 Corridor Study Area...... 3-1 3.2 Corridor Population and Employment Trends ...... 3-2 3.3 Corridor Travel Patterns and Trends...... 3-8 3.4 Existing Transportation Network...... 3-12 3.5 Travel Trends and Regional Projections...... 3-14 3.6 General Observations...... 3-17
4.0 Major Corridor Travel Markets...... 4-1 4.1 Overview of Corridor Travel ...... 4-2 4.2 Identifying Corridor Travel Markets ...... 4-6 4.3 Overview of the Nine Cook-DuPage Travel Markets ...... 4-9
5.0 Market Evaluation ...... 5-1 5.1 Traditional Commute (Travel Market 1)...... 5-2 5.2 Reverse Commute (Travel Market 2)...... 5-21 5.3 Central DuPage (Travel Market 3) ...... 5-42 5.4 South Central Cook (Travel Market 4)...... 5-51 5.5 East Central DuPage (Travel Market 5)...... 5-59 5.6 Far West DuPage (Travel Market 6)...... 5-73 5.7 North DuPage (Travel Market 7)...... 5-82 5.8 North Central Cook (Travel Market 8) ...... 5-95 5.9 West Central Cook (Travel Market 9)...... 5-107
i Table of Contents, continued
6.0 Corridor Mobility Issues...... 6-1 6.1 Market Characteristics ...... 6-2 6.2 Key Transportation System Elements...... 6-5 6.3 Corridor Mobility Assessment ...... 6-7 6.4 Potential Corridor Mobility Improvements...... 6-11 6.5 Proposed Major Capital Projects in the 2030 RTP...... 6-12 6.6 Conclusion ...... 6-15
Appendix A ...... A-1
ii Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
List of Tables
3.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Demographic Profile ...... 3-4 4.1 Work Travel Flow Patterns Between Groups of Districts...... 4-2 4.2 Work Travel Flows Within the Cook-DuPage Corridor and Between the Corridor and Chicago...... 4-4 4.3 District to District Work Travel Flows...... 4-7 5.1 Work Trips in the Traditional Commute Travel Market...... 5-5 5.2 Work Trips in the Reverse Commute Travel Market ...... 5-24 5.3 Work Trips in the Central DuPage Travel Market...... 5-42 5.4 Work Trips in the South Central Cook Travel Market ...... 5-51 5.5 Northbound Work Trips in the East Central DuPage Travel Market ...... 5-61 5.6 Southbound Work Trips in the East Central DuPage Travel Market...... 5-61 5.7 Work Trips in the Far West DuPage Travel Market ...... 5-75 5.8 Work Trips in the North DuPage Travel Market ...... 5-83 5.9 Work Trips in the North Central Cook Travel Market...... 5-97 5.10 Northbound Work Trips in the West Central Cook Travel Market ...... 5-107 5.11 Southbound Work Trips in the West Central Cook Travel Market ...... 5-109 6.1 Market Characteristics of the Cook-DuPage Travel Markets...... 6-3 6.2 Key Transportation System Elements...... 6-6 6.3 Corridor Mobility Summary ...... 6-8 6.4 Potential Impacts of Projects in the Regional Transportation Plan Corridor Travel Markets...... 6-13
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Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
List of Figures
1.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Study Program ...... 1-4 3.1 The Cook-DuPage Corridor Analysis Districts ...... 3-2 3.2 Population by Census Analysis Zone ...... 3-3 3.3 Distribution of Zero-Vehicle Households in the Cook-DuPage Corridor...... 3-5 3.4 Forecasted Change in Population, 2000-2030 ...... 3-6 3.5 Employment by Census Analysis Zone...... 3-7 3.6 Corridor Land Use Patterns, 1995 ...... 3-7 3.7 Forecasted Change in Employment, 2000-2030...... 3-9 3.8 Distribution of Traditional Commute Trips Origins ...... 3-10 3.9 Distribution of Reverse Commute Trips Origins ...... 3-11 3.10 Major Transportation Facilities Serving the Corridor ...... 3-13 3.11 Projected Growth in Work Trip Origins Between 2000 and 2030...... 3-15 3.12 Projected Growth in Work Trip Destinations Between 2000 and 2030 ...... 3-16 4.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Analysis Districts...... 4-3 4.2 Overview of Travel Flows From and Within the Corridor...... 4-5 4.3 Overview of Travel Flows To and Through the Corridor ...... 4-5 4.4 Summary of Intersuburban Work Travel Flows Within the Corridor ...... 4-8 4.5 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Markets ...... 4-9 5.1 Overview of the Traditional Commute Travel Market ...... 5-3 5.2 Traditional Commute: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-7 5.3 Traditional Commute: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-9 5.4 Traditional Commute: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-11 5.5 Key Transportation Elements Serving the Traditional Commute Travel Market ... 5-12 5.6 Overview of the Reverse Commute Travel Market...... 5-22 5.7 Reverse Commute: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-25 5.8 Reverse Commute: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-28 5.9 Reverse Commute: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-30 5.10 Key Transportation Elements Serving the Reverse Commute Travel Market.... 5-31 5.11 Overview of the Central DuPage Travel Market ...... 5-43
v List of Figures, continued
List of Figures (continued)
5.12 Central DuPage Market: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-44 5.13 Central DuPage Market: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-46 5.14 Central DuPage Market: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-47 5.15 Key Transportation Elements Serving the Central DuPage Travel Market ...... 5-48 5.16 Overview of the South Central Cook Travel Market...... 5-52 5.17 South Central Cook Market: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-53 5.18 South Central Cook Market: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-54 5.19 South Central Cook Market: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations.... 5-56 5.20 Key Transportation Elements Serving the South Central Cook Travel Market...... 5-57 5.21 Overview of the East Central DuPage Travel Market...... 5-60 5.22 East Central DuPage Northbound: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ... 5-63 5.23 East Central DuPage Southbound: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations.... 5-64 5.24 East Central DuPage Northbound: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ... 5-66 5.25 East Central DuPage Southbound: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations .... 5-67 5.26 East Central DuPage Northbound: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins & Destinations . 5-69 5.27 East Central DuPage Southbound: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins & Destinations.. 5-70 5.28 Key Transportation Elements Serving the East Central DuPage Travel Market ..... 5-71 5.29 Overview of the Far West DuPage Travel Market...... 5-74 5.30 Far West DuPage Market: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-76 5.31 Far West DuPage Market: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-78 5.32 Far West DuPage: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-79 5.33 Key Transportation Elements Serving the Far West DuPage Travel Market...... 5-80 5.34 Overview of the North DuPage Travel Market...... 5-84 5.35 North DuPage to 3-D: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-86 5.36 North DuPage to 5-D & 105: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-87 5.37 North DuPage to 3-D: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-88 5.38 North DuPage to 5-D & 105: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-89 5.39 North DuPage to 3-D: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-91 5.40 North DuPage to 5-D & 105: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-92
vi Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
List of Figures (continued)
5.41 Key Transportation Elements Serving the North DuPage Travel Market...... 5-93 5.42 Overview of the North Central Cook Travel Market ...... 5-96 5.43 North Central Cook to 9-C: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-98 5.44 North Central Cook 9-C to 7-C: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-99 5.45 North Central Cook to 9-C: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-101 5.46 North Central Cook 9-C to 7-C: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations...... 5-102 5.47 North Central Cook to 9-C: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ..... 5-103 5.48 North Central Cook 9-C to 7-C: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-104 5.49 Key Transportation Elements Serving the North Central Cook Travel Market.... 5-105 5.50 Overview of the West Central Cook Travel Market ...... 5-108 5.51 West Central Cook Northbound: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations.... 5-110 5.52 West Central Cook Northbound: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations.... 5-112 5.53 West Central Cook Southbound: 2000 Work Trip Origins and Destinations .... 5-113 5.54 West Central Cook Southbound: 2030 Work Trip Origins and Destinations .... 5-114 5.55 West Central Cook Northbound: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-115 5.56 West Central Cook Southbound: 2000 Non-work Trip Origins and Destinations ...... 5-116 5.57 Key Transportation Elements Serving the West Central Cook Travel Market .... 5-117 6.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Markets ...... 6-1
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Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
Executive Summary
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) are undertaking a multimodal corridor level planning effort, centered on the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) and the East-West Tollway (I-88), known as the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study. The goal of this study is to identify the most effective and desired transportation solutions to improve mobility in this heavily-traveled portion of our region. Consistent with the joint study approach set forth in the Program Management Plan, three successive, inter-dependent phases comprise the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study. They include:
1. Travel Market Analysis – assessing the nature, magnitude and need for corridor mobility improvement. 2. Options and Feasibility – examining a broad range of potential improvement options. 3. Alternatives Analysis – refining and evaluating the cost, benefit and impact of alternative major transportation investments.
The Travel Market Analysis report presents a comprehensive examination of travel patterns and mobility trends affecting the corridor. In Sections 2 through 4 of the report, key travel patterns are analyzed from a user-based perspective. Specifically, trips of similar purpose, direction and endpoints are grouped into nine predominant “travel markets.” In Section 5, the corridor’s primary travel markets are compared to existing services and facilities using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Section 6 concludes with an analysis of the fitness of the corridor’s surface transportation system – to illuminate where and why mobility improvements are most in need.
The Cook-DuPage Corridor generates a significant share of the region’s travel and its transportation system provides key linkages between DuPage County, the western communities of Cook County and the city of Chicago. Additionally, the 51 corridor municipalities include a number of major activity centers that attract workers from throughout northeastern Illinois.
Not counting pass-through trips, the Corridor’s existing highway and transit network— substantially unchanged over four decades— bears nearly 4 million trips per day. However, since 1970, corridor population has increased by 20% to 1.1 million in 2000 and employment has doubled to nearly 750,000 over the same period. With sustained population and economic expansions underway in western DuPage, Kane and Will counties, the Corridor’s important transportation role at the region’s center will likely continue. Regional and national trends, including the continued increase in dual-income households, the rise of the service sector and the decline in manufacturing are additional factors influencing Corridor travel.
The Corridor’s existing transportation infrastructure is extensive. The area is served by four key interstate facilities and a grid-pattern principal arterial system. Transit service includes
ES-1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
three CTA Rapid Transit Lines, three Metra Commuter Rail Lines and over 100 Bus Routes operated by Pace and the CTA.
The most significant travel patterns compiled from the U.S. Census’ 2000 Journey-to-Work data are depicted in the following figure:
Cook–DuPage Corridor Travel Markets
Travel Market key: 1: Traditional Commute 2: Reverse Commute 3: Central DuPage 4: South Central Cook
Travel Market 7 9 5: East Central DuPage
et Travel Market 8 rk 6: Far West DuPage l Ma
7: North DuPage 5 6 ave r et et Travel Market 1 T rk
rk 8: North Central Cook l Ma l Ma 9: West Central Cook Travel Market 2 ave ave r r T T Travel Market 3 Travel Market 4
Each of these travel patterns constitutes a unique, Corridor-level travel market. These travel markets vary in size, geography and mobility. Together, they comprise over one million daily work trips that largely occur during the morning and evening peak periods.
The Cook-DuPage Traditional Commute consists of work trips that originate in the western suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties and are collectively destined for the City of Chicago. It also includes significant travel that occurs entirely within the City of Chicago. This historical travel pattern is the single largest travel market affecting the corridor with over 426,000 daily trips to and from work.
The Cook-DuPage Reverse Commute comprises trips that originate east of Cicero Avenue in the City of Chicago and are destined for outlying areas of the city and the west suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties. The reverse commute is the second largest single travel pattern affecting the corridor with over 246,000 daily work trips.
The inter-suburban Central DuPage travel market is comprised of work trips that originate west of IL 53 in DuPage, Kane and northwestern Will counties, and are destined for east-central DuPage, including the Oak Brook major employment center. This travel market accounts for about 69,000 work trips each day.
The inter-suburban South Central Cook travel market originates in Cook County east of the Tri- State Tollway (I-294) and south of the Metra Union Pacific-West Line. This travel market is
ES-2 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
destined for workplaces in east central DuPage County, and represents over 26,000 daily work trips.
The East Central DuPage travel market generates bi-directional north-south travel within the eastern two-thirds of DuPage County, as well as in northern Cook county and northwest Will county. Many of these trips are destined for the Oak Brook activity center. This is the largest inter-suburban travel market, with a total of over 113,000 daily work trips.
The Far West DuPage travel market originates in the western two-thirds of DuPage County and in northwest Will County. The destination of this travel market is west central DuPage and consists of over 34,000 daily work trips.
The North DuPage travel market includes trips originating in central and northern Kane County, far northwest Cook and northern DuPage counties with destinations in northern DuPage – which attracts over 52,000 work trips per day.
The North Central Cook travel market generates over 12,000 daily work trips from the far west and northwest sides of Chicago and the near-west suburbs of Cook county that are destined for suburban communities located south/southeast of O’Hare International Airport.
The West Central Cook travel market consists of north-south travel in Cook County that takes place between Mannheim Road and Cicero Avenue. This travel market consists of nearly 48,000 daily work trips.
Based on a detailed analysis of these nine travel patterns and the transportation facilities available to each, the most evident mobility needs for the Cook-DuPage Corridor are:
• Access by transit to major employment centers in DuPage and west Cook;
• Service quality of I-290;
• Service quality of bus transit in terms of efficiency and convenience, especially for trips in Cook County requiring connecting CTA and Pace services;
• Service quality of arterials. The frequency of transit service, travel times, differences in service by time of day, service coverage, and accessibility for each travel pattern were examined.
Transit is well optimized for the majority of traditional commute trips since these trips correspond to the historical Suburbs-to-Chicago journey to work. However, for the more recent Intersuburban and Reverse Commute trip patterns, a different picture emerges. The following major employment destinations are unreachable by transit for many residents of the Corridor and the city of Chicago: 1) Ferry Road, Warrenville Road, Diehl Road and Butterfield Road, from IL 59 in to IL 53, in Warrenville, Naperville and Lisle; 2) 22nd Street/Butterfield Road between Yorktown in Lombard and Oak Brook, 3) between North Avenue and Lake Street, in Addison and Elmhurst, 4) the Thorndale Avenue Corridor in Wood Dale and Itasca, 5) along
ES-3 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
IL 53/I-355/I-290 Extension in Schaumburg and 6) Loyola University Medical Center/Hines VA Hospital in Maywood.
While CTA and Pace bus coverage within central Cook County is generally high for many travelers, the utility of this transit option is diminished by operating boundaries, service frequencies and inconvenient schedules. In addition, several key north-south CTA routes are segmented, requiring one or two transfers in the same direction despite a single provider.
Performance of the highway network has been similarly impacted by shifts in corridor commuting patterns over time. Persistent congestion on I-290 in both directions impedes pass- through traffic and a number of corridor travel markets. Congestion on I-290 further degrades vehicle travel including bus transit on arterials that are used as an alterative to I-290 during peak periods. Also, closely spaced traffic signals and stop signs on key arterials prevail in the denser Chicago and central Cook County sections of the corridor. This intensely urban landscape which includes on-street parking, congested cross-streets and numerous curb-cuts combine to cause high travel times for bus, automobile and commercial traffic during peak travel periods. Similarly, at-grade rail/highway crossings and conflicting signal timings contribute to poor traffic flow on arterials in the Cook County portions of the corridor. Travel in the DuPage County sections of the corridor is restricted by high traffic volumes and discontinuous north-south arterials.
The Cook-DuPage Corridor’s transportation system is extensive—as are its growing mobility needs and proposed solutions. Of the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan’s 48 major capital projects, 11 aim to address mobility improvements in the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Our region’s challenge is to accurately assess the most pressing mobility problems, to thoroughly examine the ideas along with a range of other potentially effective alternatives; and to propose the best solution or set of solutions.
This very important work will be undertaken in the remaining two phases of study: Options Feasibility and a formal Alternatives Analysis. In this way, Corridor communities anticipating major transportation investments will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of transportation options in partnership with the project implementers.
ES-4 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
1.0 Introduction
The Cook-DuPage Travel Market Analysis is being carried out by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), as part of the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study. The Cook-DuPage Corridor Study is a multimodal planning study to evaluate potential major transportation improvements within a large corridor of the Chicago metropolitan region. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA), the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC), the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), and more than 50 local governments are key partners in this corridor planning effort.
1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND In 1993, IDOT initiated a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane Feasibility Study for the I-290 Eisenhower Expressway. The study was completed in 1998 and concluded that significant travel benefits could be achieved by incorporating HOV lanes into the overall roadway reconstruction project. Preliminary engineering to reconstruct I-290 between Cicero Avenue and Mannheim Road in Cook County was initiated by IDOT in early 2002. As part of the I-290 reconstruction project, IDOT is proposing a new fourth lane in each direction that would function as an HOV lane.
Through the stakeholder involvement process, requests were made by local officials and private citizens to examine new transit services to potentially operate as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the planned HOV lanes. To assure a multimodal approach for planning transportation improvements in the I-290 corridor, IDOT requested that the RTA undertake a study to identify travel markets in the corridor and develop potential transit alternatives.
The Eisenhower Expressway is a key link in the transportation network serving northeast Illinois. The Eisenhower Expressway serves as the main gateway to the City of Chicago and the Chicago Central Area from the western suburbs. It also serves as a primary link between Chicago, west Cook County suburbs, and the major employment centers of the I-88 Technology corridor, Oak Brook and Schaumburg. While these major employment centers represent important destinations of I-290 travelers, they are not within the termini of the I-290 reconstruction project.
A closely related effort to developed transit options to these major employment centers was also underway in DuPage County. The DuPage Area Transit Plan was a cooperative effort of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference and DuPage County, and is now the official transit plan for DuPage County. The transit plan was completed with funding assistance provided through the RTA’s Regional Technical Assistance Program.
A critical element of the DuPage Area Transit Plan’s recommended transit system is the DuPage “J” Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor along I-88 from Naperville to Oak Brook and connecting to the regional centers of Schaumburg and O’Hare International Airport. The Plan also
1-1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
recommends a connection between the J BRT corridor and the Forest Park station of the CTA Blue Line. These proposed new linkages are consistent with the concepts contained in Pace’s Vision 2020 plan for a redesign of suburban transit services in the six-county region.
These major projects – and several others in west Cook and DuPage counties – are included in the current long range transportation plan for the Northeastern Illinois, the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The RTP identified the Cook-DuPage multimodal corridor as one of three subregional corridors that would benefit from a multimodal analysis of recommended system, project and corridor strategies in the plan, including the following1:
Union Pacific-West upgrade Milwaukee District -West upgrade I-290 High Occupancy Vehicle facility I-88 Additional Lanes CTA Blue Line Extension Ogden Avenue Transitway Cermak Road Bus Rapid Transit DuPage “J” Bus Rapid Transit Inner Circumferential rail service
From a mobility perspective, the travel patterns and proposed transportation improvements are closely interrelated. The travel markets that these project proposals are likely to benefit potentially overlap and/or complement each other.
In early 2003, the RTA held a number of meetings with local stakeholders and IDOT to explore the level of interest, study area, scope and resource requirements for a multimodal study of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Based on the feedback received, the RTA and IDOT agreed to jointly fund and to participate cooperatively in an RTA-led multimodal corridor planning study for the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, the Chicago Area Transportation Study, the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, Cook and DuPage counties and the Council of Mayors are key regional partners in this corridor study. All study partners have contributed significantly by providing available data and reviewing work products from this study.
As presented in Figure 1.1, the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study consists of three phases:
1) Travel Market Analysis;
2) Options and Feasibility; and
3) Alternatives Analysis.
1 2030 Regional Transportation Plan, (CATS), p. 215.
1-2 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
The intent of the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study is to ensure efficient and informed decision- making, with the final goal of identifying major transportation improvement(s) that effectively address mobility needs of the corridor.
The Cook-DuPage Travel Market Analysis is the first study phase - the purpose of which is to gain a better understanding of transportation users in the corridor, their current and projected travel patterns, and how well the corridor transportation system serves their travel needs. This final report identifies specific travel markets and establishes the general type and location of mobility problems that currently exist. The report also describes important characteristics for future potential improvements, given the magnitude and travel patterns of associated travel markets.
1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVES The travel market analysis of the Cook-DuPage Corridor has the following objectives:
To define, characterize and quantify the corridor’s existing and projected demographics, development patterns, transportation facilities, services and usage;
To differentiate the significant trip patterns within the Cook-DuPage Corridor;
To identify and assess by magnitude and mode share, the major travel markets that play a key role in impacting corridor travel patterns;
To evaluate the ability of the existing corridor transportation system to efficiently and effectively serve current and projected travel needs; and
To summarize mobility problems and transportation system deficiencies most critical to address within the corridor.
The Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis: Final Report presents a comprehensive and cohesive picture of travel patterns, mobility issues and system deficiencies impacting the Cook- DuPage Corridor. Corridor travel markets, travel patterns, mobility problems and the characteristics of mobility improvements that appear to be most needed are identified. Additionally, the potential for new transit services and/or enhancement of existing transit service to serve as an alternative to the proposed Eisenhower HOV lanes is assessed.
Nine travel markets are identified and evaluated by comparing current and future travel patterns with the available highway and transit networks. The general mobility issues of each travel market are examined and important characteristics of mobility improvements are identified. The Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis: Final Report is intended to support decision-makers in determining whether and where there is a need for a potential major transportation investment(s) in the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
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Figure 1.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Study Program
Regional Transportation Plan
Phase 1 Select Priority User Markets for Potential Major Improvements Travel Market Analysis
Public Input
Phase 2 Develop a Shortlist of Feasible Improvement Options Options Feasibility
Phase 3 Select Locally Preferred Alternative(s) Alternatives Analysis
IMPLEMENTATION
This document synthesizes key findings from four major analysis tasks to provide a cohesive basis upon which conclusions are drawn:
Analysis of existing and future conditions;
Analysis of travel market segments;
Evaluation of major activity centers; and
Assessment of corridor mobility problems.
The first task resulted in an important resource document that was published in February 2005, the Existing and Future Conditions report. This extensive report presents socioeconomic, transportation and travel information for the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The most relevant highlights from that document have been included in this final report for the Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis.
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1.3 STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT This Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis is the culmination of four major tasks and brings focus to nine key travel markets of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The final report consists of the following sections:
A mobility framework is presented in Section 2 to provide the context for the approach taken in the analysis of the corridor travel markets.
Section 3 summarizes the most important findings from the Existing and Future Conditions report. The population and employment trends in the corridor are discussed along with the existing travel patterns and the multimodal network that serves these travel patterns. The planned transportation network is outlined along with the expected increase in corridor travel projected for the future.
Section 4 focuses on the classification of the corridor travel flows and the identification of key markets in the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The corridor-level estimates of work travel flows are identified from the regionwide travel flows. The nature and directionality of travel within these markets are used to categorize the travel patterns into nine distinct markets that include traditional commute, reverse commute and seven intersuburban markets.
The evaluation framework is presented in Section 5 followed by discussion of the nine markets. The geography, directionality and relative magnitude of each market are discussed. The origin-destination travel patterns and the highway and transit options that are available to serve each market are summarized. Finally, mobility problems and the characteristics of potential transportation improvements to increase the mobility of each travel market are described.
Section 6 synthesizes the need for mobility improvements from the corridor perspective, in terms of travel markets to be served, system deficiencies to be addressed, the location/geography of needed highway and transit improvements and recommended characteristics of each improvement to optimize mobility. This section also includes an assessment of the market potential for a transit alternative to HOV lanes on the Eisenhower Expressway.
Finally, the original scope of work for professional services associated with the Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis study is presented in Appendix A of this report.
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Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
2.0 A Mobility Framework
A key objective of the Cook-DuPage Travel Market Analysis study is to provide a detailed assessment of corridor mobility problems to facilitate the development of suitable, potential transportation improvements in the subsequent Options Feasibility phase of study. An in- depth evaluation of nine travel markets helps identify deficiencies of the current transportation system in different parts of the Cook-DuPage Corridor and uncover imbalances between the supply of transportation by different modes and the demand for travel.
The origin-destination based travel patterns, the availability of highway facilities and transit services, and the level and quality of service offered by different modes determine how well each travel market is served today by the existing highway and transit network. In turn, mobility issues and characteristics of potential mobility improvements are discussed for each travel market.
2.1 CONGESTION, MOBILITY, AND ACCESSIBILITY The demand for transportation has been defined as a derived demand to participate in activities that are located elsewhere2. This definition reflects a user perspective that is applied throughout this travel market analysis. The observed travel patterns of origins and destinations are assumed to reflect the travel needs of the population. The use of different modes and the observed traffic flows on highway and transit facilities indicate the role that each mode plays in serving these travel needs and reflect the comparative levels of highway and transit service.
In addition to assessing the level of use of key facilities, several facets of mobility and accessibility impacting Cook-DuPage Corridor travelers are examined in considerable detail. This helps frame the discussion in terms of travel markets and how the different facilities in each travel market support the mobility of various groups of travelers.
Congestion reflects an adverse traffic condition that occurs when the demand to utilize an individual facility exceeds the capacity of the facility to maintain sufficient travel flow, resulting in significantly diminished travel speeds. Congestion indicates that a large number of people want to use a facility at the same time of day for at least some portion of their trips. However, the origin and destination trip ends of the facility users are often vastly different.
Traffic and any associated congestion is comprised of multiple person movements. These travel movements (or flows) reflect various markets that differ geographically and represent multiple origin-destination pairs. Congestion varies by time of day in response to increasing or decreasing reliance upon a transportation facility or service by one or more travel markets.
2 Marvin Manheim, Transportation Planning Principles, MIT Press, 1985.
2-1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) provides a good example of a facility that is affected by travel originating in, destined to, or passing through the Cook-DuPage Corridor. This facility is routinely congested in both directions during the morning and afternoon peak, reflecting the role it plays in serving both the traditional and reverse commute markets. The Eisenhower is a facility that is relied upon for both shorter suburb-to-suburb travel and longer distance through- travel that neither originates - nor is destined to - areas within the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
Mobility is the desire and ability of people to move between their point of origin and the location of their ultimate destination. The extent of a person’s mobility is determined by the accessibility and quality of travel options at the desired time(s) and location(s) that allow for participation in activities. Measures that reflect the concepts of access and service quality can be used to provide a comprehensive picture of mobility of individual travelers, groups of individuals in each travel market to, the general public, and decision-makers.
Access reflects the availability of transportation infrastructure and modal options to connect the origin and destination of a desired trip. In an urban area, all destinations are considered accessible by automobile given the extensive network of roadways. Ideally, such a measure would reflect the availability of a full-fledged multimodal network of highway facilities and transit services that enables all potential combinations of movements in a region.
The notion of captivity is an important dimension of mobility since it suggests that access to certain modes and facilities is limited for specific categories of travelers. One example of captivity to transit is the lack of automobile availability to a subset of the population that includes zero vehicle households and younger and older travelers without a driver’s license. Other examples of captivity include captivity to automobiles due to a lack of public transportation services and captivity to specialized paratransit services by individuals who are unable to use the transportation network due to temporary or permanent disabilities.
Service Quality is also important in understanding mobility. In a multimodal environment, service quality depends on the efficiency of available transportation options in connecting origins and desired destinations, the frequency with which an option is available to make the desired trip, and the ease or convenience with which the trip can be made. In this context, it is important to consider how circuitous or direct the available travel options are, the posted speed limit and actual travel speeds by time of day, the observed traffic volume versus the available capacity, transit service schedules and number of required transfers, and the proximity of transportation options to concentrations of trip origins and destinations.
2.2 A USER PERSPECTIVE TO TRAVEL MARKET EVALUATION The corridor travel markets were identified based on identifiable patterns of trip origins and destinations. In all, nine travel markets are studied in detail. The base-year total size of the market is defined by the observed work travel flows of major origin-destination patterns in the corridor that serve as a reflection of the current mobility needs. Future-year population and employment growth help determine how mobility needs and problems are likely to change in
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the future. The proximity of origins and destinations to available highway facilities and transit services indicate what mobility options are available and are most likely to be relied upon for trips between home and work. The observed highway and transit market shares highlight the relative availability and attractiveness of automobile and transit options among the different travel markets of the corridor.
The following questions are addressed in detail for each travel market and further synthesized to achieve a Corridor-level understanding:
• What is the overall geography of each market, the total size of each market and the directionality of work-related travel flow?
• What is the amount of total work travel between key origin-destination pairs in each market? What is the mix of work and non-work travel?
• Where are there significant concentrations of origins and destinations of work trips in each market?
• What are the transportation options available to commuters in each travel market? What are the characteristics of arterial roadways, expressways, rail service and bus service that serve this market?
• How well does the transportation system and each of these transportation options serve each travel market and what are the corresponding broadly defined mobility problems in each market?
• What is the projected growth in work-related travel in each market and are the mobility problems expected to get worse in the future?
• What are the characteristics of potential transportation improvements that are best suited to addressing mobility deficiencies in each travel market?
2.3 THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF MOBILITY Americans are a geographically mobile society. Over 120 million people over five years old (45.9 percent) changed residence between 1995 and 20003. People change their place of residence for many reasons including a change in jobs, quality of life, a change in financial status, or to be closer to their workplace or extended family. People also change their place of employment with far greater frequency than observed in previous generations. Changes in employment can also lead to a change in residential location and vice-versa.
3 Migration and Geographic Mobility in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan America: 1995 to 2000, (U.S. Census Bureau, August 2003).
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Given the high rate of mobilization, an examination of travel flows based on a single year of Census travel data may not seem adequate. However, while changes at the individual (person) level occur in and among travel markets with considerable frequency, travel markets are relatively more stable. According to the Census data, more than half of those in metropolitan areas who changed residence, moved within the same county. Nationally, over 79 percent of suburban residents over five years old live within the same county as they did in the prior five years. While the same person may not be making the same trip five years from now, a similar individual within the community or area of the corridor will likely be making a similar trip instead. Observed changes in travel markets over time generally reflect changes in regional demographics and economic trends such as gentrification, rise or decline of specific industries, and residential development trends.
The regional development of major suburban employment centers and population growth in DuPage County have significantly impacted the travel markets of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The increase in dual-income households, the decline in the manufacturing industry and the gentrification of Chicago neighborhoods and central area are also factors that have influenced corridor travel. Yet, the transportation facilities and services in northeastern Illinois have remained consistent for several decades and have not kept pace with the changes in travel patterns and demand. Consequently, the availability of highway facilities and transit services, and the level and quality of service offered by different modes varies considerably among the corridor travel markets.
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3.0 Existing and Future Conditions
The Cook-DuPage Corridor extends approximately 27 miles from Cicero Avenue in the City of Chicago to the Kane/DuPage County line and spans approximately 300 square miles in the center of the Chicago metropolitan region, representing an important travel and economic axis. The Cook-DuPage Corridor provides key linkages between DuPage County, western areas of Cook County and the City of Chicago. Its importance continues to grow as the metro area has experienced rapid economic and population growth in DuPage County and is now facing emerging growth patterns in Kane and Will counties.
Many Cook-DuPage Corridor communities were developed a century ago around train lines that enabled the transport of building materials and provided passenger service to Chicago. Most of these train lines and stations are still in full use today by Metra commuter rail and/or freight railroads, and remain the focus of many suburban town centers. The Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, (I-88, formerly known as the East-West Tollway), the Eisenhower Expressway and the Tri-State Tollway were built in the late 1950s and 1960s; the junction of these three Interstates occurs in the central part of the corridor, providing connectivity and access to places throughout the region.
During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, office buildings, retail centers and commercial establishments were developed in the Oak Brook area and contiguously westward along I-88, including several national corporate headquarters. Meanwhile, large manufacturing establishments in the Cook County portion of the corridor declined over the last decade, and several affected communities are now undertaking redevelopment efforts. Regional population and employment forecasts indicate that the Cook-DuPage Corridor will grow at a stable rate over the next thirty years, and that the corridor will continue to be of major economic and residential significance to the six county region.
3.1 CORRIDOR STUDY AREA The Cook-DuPage Corridor boundaries were established uniquely for the purpose of this study and are Metra’s Milwaukee District-West (MD-W) Line to the north, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rail line to the south, the DuPage/Kane county line to the west and Cicero Avenue to the east. Figure 3.1 illustrates these corridor boundaries, as well as the twelve analysis districts that were also developed specifically for this study to evaluate variations of conditions within the Cook-DuPage Corridor study area proper.
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Figure 3.1 The Cook-DuPage Corridor Analysis Districts
3.2 CORRIDOR POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT TRENDS
Population The Cook-DuPage Corridor is home to over 1.1 million residents, or 13 percent, of the six- county region’s population. As seen in Figure 3.2, population is most dense in the eastern two districts of the corridor, with approximately 25 persons per developed acre. These two districts include the communities of Berwyn, Cicero, Oak Park and a portion of Chicago. Population density decreases by over 50 percent in the central Cook districts 9-C and 10-C, and decreases further between 3.6 and 6.6 persons per developed acre in the remaining eight districts west of Mannheim Road in west Cook and DuPage counties.
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Figure 3.2 Population by Census Analysis Zone
Source: U.S. Census, 2000.
Table 3.1 summarizes Cook-DuPage Corridor population information, based on the 2000 U.S. Census. Racial diversity within the corridor varies across the 12 analysis districts. While Non- Hispanic Whites comprise almost 80 percent of the population in the western districts, African- Americans and Hispanic Whites are more predominant among the eastern districts of the corridor. District 12-C is comprised of a nearly equal proportion of African-Americans, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites.
Children and seniors represent over one-third of the corridor population; 24 percent of the corridor population is younger than age 16 and 11 percent are 65 or older. The remaining 65 percent of the corridor’s residents are of working age between 17 and 64 years old. The average age is generally lower in the districts at the western and eastern ends of the corridor (particularly Districts 1-D, 11-C and 12-C) and is higher in the center of the corridor (Districts 6- D and 8-C).
Approximately 534,000, or 47 percent, of the corridor’s total population of 1.1 million were employed in the year 2000. The occupational profile of residents varies somewhat with a larger portion of technical and managerial workers in the western districts, while the eastern corridor districts have a larger portion of production, transportation, and construction-related workers.
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Table 3.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Demographic Profile
Total Acres 191,532 Total Population 1,125,827 Population Density (Persons per Acre) 6.20 Workers 533,976 Sex Male 49% Female 51% Race Non-Hispanic White 61% Hispanic White 8% Black 17% Asian 5% Other 9% Age Under 16 24% 16-24 12% 25-34 15% 35-44 17% 45-54 13% 55-64 8% 65-74 5% 75 and above 5% Households 395,045 Mean Household Size 2.85 Workers Per Household 1.35 Autos Per Household 0 9% 1 35% 2 41% 3 11% 4+ 4%
Source: U.S. Census, 2000.
Overall, the household automobile ownership is high in the Cook-DuPage Corridor with 91 percent of all corridor households owning at least one automobile. Figure 3.3 illustrates the density of population and the distribution of zero-vehicle households in the Cook-DuPage Corridor (each dot represents 100 zero-vehicle households). The rate of zero-vehicle households ranges from a low of three percent in the far western districts of 1-D and 2-D, and steadily increases to a high of 20 percent in the corridor’s two easternmost districts of 11-C and 12-C. As is the case with population density, the rate of zero-vehicle households in the two eastern-most districts (11-C and 12-C, between Harlem Avenue and Cicero Avenue) is double that of the neighboring two districts (9-C and 10-C, between Mannheim Road and Harlem Avenue).
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Figure 3.3 Distribution of Zero-Vehicle Households in the Cook-DuPage Corridor
Source: U.S. Census, 2000.
Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) forecasts indicate that the six-county region’s population will grow by 24 percent between 2000 and 2030 with a more modest growth of four percent forecasted for the Cook-DuPage Corridor. However, important differences in population growth are anticipated within the corridor, as presented in Figure 3.4. The far western end of the corridor – which currently has the greatest amount of vacant and agricultural land – is expected to grow by more than 27,000 residents; residential population in communities such as West Chicago and Winfield is forecast to increase by 75 percent. In contrast, the population in several districts in the center of the corridor (5-D, 7-C and 9-C) is forecasted to decline by five to ten percent. These changes will likely affect the amount of travel generated in the corridor, as well as future travel patterns.
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Figure 3.4 Forecasted Change in Population, 2000-2030
Source: NIPC.
Employment The Cook-DuPage Corridor has experienced considerable growth in employment since 1970. The nearly 750,000 jobs that are located in the corridor represent 15 percent of the six-county region’s employment. Figure 3.5 presents employment densities within and around the Cook- DuPage Corridor. These densities clearly reveal the development pattern of employment centers along I-88, the major industrial employment centers in Districts 3-D, 5-D, 7-C and 8-C, as well as the mix of corporate and industrial businesses west of O’Hare.
The extent and variety of development underpins the corridor’s role as a major population and employment base in the Chicago metropolitan region. The predominant land use throughout the corridor is residential, as shown in Figure 3.6. However, the Cook-DuPage Corridor includes a broad mix of land uses, including a lot of acreage devoted to commercial, manufacturing, and industrial development. These land uses tend to generate some of the highest employment densities.
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Figure 3.5 Employment by Census Analysis Zone
Source: U.S. Census, 2000.
Figure 3.6 Corridor Land Use Patterns, 1995
Source: NIPC.
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Forty-five percent of the corridor’s job base is concentrated in the sectors of: transportation, communications and utilities (TCU), retail and manufacturing. An additional 40 percent of the corridor’s jobs are service-related. The Cook-DuPage Corridor is a net importer of workers. The corridor exports over 261,000 workers – just over half of its workforce – to jobs in other areas of the region and imports over 284,000 workers from outside the corridor. A comparison of the NIPC employment data and reported U.S. Census occupations data suggest that professional/managerial residents are a significant component of the corridor workforce that is exported to other areas of the region (including Chicago) while manufacturing, industrial, and retail workers are predominant among those imported into the corridor. Employment projections developed by NIPC anticipate that the corridor will experience a 20 percent increase in job growth between 2000 and 2030, with most of the growth (approximately 96,000 new jobs) occurring in the far-western portion of the corridor, as shown in Figure 3.7. Employment is projected to increase in all 12 of the analysis districts, including those districts forecasted to decline in population. Because growth in corridor employment will continue to outpace population growth, the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s role as a regional job center is likely to increase, as is the corridor’s need to import workers.
3.3 CORRIDOR TRAVEL PATTERNS AND TRENDS A travel pattern results from trips made between distinct origins and destinations. The 2000 U.S. Census Journey-to-Work data provided the basis for a county-level examination of work trip patterns between 1970 and 2000. Corridor travel patterns to and from different areas of the region, as well as within the corridor, were further examined at the more detailed analysis district level.
Commuting Patterns Work travel in the corridor has increased greatly in the past three decades, due largely to the employment and population growth in the DuPage County portion of the corridor. The number of daily work trips destined for DuPage County has quadrupled from 140,000 in 1970 to more than 530,000 in 2000. District 6-D in eastern DuPage now attracts nearly 130,000 daily work trips from around the region, reflecting the quantity and regional attractiveness of work destinations in the Oak Brook-Downers Grove-Lombard area.
It is not correct to assume that suburban residents mainly work in downtown Chicago since the majority of the 512,000 daily work trips made by Cook-DuPage Corridor residents are actually intersuburban. More than half of the work trips originating in the Cook-DuPage Corridor are completed entirely within the corridor, and an additional 25 percent of the corridor’s work trip origins are destined to work places directly north or south of the corridor, in other areas of Cook and DuPage counties.
3-8 Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
Figure 3.7 Forecasted Change in Employment, 2000-2030
Source: NIPC
The travel flow of intersuburban work trips to, from and passing through the Cook-DuPage Corridor are predominantly northbound. Nearly 50 percent more work trips to the corridor come from areas directly south of the corridor than from north of the corridor. Over 2.5 times as many work trips that originate in the Cook-DuPage Corridor have destinations north of the corridor than south of the corridor. Finally, nearly twice as many daily work trips pass through the corridor in the northbound direction, than pass through the corridor in the southbound direction.
Within the corridor itself, the flow of work trips from the Cook portion of the corridor to the DuPage portion is greater than the flow from the DuPage portion to the Cook portion (approximately 23,700 versus 15,500 daily work trips). District 6-D attracts 25 percent of all work trips that begin and end in the corridor – far more than any other district in the Cook- DuPage Corridor. The primary intersuburban commute pattern in the Cook portion of the corridor is westbound during the morning peak. The primary commute pattern in the DuPage portion of the corridor is eastbound during the morning.
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The traditional suburb-to-Chicago commute remains a strong travel pattern in the Cook- DuPage Corridor and throughout northeastern Illinois. Figure 3.8 presents the distribution of traditional commute trip origins in the corridor that are destined for places of work immediately east of the corridor (specifically, in Districts 115 and 116 or “Chicago’s central area”). These trips represent approximately 15 percent (76,000 trips) of all of the work trips that originate in the Cook-DuPage Corridor. And just less than half of these trips are destined for the Chicago central business district (CBD), within the central area.
The traditional commute is unique among corridor travel patterns in that a large portion of the work trips are made by transit. The transit share for traditional work trips from the corridor to the Chicago CBD averages 66 percent, ranging from a low of 50 percent in the area of Cook that includes Franklin Park, Melrose Park, and Elmwood Park to a high of 84 percent in District 6-D, an area that includes Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, and portions of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Westmont and Hinsdale. However, the transit share drops rather dramatically for traditional work trips to Chicago that are destined outside of the immediate Loop area.
Figure 3.8 Distribution of Traditional Commute Trip Origins with Destinations in Chicago’s Central Area
115 116
Daily Trips to Districts 115 and 116 (Chicago central area) 5,000
The reverse commute pattern to the Cook-DuPage Corridor is one quarter of the size of the traditional commute pattern. Figure 3.9 presents the distribution of reverse commute destinations in the corridor. Over 16,000 trips or 8.5 percent of daily work trips originating in
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Chicago east of the corridor (District 115 and 116) are destined for workplaces in the Cook- DuPage Corridor. Over 50 percent of these reverse commute trips to the corridor have work destinations east of Mannheim Road, and 95 percent have destinations east of IL 53.
Figure 3.9 Distribution of Reverse Commute Trip Destinations with Origins in Chicago’s Central Area
115 116
Daily Trips from Districts 115 and 116 (Chicago central area) 4,000
Non-work Travel Over one million non-work trips originate or terminate within the Cook-DuPage Corridor each day, more than twice the number of daily work trips. District 6-D (which includes Oak Brook, Lombard and Downers Grove), generates and attracts more non-work trips than any other single district in the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Nevertheless, the preponderance of non-work trips both begin and end within the same analysis district. This intradistrict pattern reflects the preference of travelers to travel short distances to satisfy their non-work travel needs.
Nearly 23 percent of all non-work trips that originate and terminate within the corridor occur during the traditional morning and evening peak periods. However, non-work travel is higher in the p.m. peak period than in the a.m. peak period.
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Travel to O’Hare International Airport O’Hare International Airport has a significant impact on the Cook-DuPage Corridor in terms of both work and non-work travel. Travel to O’Hare International Airport was analyzed based on a recent Chicago DOT survey of O’Hare travelers as well as the 2000 Journey-to-Work data from the Census.
Approximately 35,000 workers work at O’Hare Airport and adjacent airport and cargo facilities. A total of about 5,000 airport employees live in the Cook-DuPage Corridor and an additional 8,500 employees live south or west of the corridor and pass through the corridor to access O’Hare and related facilities. The majority of O’Hare employees, however, live in places that do not affect corridor traffic, such as northwest or northeast of the corridor.
Of the 43,000 airline passengers traveling to O’Hare each day, 5,000 start their trip in the Cook- DuPage Corridor and another 6,500 pass through the corridor en route to the airport. Transit market share is very low among corridor residents reflecting the lack of direct and convenient transit service to the airport.
3.4 EXISTING TRANSPORTATION NETWORK The Cook-DuPage Corridor is served by an extensive multimodal transportation network with important differences between the more urbanized eastern portion of the corridor and the more suburban western portion. Figure 3.10 depicts the interstates, major arterial roadways, Metra and CTA rail lines, and CTA and Pace bus routes serving the Cook-DuPage corridor.
There are four key highway facilities in this corridor. The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) and the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), which was formerly known as the East-West Tollway, serve intersuburban and pass-through travel in the corridor, as well as travel to and from downtown Chicago. The I-290 extension to the northwest provides links to key regional activity centers, such as Schaumburg. The North-South (I-355) and Tri-State (I-294) Tollways are north-south routes that are also located within this corridor providing access to and from areas north and south of the corridor, including O’Hare International Airport, and connecting to the I-90 and I-55 highways.
A regional arterial system also serves automobile, bus and truck travel in the corridor. The grid layout of the urban arterial system east of Mannheim Road provides extensive options for travelers. The grid layout of the arterial system begins to weaken west of Mannheim Road. The roadways are spaced further apart in the DuPage portion of the corridor, resulting in a suburban network of arterials with greater capacity and higher posted speed limits than their urban counterparts. However, access opportunity and choice is greatly reduced.
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Figure 3.10 Major Transportation Facilities Serving the Corridor
Transit also plays a significant role in this corridor, which is served by a combination of rail and bus service. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rapid transit lines that serve areas within the Cook County portion of the corridor include the Blue Line–Cermak branch, the Blue Line– Forest Park branch, and the Green Line–Lake Street. These routes begin in the eastern portion of the corridor and head toward downtown Chicago with a total of 14 rapid transit stations. Park and ride facilities at Harlem/Lake, Forest Park and 54th/Cermak and transfer options at Harlem/Lake and Forest Park enhance the accessibility of transit services in this portion of the corridor.
Metra operates three radial commuter rail lines serving the northern, central and southern areas of the corridor: Milwaukee District – West (MD-W), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), and the Union Pacific – West (UP-W). Current scheduling primarily serves the Chicago CBD- bound market of suburban workers during peak hours. The train schedules of these three commuter rail services vary substantially in the number of express and local trains. The BNSF line linking Aurora to Chicago provides the most frequent service between the suburbs and downtown Chicago during peak hours. Nontraditional markets such as reverse commute trips
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and suburb-to-suburb trips are also served by Metra trains in the corridor but to a much lesser extent.
CTA provides an extensive network of bus services in Cook County, largely within the municipal limits of the City of Chicago. CTA bus service primarily serves the easternmost portion of the corridor, operating 17 bus routes within the corridor. Pace, the region’s suburban bus provider, operates nearly 91 bus routes in the Cook-DuPage corridor. The majority of Pace service in the Cook County portion of the corridor is provided along major arterial routes, providing connections to CTA bus and rail services. The majority of Pace service in the DuPage portion of the corridor is feeder service to Metra train stations and is provided only during peak periods.
Although the market share of transit is low for the corridor as a whole, transit has a market share of greater than 50 percent in the well-defined suburb-to-CBD market where transit offers a competitive service compared to automobile travel. Transit market shares are highest for longer trips, further reflecting the greater advantage of transit in these markets.
Freight Movements The freight rail and heavy commercial vehicle operations in the Cook-DuPage Corridor reflect the status of Chicago as the third largest intermodal freight hub in the world. There are many freight rail lines traversing the corridor, three of which - the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), the Union Pacific (UP) and the Canadian National (CN) lines - share tracks with Metra commuter rail services. Five intermodal facilities located in the corridor are concentrated in the eastern portion of the corridor attracting truck traffic both on the interstates and the adjacent arterial network.
Interstates including the Eisenhower and the I-290 Extension, the Tri-State Tollway, and the East-West Tollway carry tens of thousands of trucks each day while nearly all of the major north-south arterials carry heavy volumes of truck traffic. In the north-south direction, heavy truck traffic is carried by IL 59, IL 53, IL 83, Mannheim Road, Harlem Avenue, and Cicero Avenue while North Avenue, Irving Park and Lake Street carry a heavy amount of truck traffic in the east-west direction. Truck traffic represents ten to 20 percent of the total traffic volume on many segments of I-290, Tri-State Tollway, North Avenue (IL 64), Irving Park Road (IL 19), Cicero Avenue (IL 50), and Lake Street (US 20).
3.5 TRAVEL TRENDS AND REGIONAL PROJECTIONS Growth in trips originating within and destined to the corridor as well as growth in adjacent counties is expected to have a significant impact on the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Figure 3.11 and 3.12 present the growth in work trip origins and destinations between years 2000 and 2030, as predicted by the CATS model.
Between 2000 and 2030 over one million new home-to-work trip origins are expected to be added in the six-county region representing an increase of 33 percent. More than 100,000 of these new work trips are expected to originate in DuPage County, 260,000 new work trips in
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Cook County, 140,000 new work trips in Kane County, and more than 400,000 new work trips in Will County.
During the same time period, a total of 130,000 additional work trips are expected with destinations in DuPage County and 370,000 additional work trips with destinations in Cook County. Will and Kane County will also experience significant growth and attract an additional 310,000 and 90,000 new trip destinations, respectively.
The districts at the western edge of the corridor are predicted to have the largest percentage growth in trip origins and destinations through the year 2030. These growth rates exceed 30 percent in both generated and attracted trips.
Figure 3.11 Projected Growth in Work Trip Origins Between 2000 and 2030
Source: Estimates based on the CATS Model 2030 trip table and U.S. Census 2000 CTPP data.
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Figure 3.12 Projected Growth in Work Trip Destinations Between 2000 and 2030
Source: Estimates based on the CATS Model 2030 trip table and U.S. Census 2000 CTPP data.
An overall increase of almost 1.1 million home-based non-work trips and almost 1.7 million non-home-based trips is expected in the six-county region between 2000 and 2030. These estimates represent a growth of 27 and 32 percent respectively. A detailed county-level analysis of non-work trip flow projections indicates that while Cook and DuPage counties are expected to continue to be the largest contributors of trip origins and destinations in the six-county region, Will and Kane County are expected to show the most aggressive growth in non-work and non-home-based trips. These findings point to an anticipated significant increase in travel activity southwest of the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
The growth in non-work and non-home-based travel that is forecast to occur within the Cook- DuPage Corridor is projected to be six and twelve percent respectively, a growth that is lower than the 20 percent projected growth in corridor work travel. A district-level analysis of trip origins and destinations indicates that the DuPage portion of the corridor and in particular the districts in western DuPage are expected to experience the largest percentage increase. These
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are also the analysis districts that are expected to show the largest percentage increase in employment in the western portion of the corridor.
The anticipated growth patterns in both work and non-work travel coupled with the population and employment forecasts point to the differential growth patterns that are expected in parts of the Cook-DuPage Corridor by 2030. Insights into these projections are important in understanding how the transportation system in the corridor is likely to be utilized in the future.
3.6 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS Transportation facilities and services are extensive in the eastern portion of the Cook-DuPage Corridor, where population density is also greatest. This is due in large part to the radial orientation of expressways and rail lines, coupled with the urbanization and settlement patterns that also “radiate-out” from the Chicago central area. However over the past twenty years, population and employment have greatly increased in the corridor, particularly within DuPage County. Growth forecasts indicate that this trend will continue, with employment growth projected to outpace the growth in population. Neighboring Will and Kane counties are expected to develop rapidly in the future, although primarily in terms of population. The currently predominant northbound flow of travel through the corridor, and the predominant eastbound flow within the DuPage portion of the corridor, will likely increase significantly as the corridor increasingly becomes a key employment center for residents of the surrounding counties. The development of the region’s transportation system has not kept pace with the changing travel patterns and trends, with the notable exception of the tollway system and to a lesser extent, the regional arterial network. It is critical to identify where and what kind of transportation improvements will best sustain the mobility of the Cook-DuPage Corridor and surrounding areas into the future.
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
4.0 Major Corridor Travel Markets
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, almost 800,000 of the region’s 3.5 million daily work trips begin and/or end in the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Mobility is provided by an extensive multimodal transportation system; however, the availability and effectiveness of the system in serving corridor travel patterns varies by location, direction of travel and time of day. Individual travel markets are examined to assess where the transportation system may not provide a sufficient level of service and/or number of options for major travel patterns within this complex corridor.
When considering corridor-level mobility issues, our primary focus is on work travel. Work trips tend to occur during both the morning and afternoon peak periods and are generally round trips. Work trips occur regularly and on a daily basis, and are longer in distance than non-work trips.
The 2000 U.S. Census Journey-to-Work is the most current and complete source of information to analyze work travel patterns in the region. However, there are two notable caveats: 1) for confidentiality purposes, the Census reports a range – rather than an exact number – of work trips for origin-destination zone pairs where only a small number of respondents indicate making such a trip, and 2) the Journey-to-Work database has sampling errors, as is the case with all data sources that are built from a sample.
The magnitude and travel distance of non-work travel patterns were examined, relative to work travel in each market. While two to three times as many trips are made for non-work purposes than are made for work, non-work trips are typically shorter in distance and non-routine (non- recurring).
Non-work travel data are not regularly collected on a regional basis in Northeastern Illinois. The Census collects travel data only for work trips and cannot be used to analyze non-work travel. To analyze non-work travel patterns, the results of travel modeling for year 2000 undertaken by CATS were examined for each travel market. The non-work travel model is based largely upon a 1990 regional household travel survey, which is in fact the most recent source of non-work travel information in the region. Due in part to the lower confidence in this modeled non-work data, and to the non-recurring nature of non-work trips, our examination of non-work travel was secondary to that of work trips.
The projected growth in travel is an important dimension in characterizing each travel market. Projected growth in work travel helps assess anticipated changes in the magnitude of the various travel markets, as an indication of whether mobility is expected to improve or deteriorate in the future.
The forecasts of work travel for 2030 were derived by using two sources of data. First, the 2000 Census Journey-to-Work database provided the year 2000 base numbers for origin-destination travel at a detailed zone level. Second, the CATS model results for 2030 and for 2000 were used
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to derive a percentage growth for each origin-destination pair at the same level of detail. The percentage growth from the CATS model was then applied to the base 2000 Journey-to-Work estimates to provide forecasts for the 2030 work travel.
This approach takes advantage of the more recent Census data on work travel and the forecasting ability of the CATS model. It should be noted that there are some cases where certain origin-destination pairs show no work travel flows in the CATS model for 2000 but are present in the 2000 Journey-to-Work database. Because of such origin-destination pairs, the projections made using the combination of the two data sources are somewhat different than the forecasts that can be extracted by relying exclusively on the CATS model for 2000 and 2030.
Projecting the future work travel flows depends on the input assumptions about the expected population and employment growth in each zone and the relationships that are embedded in the model and that translate changes in socioeconomics and level of service to changes in work travel patterns. Similar to base year estimates, projections are also subject to sampling and modeling errors and should best be viewed in a comparative context across different travel markets.
4.1 OVERVIEW OF CORRIDOR TRAVEL The Cook-DuPage Corridor is a net importer of work trips in that more daily work trips are destined to, than originate within, the corridor’s boundaries. Table 4.1 presents an overview of the major flows that make up the total amount of work travel. A depiction of the corridor’s Analysis Districts is provided in Figure 4.1.
Table 4.1 Work Travel Flow Patterns Between Groups of Districts
Workplace District Cook- DuPage North South Central Remainder Corridor Cook- Cook- Chicago of Six- Residence District (1D-12C) DuPage DuPage (115, 116) County Total
Cook-DuPage Corridor (1D-12C) 251,234 107,800 51,724 76,055 25,450 512,263 North Cook-DuPage 78,379 591,604 56,796 259,394 74,726 1,060,899 South Cook-DuPage 116,775 112,913 456,150 230,254 39,589 955,681 Central Chicago (115 and 116) 16,423 43,149 22,971 105,282 4,446 192,271 Remainder of Six-County 71,990 123,914 72,220 47,085 512,114 827,323 Total 534,801 979,380 659,861 718,070 656,325 3,548,437
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
Figure 4.1 Cook-DuPage Corridor Analysis Districts
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In summary,
• Approximately 510,000 work trips have an origin within the corridor,
• Almost 535,000 work trips have a destination within the corridor, and
• More than 251,000 of these work trips have both trip ends within the corridor.
Of the one-quarter million daily work trips that are made entirely within the Cook-DuPage Corridor boundaries, 93,500 trips both begin and end within the same analysis district and are considered “local” commute work trips.
Travel between the DuPage (Districts 1-6) and Cook (Districts 7-12) portions of the corridor, and the exchange of trips between the corridor and the City of Chicago (Districts 113, 114, 115 and 116), provide further insights. As shown in Table 4.2, the greatest exchange of trips takes place within the DuPage portion of the corridor, followed by work trips from the corridor’s Cook portion to Chicago. The exchange of work trips between the Cook and DuPage portions of the Corridor is relatively small and is greater from Cook to DuPage than from DuPage to Cook.
Work travel from the Cook-DuPage Corridor to the four districts comprising Chicago totals 98,000 daily trips; this is nearly double the number of trips in the reverse direction (from Chicago to the corridor) which accounts for 54,000 trips
Table 4.2 Work Travel Flows Within the Cook-DuPage Corridor and Between the Corridor and Chicago
Workplace District Chicago DuPage Corridor Cook Corridor (Districts 113, Residence District (Districts 1D-6D) (Districts 7C-12C) 114, 115, 116)
DuPage Corridor (Districts 1D-6D) 153,413 15,529 34,496 Cook Corridor (Districts 7C-12C) 23,882 58,410 63,840 Chicago (Districts 113, 114, 115, 116) 21,392 32,112 571,256
Source: 2000 U.S. Census.
Travelers whose trips begin or end in areas that are adjacent to the corridor, and travelers who pass through the corridor, have a significant impact on corridor transportation facilities. Figure 4.2 presents work travel that is from adjacent areas going to Corridor destinations within the Cook-DuPage Corridor or originates in the corridor and has destinations in adjacent districts. Figure 4.3 represents work travel or traffic passing entirely through the corridor. The magnitude of these flows underscores the importance of including some areas that are north and south of the Cook-DuPage Corridor in the examination of travel markets.
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Figure 4.2 Overview of Travel Flows From and Within the Corridor Lake Co. Cook Co. 92,683
. Cook o
C 15,117 e
13,373 Kan 251,234 76,055
16,830 DuPage Co. 34,894 Will Co.
Cook Co. Will Co.
Figure 4.3 Overview of Travel Flows To and Through the Corridor Lake Co. Cook Co. 78,379 20,450
. Cook Co. 21,152
892 Kane Co 28,066 251,234 16,423 5,812
DuPage Co. 33,963 Will Co. 116,775 39,577
Cook Co. Will Co.
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4.2 IDENTIFYING CORRIDOR TRAVEL MARKETS There are many potential ways to aggregate travel movements within an area as large and complex as the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The magnitude and geography of 2000 Census Journey-to-Work origin-destination patterns played the determining role in the aggregation of travel flows into specific corridor travel markets. Travel within the corridor and travel to/from neighboring zones were considered in developing travel markets. Local commute trips (those trips that begin and end within the same analysis district) were not included in the development of corridor-level travel markets.
In all, nine distinct travel markets were developed among the following commute categories:
• Traditional Commute (one travel market); • Reverse Commute (one travel market); and • Intersuburban (seven travel markets).
The traditional and the reverse commute market are more easily defined given the clear directionality of travel, the magnitude of each market, the concentration of destinations in the traditional market, and the concentration of origins in the reverse commute market. The intersuburban travel markets are more difficult to define given the dispersion of both origins and destinations in a large geographical area.
Traditional Commute The Traditional Commute travel market was established based on an examination of work travel flows from each corridor analysis district to the Chicago central area, immediately east of the corridor. Eleven of the twelve analysis districts generate 3,000 or more work trips to districts 115 and 116 each day. Because many employment opportunities in the City of Chicago are located north and south of the central area, districts 113 and 114 were included as potential destinations of this travel market. Several additional analysis districts in Cook County and DuPage County were also included in order to explore the contribution of analysis zones adjacent to the corridor districts to the traditional commute. The size of the traditional commute travel market exceeds 210,000 work trips, including adjacent districts west, south and north of the corridor as origins of travel. These districts include 402, 403 in Kane County; districts 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112 south of the corridor; and districts 105, 107, 109, and 111 north of the corridor.
Reverse Commute The Reverse Commute travel market was established by retaining the same geography established for the traditional commute. The four Chicago analysis districts were defined as the origin area and the corridor and adjacent districts were defined as the destination area for reverse commutes. The size of the Cook-DuPage Corridor Reverse Commute travel market comprises 123,000 work trips.
Intersuburban Commute Intersuburban travel is the predominant type of commute affecting the corridor, followed respectively by traditional commute and reverse commute. Intersuburban travel markets
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis impacting the Cook-DuPage Corridor were identified through a careful examination of district- to-district travel flows (Table 4.3). Travel flows greater than 3,000 trips were selected to initially serve as the basis for developing a travel market. Approximately half of the thirteen flows that meet this threshold have District 6-D as the destination, and all but two also originate in the DuPage portion of the corridor. Given the smaller size districts in the Cook County portion of the corridor, the development of travel markets also took into account flows between 2,000- 3,000 daily work trips. Intra-district work trips were not included in the market assessment process due to the local (as opposed to corridor-level) patterns of these trips.
Table 4.3 District to District Work Travel Flows
The many significant work travel patterns that are internal to the Cook-DuPage Corridor are illustrated in Figure 4.4. The directionality and magnitude of all inter-district travel flows over 2,000 work trips are represented by arrows and the number of work trips is displayed for travel flows exceeding the 3,000 daily work trip threshold.
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Figure 4.4 Summary of Intersuburban Work Travel Flows Within the Corridor
In all, nine distinct travel markets were established (Figure 4.5). In some cases, it was logical to include districts beyond the Cook-DuPage Corridor study area boundaries to determine the full extent of the travel pattern. It is also important to note that a few significant travel flows were not easily aggregated into major travel markets due to atypical directionality and/or short- distance characteristics. For example, 4-D to 2-D (3,461 daily work trips), 5-D to 3-D (3,013 work trips) and 12-C to 10-C (4,660 work trips) represent significant work travel flows that were not incorporated into the corridor’s nine travel markets.
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Figure 4.5 Cook–DuPage Corridor Travel Markets
Travel Market 7
Travel Market 8
9
5 et 6 et rk et Travel Market 1 rk rk l Ma l Ma l Ma ave
Travel Market 2 r ave ave T r r T
T Travel Market 3 Travel Market 4
Travel Market key: 1: Traditional Commute 6: Far West DuPage 2: Reverse Commute 7: North DuPage 3: Central DuPage 8: North Central Cook 4: South Central Cook 9: West Central Cook 5: East Central DuPage
The nine travel markets are interrelated and in some cases, their geography or travel flows overlap. For example, analysis district 6-D is included in Travel Markets 1 – 5. The work travel constituting these five travel markets is mutually exclusive, but the flows of work trips are likely to overlap somewhere within 6-D. Meanwhile, Travel Markets 3 and 7 overlap with the traditional commute Travel Market 1 since they share the directionality of travel flow. Travel Markets 4 and 8 also overlap the reverse commute with Travel Market 2. A brief description of each travel market is provided in the section that follows.
4.3 OVERVIEW OF THE NINE COOK-DUPAGE TRAVEL MARKETS The Traditional Commute travel market (Travel Market 1 in Figure 4.5) consists of travel that originates in the western suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, and is destined for the City of Chicago. It also includes significant travel that occurs entirely within Chicago – from origins on the far west and northwest sides to destinations elsewhere in the city. The travel flow of the traditional commute travel market is eastbound in the morning (westbound in the afternoon). While the vast majority of commuting affecting the Cook-DuPage Corridor takes place between suburbs (Intersuburban commute category), the Traditional Commute is the single largest of the nine identified travel markets in terms of geography and number of trips.
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Traditional commute travelers are destined to an area that covers most of Chicago – from Cicero Avenue (IL 50) east to Lake Michigan and from Devon Avenue south to 95th Street. This area comprises four analysis districts 113, 114, 115 and 116. District 116 is bounded by North Avenue, Western Avenue, and Cermak Road, and comprises the central area including the Loop, University of Illinois-Chicago/west Loop, Illinois Medical District, north Michigan Avenue/Streeterville, and the Museum Campus/McCormick Place. To the north is District 113. District 114 covers the south side to 95th Street and includes the University of Chicago/Hyde Park area. District 115 covers the west side, extending west of Western Avenue.
The Cook-DuPage Reverse Commute travel market consists of travel that originates east of Cicero Avenue (IL 50) in the City of Chicago and is destined for the west suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties (Travel Market 2 in Figure 4.5). It also includes travel that occurs entirely within the City of Chicago from origins east of Cicero Avenue to destinations in the northwest, far west, and far southwest sides of the city. The travel flow of the reverse travel market is westbound in the morning and eastbound in the afternoon. In terms of geography and numbers of trips, this is the second largest single travel market affecting the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The geography is exactly the same as the traditional commute travel market but the origin and destination areas and the directionality of travel flow are reversed.
The destination area for reverse commuters includes all of the Cook DuPage Corridor and includes some of the largest suburbs in the region such as Aurora, Naperville, Downers Grove and Cicero as well as the northwest, far west, and far southwest sides of Chicago. It also includes several activity centers of regional importance such as O’Hare International Airport, Midway Airport, the I-88 Research and Development Corridor, the Oak Brook area and a small portion of the Elk Grove Industrial Park.
The Central DuPage travel market includes travel that originates west of IL 53 in DuPage County, Kane County and northwestern Will County and is destined for analysis district 6-D in east-central DuPage that includes Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, and portions of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Westmont, Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale (Travel Market 3 in Figure 4.5).
The travel flow of the Central DuPage travel market is eastbound in the morning peak period and westbound in the afternoon, sharing the directionality of the traditional commute travel market. District 6-D contains the Oak Brook activity center, Yorktown Center, and major commercial and retail activity along the I-88 tollway and along Butterfield Road/22nd Street roughly between the I-355/I-88 junction and Oak Brook. Approximately 34,500 daily round- trip work trips are made in this travel market making it the second largest intersuburban market in the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
The South Central Cook travel market consists of travel that originates in Cook County east of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and south of the Metra Union Pacific-West (UP-W) Line and is destined for District 6-D (Travel Market 4 in Figure 4.5). This destination area includes Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, and portions of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Westmont, Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale and is the same as that of the Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 3).
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The travel flow of the South Central Cook travel market is westbound in the morning and eastbound in the afternoon, sharing the directionality of the Reverse Commute travel market (Travel Market 2) and the North Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 8). A modest flow of over 13,000 daily round-trip work trips are made within this travel market.
The East Central DuPage travel market consists of bi-directional north-south travel in the eastern two-thirds of DuPage County. The market area extends as far north as the Lake-Cook county border, including communities such as Palatine, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Roselle, Bensenville, Bloomingdale and Elmhurst, and also extends as far south as Bolingbrook in northwestern Will County and Darien in southern DuPage County (Travel Market 5 in Figure 4.5).
This travel market includes several activity centers of regional significance, including the Oak Brook activity center along Butterfield Road/22nd Street, the I-88 Research and Development Corridor, the Schaumburg/Woodfield area, O’Hare International Airport and the Elk Grove Industrial Park. The East Central DuPage travel market is the largest intersuburban market in the Cook-DuPage Corridor with a total of over 56,500 daily round-trip work trips in the northbound and southbound direction.
The Far West DuPage travel market consists of north/south travel that originates in the western two-thirds of DuPage County and is destined for District 2-D in west DuPage County (Travel Market 6 in Figure 4.5). Several activity centers of regional significance such as Cantera (Warrenville), portions of the I-88 Research and Development Corridor, and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are located in this travel market.
The travel flow of the Far West DuPage travel market is southbound from analysis Districts 1-D and 3-D in the a.m. peak (northbound in the p.m. peak) and northbound from two other analysis districts, 102 and 501, during the a.m. peak (southbound in the p.m. peak). This travel market is comprised of over 17,000 daily round-trip work trips with the travel flow being considerably stronger in the northbound direction.
The North DuPage travel market comprises travel that originates in central and northern Kane, far northwest Cook and northern DuPage counties and has destinations in northern DuPage. The overall market area extends as far west as the Kane/DeKalb County line, and as far east as the Cook/DuPage County line (Travel Market 7 in Figure 4.5). The travel flow of the North DuPage travel market is eastbound in the a.m. peak (westbound in the p.m. peak).
The North DuPage travel market consists of a total of over 26,000 daily work trips. The three destination districts of the travel market (Districts 3-D, 5-D and 105) contain a large number of light manufacturing and distribution establishments concentrated in large industrial parks located in Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Addison, Lombard, Elmhurst, Itasca, Wood Dale, Elk Grove Village and Bensenville.
The North Central Cook travel market consists primarily of travel that originates in several near-west communities east of Harlem Avenue as well as the far west and northwest side of Chicago and is destined to places between Harlem Avenue and Mannheim Road. There is a
4-11 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis secondary origin-destination travel pattern which reflects trips that begin in the District 9-C communities between Harlem and Mannheim and are destined for areas west of Mannheim Road in District 7-C (Travel Market 8 in Figure 4.5). The travel flow of the North Central Cook travel market is westbound in the a.m. peak (eastbound in the p.m. peak).
The North Central Cook travel market is comprised of relatively short distance trips when compared to the other Cook-DuPage Corridor travel markets. The total size of the North Central Cook travel market is over 6,000 daily work trips.
The West Central Cook travel market is a bi-directional north-south travel market in Cook County between Mannheim Road and Cicero Avenue. This market extends as far north as Devon Avenue and as far south as 95th Street (Travel Market 9 in Figure 4.5). The northbound flow in the West Central Cook travel market includes travel that originates south of the Metra UP-West line and is destined to communities located north of the UP-West Line while the southbound flow reflects travel in the opposite direction.
The West Central Cook travel market is comprised of nearly 24,000 daily round-trip work trips and includes several important activity centers, including Triton College, the Cook County Circuit Court 4th District courthouse in Maywood, Hines VA Hospital and Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood Park Racetrack, North Riverside Mall, Brookfield Zoo and Midway Airport.
Section 5 discusses each of these markets separately, focusing on:
• The concentrations of origins and destinations as reflected in the year 2000 work travel patterns in each travel market and the mix of work and non-work travel;
• The transportation options available to commuters in each travel market and the characteristics of arterial roadways, expressways, rail service and bus service;
• The ability of the transportation system to serve each travel market and the corresponding broadly-defined mobility problems in each market; and
• The projected growth in work-related travel in each market.
The relative size of each market, the concentrations of origins and destinations, the current market share of transit, the mix of work and non-work trips, and the expected growth in travel are discussed across all markets. The key transportation elements serving each travel market and the mobility problems faced in each market are discussed to develop recommended characteristics of mobility improvements.
Findings from all nine travel markets are then considered together to establish the most significant mobility issues impacting the corridor. Elements of the transportation system that are most relied upon by the Corridor travel markets are identified and a mobility assessment of each travel market is presented. Conclusions are drawn regarding the greatest mobility needs of the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
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5.0 Market Evaluation
This section focuses on each of the nine individual Cook-DuPage Corridor travel markets, and presents a comprehensive profile for each individual travel market to document and better understand how the existing demand for travel is currently served by the existing transportation network. The most important elements from each travel market are discussed in this section.
As part of the individual market discussion, a series of questions are addressed in detail for each of the nine travel markets including the following themes:
• What is the geography of each market, the total size of each market and the directionality of work-related traffic?
• What is the amount of work travel between key origin-destination pairs in each market as recorded in the 2000 U.S. Census journey-to-work database?
• Are there significant concentrations of origins and destinations of work trips in each of the nine markets and where are they located within each district?
• What are the transportation options available to commuters in each travel market? What are the characteristics of arterial roadways, expressways, rail transit and bus transit that serve each market?
• How well does the existing transportation system serve each travel market and what are the corresponding broadly-defined mobility problems?
• What is the projected growth in work-related travel in each market and are the mobility problems projected to get worse in the future?
• What are the broadly defined characteristics of potential transportation improvements that are needed to improve mobility in each market?
To address these questions, the examination of individual travel markets includes the following information:
1) Key characteristics of the travel market: geography; origin and destination areas; directionality; number of daily trips to work; and presence of major activity centers in destination areas. 2) Origin destination concentrations: densities of work trip origins and destinations at the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level; location, intensity, alignment and pattern of origins and destinations; and origin and destination densities of 250 trips/square mile and greater identified as a significant measure of concentration.
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3) Existing transportation options and key system elements: modal options available (rail, bus, expressway and/or arterial); transportation facilities or services that directly connect travel market origin TAZs of at least 250 trip origins/square mile with travel market destination TAZs of at least 250 trip destinations/square mile; relevant span or service extent; facility and service quality characteristics. 4) Travel market projections: projected for year 2030 work trip origin and destination densities at the Traffic Analysis Zone level; patterns and intensity of origins and destinations; and anticipated increase/decrease in travel market O-D pairs. 5) Non-work travel: magnitude, pattern and concentration of non-work origins and destinations from the CATS regional model.
A series of maps to support the evaluation of each travel market portray the following: • Travel Market Area; • 2000 Work Trip Origin and Destination Densities; • 2030 Work Trip Origin and Destination Densities; • 2000 Non-work Trip Origin and Destination Densities; and • Key Transportation System Elements.
Following the detailed discussion of individual travel markets, Section 6 synthesizes the need for mobility improvements across all Cook-DuPage travel markets from the Corridor perspective, in terms of travel markets to be served, mobility deficiencies to be addressed, the location/geography of needed improvements and recommended next steps.
5.1 TRADITIONAL COMMUTE (TRAVEL MARKET 1) The Traditional Commute (or Traditional) travel market consists of travel that originates in the western suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, and is destined for the City of Chicago (Figure 5.1). It also includes significant travel that occurs entirely within the City of Chicago – from origins on the far west and northwest sides to destinations elsewhere in the city. The travel flow of the Traditional Commute travel market is eastbound in the morning (westbound in the afternoon). Historically, the commute from outlying areas to central Chicago has been the predominant travel pattern affecting northeast Illinois. In terms of geography and numbers of trips, this travel pattern is also the largest travel market affecting the Cook-DuPage corridor. Only the reverse commute (Travel Market 2) is comparable in size and scope to the Traditional travel market. The Traditional Commute travel market is comprised of long distance trips of 30-40 miles, short distance trips less than a few miles and everything in between. This travel market covers the entire Cook-DuPage Corridor and surrounding areas. Spanning approximately 1,000 square miles, this travel market area includes the City of Chicago, all or portions of 88 suburban municipalities, all of DuPage County, two-thirds
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Fi
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of Kane County and the central portion of suburban Cook County. The market extends more than 50 miles from the Kane/DeKalb county line to the Chicago Central Business District. North to south, the market extends over 18 miles from Devon Avenue (and the Cook/DuPage county line) to 95th Street (the DuPage/Will county line). The travel market includes some of the largest suburbs in the region such as Aurora, Naperville, Downers Grove and Cicero as well as the northwest and southwest sides of the City of Chicago. The Traditional Commute market has destinations in an area that covers most of the City of Chicago – from Cicero Avenue (IL 50) east to Lake Michigan and from Devon Avenue south to 95th Street. This area comprises four analysis districts 113, 114, 115 and 116. District 116 is bounded by North Avenue, Western Avenue, and Cermak Road, and comprises the central area including the Loop, University of Illinois-Chicago/west Loop, Illinois Medical District, north Michigan Avenue/Streeterville, and the Museum Campus/McCormick Place. To the north is District 113. District 114 covers the south side to 95th Street and includes the University of Chicago/Hyde Park area while District 115 covers the west side.
Size of the Market Over 213,000 daily round-trip work trips are made by residents of the corridor and its environs to various workplaces in the City of Chicago represented by Districts 113-116 (Table 5.1). Of these trips, 137,000 (64 percent) are destined to workplaces in the central area in District 116. Another 60,000 trips (30 percent) are equally split between the north side (District 113) and south side (District 114) of Chicago. Finally, 14,000 trips (6 percent) are destined to Chicago’s west side in District 115. The Traditional Commute is a much higher proportion of all work trips in the eastern portion of the Corridor than it is in the western portion. The traditional market accounts for 23 percent of work travel that originates in the six Cook districts compared to 9 percent of work travel originating in the six DuPage districts. Table 5.1 presents in descending order the number of daily work trips from each origin district of the Cook- DuPage Corridor’s Traditional travel market that are destined to Districts 113, 114, 115, and 116. The following observations are made based on an examination of the work travel flows in Table 5.1: • More work trips to Chicago are made from adjacent non-corridor districts (115,628 trips) than are made from districts within the Cook-DuPage Corridor (98,336 trips); • District 111 is the largest generator of work trips to the four Chicago destination zones (Districts 113-116) sending over 40,000 trips; • The largest district-to-district exchange is 21,600 trips, from District 111 in the northwest side of Chicago to the central area District 116;
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Table 5.1 Work Trips in the Traditional Commute Travel Market
Destination Districts Percent Origin Districts 113 114 115 116 Total to 116 111 13,067 3,064 2,560 21,612 40,303 53.6 12-C 2,624 3,497 2,696 15,029 23,846 63.0 112 1,482 8,187 1,713 11,280 22,662 49.7 11-C 2,200 1,837 1,931 10,514 16,482 63.7 106 855 2,131 453 9,848 13,287 74.0 109 3,414 1,292 701 7,558 12,965 58.2 10-C 1,256 1,633 756 8,094 11,739 69.0 6-D 820 1,002 439 8,358 10,619 78.7 110 665 3,365 489 4,663 9,182 50.7 9-C 1,223 775 453 4,052 6,503 62.0 3-D 645 401 226 4,453 5,725 77.7 102 303 303 44 4,907 5,557 88.3 1-D 638 476 251 4,024 5,389 74.6 2-D 280 253 85 4,162 4,780 87.0 5-D 652 542 258 3,166 4,618 68.5 8-C 314 419 270 3,243 4,246 76.3 108 241 769 178 2,849 4,037 70.5 4-D 224 171 86 2,884 3,365 85.7 403 230 232 96 1,951 2,509 77.7 104 117 180 44 1,986 2,327 85.3 402 146 124 33 1,577 1,880 83.8 7-C 272 127 116 509 1,024 49.7 105 232 96 56 535 919 58.2 Total 31,900 30,876 13,934 137,254 213,964 64.1 Corridor Districts 1-D to 12-C 11,148 11,133 7,567 68,488 98,336 69.6 Corridor Adjacent Districts 102, 104-112, 402, 403 20,752 19,743 6,367 68,766 115,628 59.4 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
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• Within the Cook-DuPage Corridor itself (rows shown in bold), District 12-C which includes Cicero, Berwyn and Oak Park has the most origins of trips destined for Chicago (15,029 trips). • Within the DuPage portion of the Corridor, District 6-D which includes Downers Grove, Westmont, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst has the most origins of Chicago-bound trips (10,619 trips); however, corridor- adjacent District 106 has the most trips origins of Chicago-bound trips in all of DuPage County (13,287 trips); • Overall, the twelve districts of the Cook-DuPage Corridor send a higher proportion of their work trips to the Chicago central area District 116 with 69 percent compared to 59 percent for districts adjacent to the Corridor; • Interestingly, distance being equal, the southern tier districts typically have a higher percentage of their work trips to destinations in the central area District 116 than do northern tier districts; and • The largest district to district exchange that does not involve the central area District 116 is the flow of 13,067 trips from District 111 to District 113.
Origins and Destinations of Work Trips The density (trips per square mile) of work trip origins and destinations of the Traditional Commute travel market is shown in Figure 5.2 at the traffic analysis zone level. Overall, work trip origins of this travel market are very concentrated, with most high origin densities east of Mannheim Road and particularly concentrated in the area east of Harlem Avenue (IL 43) and north of Cermak Road. Origins in DuPage County are fairly dispersed; however a fairly contiguous pattern of significant origin densities can be seen within the Districts south of the BNSF (Figure 5.2). Within the Traditional Commute travel market,
• A large nearly contiguous area of high density origins spans almost 50 zones in Districts 111, 11-C, 12-C and 112. These districts fall between Harlem Avenue (IL 43) and Cicero Avenue (IL 50) from Devon Avenue to 63rd Street covering the northwest, west and southwest side of Chicago, Harwood Heights, Oak Park, Berwyn and Cicero.
• Also generating many work trips are the southern portions of Districts 110 and 112 between 63rd Street and 95th Street, in Hickory Hills, Justice, Bridgeview, Oak Lawn and Burbank.
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Figure 5.2.
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• Origin zones with the highest density in this travel market (2,500-5,000 trips per square mile) are located in the City of Chicago and the far eastern portion of Oak Park, between Narragansett/Ridgeland Avenue and Cicero Avenue (IL 50).
• West of Harlem Avenue (IL 43), a linear pattern of high density origins is evident along each of the three commuter rail lines – the Milwaukee District West line (MD-W), the Union Pacific West line (UP-W), and the Burlington Northern Santa-Fe (BNSF). This pattern is strongest along the BNSF and weakest along the MD-W line. Origin densities are highest in the area between Mannheim Road and Harlem Avenue spanning Districts 109, 9-C, 10-C and 110. Origin densities are higher and more prevalent along the BNSF – favoring areas south of the railroad; and extend further west (to the Kane/DuPage county line) compared to areas around the other two rail lines. In DuPage County, origin densities are highest in Westmont, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove and Aurora along the BNSF, and in Elmhurst on the UP-W line. Destinations in the Traditional Commute travel market are far more concentrated than origins. The predominant destination of work trips is District 116 which comprises the Chicago central area and attracts over two-thirds (137,000) of the work trips from Traditional travel market commuters. Many zones in District 116 have a very high intensity of work trip destinations (5,000+ work trips per square mile) among traditional commuters. These very dense destination zones include the Loop, north Michigan Avenue, Streeterville, University of Illinois/ west Loop, Illinois Medical District, and the museum campus/McCormick Place. Outside of the central area, a broad swath of the city from Devon Avenue on the north side to about 55th Street on the south side attracts many work trips comprising the Traditional travel market. Key areas attracting many of these work trips are:
• The lakefront along CTA’s Red and Brown Lines in District 113;
• The vicinity of Western Avenue and Cermak Road spanning Districts 114, 115 and 116;
• The southwest side along the CTA Orange line in District 114;
• The Cicero Avenue (IL 50) corridor from Irving Park Road to 95th Street; and • Hyde Park/University of Chicago.
As seen in Figure 5.3, origin and destination concentrations are forecast to intensify by 2030, underscoring the continuing growth in suburb to city travel. Origins are expected to become more dispersed throughout the suburbs, and to intensify in towns along commuter rail lines.
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis ons Destinati s & in g Ori p 030 Work Tri Traditional Commute: 2 ure 5.3. g Fi
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The most significant increase in origin density is expected to occur in Addison and Wood Dale near the Milwaukee District West line and in Naperville along the BNSF. Elsewhere in DuPage, origins of the Traditional Commute market are expected to intensify in Glen Ellyn and Wheaton along the Union Pacific West line, and in Downers Grove and Lisle along the BNSF. Similarly in Cook County, origins are expected to intensify in Oak Park, the Midway Airport area, Oak Lawn, Justice, and Hickory Hills. In Kane County, origins are forecast to intensify west of the Fox River in Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, LaFox and Campton Township west of St. Charles. Some destinations of this travel market will also intensify with increasing numbers of work trips projected to the Illinois Medical District and to the vicinity of Cermak Road/Western Avenue where the Cook County Jail/Criminal Court complex is located. Figure 5.4 shows the non-work origins and destinations in this market.
Transportation Options The regional transportation system in northeast Illinois is largely oriented toward the City of Chicago, particularly to the central area of Chicago. The extensive multimodal transportation system consists of arterial roadways, expressways and tollways, commuter railroads, rapid transit lines and bus lines. The system has long been instrumental in establishing the urban form of the Chicago area, and by its central area focus, the vitality of the downtown Chicago area. As a result, more commuters have a greater diversity of quality transportation options in the Traditional travel market than in any other of the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s travel markets. The following transportation options are available to this travel market.
1. Many arterial roadways provide direct connectivity and the overall grid layout of the arterial system, supplemented by several diagonal arterials, provide a high level of connectivity and alternative travel paths;
2. The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), alone or in combination with the I-290 Extension or the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) is an option for many Traditional Commute work trips; while the Kennedy Expressway (I-90) and the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) are an option for work trips originating in the northeastern and southeastern areas of the Traditional Commute travel market;
3. Bus service is extensive in the eastern half of this market and offers a level of connectivity between origins and destinations similar to arterials but with the inconvenience of requiring at least one transfer for some trips;
4. Eight Metra commuter rail lines and five CTA rapid transit lines provide direct connectivity between many work trip origins and destinations. The relative time savings advantage of commuter rail increases for origins further away from the Chicago CBD.
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis stinations ins & De g Ori p on-Work Tri 000 N Traditional Commute: 2 ure 5.4. g Fi
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Figure 5.5:
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The Traditional Commute travel market relies on all four mobility options presented on page 5-10, although the availability of options and their utilization vary throughout the Corridor. Generally, the closer the destination is to the origin, the greater the reliance on arterials, specifically the automobile and bus modes of transportation. Overall, transit share is lowest in the Corridor districts that are closest to the central area (11-C and 12-C), despite having the greatest amount of transit service options available. The market share of Traditional Commute work trips made by rail transit averages 47 percent, and is considerably higher for work trips made to the CBD versus non-CBD destinations. This represents by far the greatest reliance on rail transit across all travel markets in the Cook-DuPage corridor and reflects the high levels of service offered by commuter rail and by rapid transit in the Cook-DuPage corridor. Although the ten percent market share for bus lags the market share for rail, it reflects the significant contribution of buses in serving the Traditional Commute market in areas closer to the city. The market share for bus in the Traditional Commute market is also the highest bus market share among all other Cook-DuPage corridor travel markets. Key system elements that connect significant concentrations of work trip origins and work destinations of the Traditional travel market are shown in Figure 5.5; the TAZs shaded in gray originate or attract at least 250 trips/square mile within this travel market. Arterials –Many east-west and diagonal arterial roadways offer direct, or nearly direct, links between major concentrations of work trip origins and destinations in the Traditional travel market. The arterial option is most attractive for shorter distance work trips with origins in the City of Chicago and west suburban Cook County and destinations in the central area or elsewhere in the city. In this portion of the travel market, the arterial system is laid out on a fairly uniform half mile grid offering most of these commuters an arterial travel option. For these shorter distance trips, travel time on arterials compares favorably with travel times on other modes. Arterials become less attractive as distance from the city increases and are least attractive for trip origins in western DuPage. For longer distance trips that originate west of I-355, the travel times on arterials are significantly higher than on commuter rail. Nine arterials are focused on the central area (District 116) where the majority of work trip destinations in this travel market are found. These include Elston Avenue; Milwaukee Avenue; Lake Street (U.S. 20); Grand Avenue; North Avenue (IL 64); Roosevelt Road (IL 38), Butterfield Road/22nd Street/Cermak Road; Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34); and Archer Avenue. In the northeastern portion of the travel market, nearly a dozen east-west arterials spaced at half mile intervals connect concentrations of origin zones in Districts 109 and 111 with destinations in 113. North-South arterials are similarly spaced providing a high degree of connectivity. In the southeastern portion of the travel market, the arterial grid network dissolves between about Cermak Road (2200 south) and 55th Street (5500 south) where several
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large rail yards are located and a major transportation corridor that contains the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and several railroads traverse the southwest side of Chicago. Nevertheless, a number of east-west arterials spaced at half mile intervals connect concentrations of origins in District 112 with destinations in District 114. The names, characteristics and functionality of these roadways can vary significantly even along a single roadway. The number of lanes on these roads ranges from one to three lanes in each direction. In the City of Chicago, most arterials have one lane in each direction, with on-street parallel parking. However, parking is prohibited during peak hours on some sections and effectively adds a second traffic lane. Arterials in the suburbs typically have two lanes in each direction with no on-street parking except in downtown business districts and some commercial thoroughfares such as Cermak Road in Cicero and Berwyn. Posted speed limits range from 25 mph through residential areas and local business districts to 55 mph with grade separated intersections in other areas; school zone speed limits of 20 mph are present in many sections. All of these roadways have signalized intersections for the majority of their extent and over various segments may also have stop signs and at-grade rail crossings. Most traffic signals within the Chicago city limits outside of the Loop are not currently operated as systems. Three notable exceptions are Irving Park Road (IL 19) from I-90/94 to Lake Shore Drive, Addison Street from I-90/94 to Lake Shore Drive, and Armitage Avenue from Grand Avenue to I-90/94. In the suburbs, many signals on state and county highways are operated as part of systems to improve traffic flow. Expressways – Four major expressways, including one tollway, serve the Traditional Commute travel market: the Eisenhower Expressway and Extension (I-290), the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Kennedy Expressway (I-90), and the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). These expressways typically offer a high posted speed limit of 55 mph and a minimum of three lanes in each direction. Concentrations of origins in DuPage County generally are not immediately adjacent to expressways and require greater reliance on arterials for access. The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) alone, or in combination with either I-88 or the I-290 Extension is an option for almost half of all work trips made by the Cook-DuPage Corridor Traditional travel market. The Eisenhower in combination with other arterials and expressways such as the Kennedy and Dan Ryan provides access to a wide array of other destinations in the City of Chicago. The Eisenhower has four lanes in each direction between Cicero Avenue and the Circle Interchange in downtown Chicago narrowing to three lanes in each direction between Austin Boulevard and 25th Avenue before again returning to four lanes in each direction from 25th Avenue west to the Hillside interchange. The Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) extends west of the Eisenhower Expressway starting at the interchange with I-294 and has three lanes in each direction throughout DuPage County. Interchange spacing on the tollway system is typically greater than on the expressway system and access/egress opportunities are generally more limited.
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The I-290 Extension (in combination with the Eisenhower) is an option for a smaller portion of Traditional Commute work trips in the Cook-DuPage corridor. The I-290 Extension has three lanes in each direction through most of the relevant section from I-355 to the Eisenhower, and has full interchanges at roughly one mile intervals through the Traditional travel market. The Kennedy Expressway (I-90) is an option for Traditional Commute work trips north of the Cook-DuPage Corridor proper and serves the travel market with three to four lanes in each direction. Unique among Chicago area expressways, the Kennedy also features reversible lanes that function as express lanes from the Edens junction to Ontario Street. The operation of the reversible lanes is set to match the flow of the Traditional Commute market facilitating the inbound flow in the morning and the outbound flow in the evening. The Stevenson Expressway (I-55) is an option for Traditional Commute trips south of the Cook DuPage Corridor proper and serves the travel market with three lanes in each direction. Despite their apparent attractiveness, the use of expressways by the Traditional travel market presents significant mobility issues. The Eisenhower Expressway is the most critical to the Corridor’s Traditional Commute travel market but on measures of congestion and speed it performs the worst of the interstates serving the Corridor. The Eisenhower has the greatest number of segments where traffic volumes are close to or exceed the capacity of the highway for prolonged periods of time during a typical weekday. On average, it experiences severe congestion with volumes that exceed capacity for three to four hours every weekday in both the eastbound and westbound direction. The Eisenhower experiences moderate congestion for an additional six to seven hours every weekday in both directions. Between 25th Avenue and Austin Boulevard, the Eisenhower narrows from four to three lanes in each direction, and the Austin Boulevard and Harlem Avenue interchanges have left hand ramps located in the center of the expressway. Congestion in this segment of the Eisenhower is the greatest in magnitude and duration, with volumes exceeding capacity in both the eastbound and westbound direction four to six hours each weekday. Despite the Eisenhower’s posted speed limit of 55 mph, eastbound travel speeds during the a.m. peak are typically 15-20 miles per hour from the Hillside interchange to Cicero Avenue and westbound speeds during the p.m. peak are slightly higher at 15-30 mph. Similarly, the I-290 Extension experiences volumes greater than capacity in the eastbound direction three to five hours each weekday in the vicinity of North Avenue (IL 64) and St. Charles Road just north of the Hillside interchange. In the westbound direction, this same segment experiences similar congestion five hours each weekday. Travel times to the Loop from IL 53, the Tri-State Tollway, and Harlem Avenue average approximately 55 minutes, 40 minutes and 20 minutes respectively during the a.m. peak. In the westbound direction, p.m. peak period travel times are comparable, except for the trip from the Loop to Harlem Avenue which takes significantly longer – 35 minutes.
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Commuters in the DuPage portion of the travel market that choose the expressway option (I-88 or the I-290 Extension) must traverse the Hillside interchange, where I-290, I-294 and I-88 converge. Despite recent improvements to the Eisenhower from the Hillside interchange to Mannheim Road (U.S. 12/20/45), this portion of the Eisenhower registers volumes that exceed capacity in the eastbound direction for 12 hours each weekday, the longest period of severe congestion on any expressway in the Corridor. Bus Transit – There is an extensive network of fixed route bus service available to serve the eastern half of the Traditional travel market spanning west suburban Cook County and the City of Chicago. This area accounts for over two-thirds of trip origins in the traditional market and all trip destinations. The CTA and Pace operate bus service along nearly all arterials in this portion of the Traditional travel market including most of the key arterial roadways mentioned above. For the Traditional Commute, the most direct connections exist for travel that occurs entirely within the City of Chicago and CTA’s service area. Once outside this area, at least one transfer is required due to a change in direction, modes or service area boundaries. Many east-west CTA bus routes offer direct, or nearly direct, links between significant concentrations of both work trip origins and destinations in the northeastern portion of the Traditional travel market. Eight of these routes provide a direct link between major concentrations of work trip origins in portions of Districts 11-C and 12-C with significant concentrations of destinations in the central area (District 116) and the west side (District 115). From north to south, these CTA routes include 72-North Avenue; 70-Division; 66-Chicago; 20-Madison; 126-Jackson; 7-Harrison; 12-Roosevelt; and 21-Cermak. In addition, CTA bus routes operate on diagonal arterials and provide a direct link between origins at the north and south end of the travel market in Districts 111 and 112 and work destinations in 116. These CTA routes include 56-Milwaukee; 65-Grand; 60-Blue Island/26th; and 62-Archer. Nearly a dozen CTA bus routes spaced at half mile intervals provide a direct link between major concentrations of work trip origins in District 111 and work destinations along the east side of Cicero Avenue (IL 50) and along the north lakefront in District 113. South of Cermak Road in District 114, CTA bus service generally does not extend west of Cicero Avenue (IL 50) – the Chicago city limit. A number of east-west arterials in the southeastern portion of the travel market such as 79th Street and 87th Street have CTA service east of Cicero Avenue and Pace service to the west. CTA bus service typically offers peak, midday and evening service with a.m. peak headways of 10 minutes or less. During the off-peak periods, headways are generally 10-20 minutes. Saturday and Sunday service is also typically available with service headways of 15 to 20 minutes. West of Harlem Avenue in Cook County, a network of Pace bus routes is available but must be used only in combination with other transit services, primarily CTA rapid transit, to provide a connection between origins and destinations of the Traditional Commute travel market. Nearly all of these Pace routes operate on the major east-west and north-south arterials, and are oriented to the CTA rapid transit system, including the Green line, the three branches of the Blue line, and the Orange line.
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Pace route 855/I-55 Flyer is the only bus service west of I-294 in DuPage County that directly connects significant concentrations of DuPage origins with significant concentrations of destinations in Chicago. The I-55 Flyer provides an express service from the Pace Park-n-Ride in Burr Ridge and heads non-stop to Chicago five times during the morning peak. The in-bound trip takes approximately 1 hour from the Burr Ridge Park-n-Ride. Multimodal trips are possible from other locations. Four east-west Pace bus routes link concentrations of origins in DuPage County with the CTA rapid transit system for the final trip to downtown Chicago including Pace routes 309-Lake Street, 313-St. Charles Road, 747-DuPage Connection and 322-Cermak Road/22nd Street. However, the travel time for the bus portion of these trips is high relative to the distance traveled, making the combination of suburban bus and rapid transit an unattractive alternative for commuting between the suburbs and the city’s central area. Pace’s fixed bus routes typically offer peak, midday and evening service with a.m. peak headways of 20 to 40 minutes. During the off-peak periods, headways are generally 30 to 60 minutes. Limited Saturday and Sunday service is also typically available with service headways of 60 to 90 minutes. The extensive grid network of bus routes in the eastern portion of this travel market affords most of these commuters a transit travel option. However, many work trips would require at least one transfer due to CTA/Pace service area boundaries or a change in travel direction along the grid. Second, commuters at the north and south end of the travel market in Districts 111 and 112 lack many direct bus routes to destinations in the central area (District 116), while commuters in the center of the travel market in Districts 11-C and 12-C lack direct transit options to destinations in Districts 113 and 114 since a trip by bus would require at least one transfer. Rail Transit – Eight Metra commuter rail lines and five CTA rapid transit lines serve the Corridor’s Traditional Commute market. Three commuter rail lines, the Milwaukee District West Line (MD-W), Union Pacific West Line (UP-W) and Burlington Northern Santa-Fe (BNSF), extend through the Cook-DuPage Corridor proper into eastern Kane County. The other five lines, the Union Pacific Northwest Line (UP-NW), North Central Service (NCS), Milwaukee District North Line (MD-N), the Heritage Corridor (HC) and the SouthWest Service (SWS) serve districts of this travel market to the north (District 111) and to the south of the Corridor proper (Districts 110 and 112). The eight Metra rail lines serving this Traditional travel market provide a direct link between significant concentrations of work trip origins and destinations. Like all other Metra commuter rail lines, these eight lines converge at the Chicago downtown area and function primarily to transport suburban and city workers to and from job locations in downtown Chicago, Monday through Friday. Train schedules are designed to optimize travel times between the suburbs and downtown Chicago in the morning, and in the reverse direction in the evening. Weekday train service and schedules for full service lines feature a combination of express and local trains during the a.m. and p.m. peak hours, with local trains running during off-peak hours (midday and evening) generally at one hour intervals. Express trains can reduce travel time
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substantially over local trains from more distant origin points. Full service lines also have Saturday and Sunday service. Overall, commuter rail service is very reliable with predictable travel times, compared to arterials and expressways. Metra commuter rail provides direct service to District 116, but requires a transfer to another commuter rail line, CTA rapid transit line, or bus to reach most destinations in Districts 113, 114 and 115, as well as the non-CBD workplaces in District 116. Many downtown destinations in the Loop and west Loop are within a 15 minute walk of Union Station or Ogilvie Transportation Center. However, destinations along Michigan Avenue and the north and south Loop, may be too far for walking but are served by special peak period CTA bus routes from Union Station and Ogilvie, and in some cases by commuter boat or employer-operated coaches. CTA rapid transit lines, bus routes and additional Metra commuter rail lines help to complete trips to more distant destinations north and south of the Loop and to places west of the central area. Transfers between (or to) the three lines of the Union Pacific (UP-N, UP-NW and UP-W) can be made at Ogilvie Transportation Center. Transfers between (or to) the two lines of the Milwaukee District the SouthWest Service and the BNSF line can be made at Union Station. Traditional commuters can transfer directly from the Metra UP-W line at the Oak Park Station to the CTA Green Line, CTA buses and Pace buses. It is also possible, although not nearly as convenient, for Traditional Commuters to utilize the following Metra-CTA rail combinations without first traveling to the Chicago CBD: Metra BNSF line and the CTA Blue Line Cermak branch at respective Metra and CTA stations along Cicero Avenue, as well as along Western Avenue; and the UP-W Line and the CTA Green Line via stations along Kedzie. Station access to Metra lines in the origin districts is accomplished by a range of modes, including walking, bicycling, driving and parking, or feeder bus. In some areas, feeder bus service provides an access alternative to auto and parking. Feeder buses are localized fixed routes dedicated solely to providing access to and from Metra stations; and usually meeting several trains in the morning and evening peak. In the Cook portion of the corridor, bus connections to Metra are achieved via the fixed route bus system on arterial streets that pass by a Metra station. While these routes have longer hours of operation than feeder services, a connection to Metra is not a primary objective and only certain trips on a few routes are specifically timed to meet Metra trains. CTA rapid transit service is available in the easternmost portion of the corridor in Districts 10-C, 11-C, and 12-C, as well as Districts 109 and 111 to the north, and 112 to the south. Like the commuter rail system, the rapid transit lines are also physically oriented to the Chicago downtown area. Inbound and outbound rapid transit service is entirely local during peak and off-peak periods; no express or skip-stop service is currently operated. The five rapid transit lines serving the Corridor Traditional travel market provide a direct link between major concentrations of work trip origins and destinations including the Blue Line – O’Hare branch; the Green Line; the Blue Line - Forest Park branch (formerly the Congress branch); the Blue Line Cermak branch (formerly the Douglas branch); and the Orange Line.
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The Green Line and the Forest Park and Cermak branches of the Blue line extend into the eastern portion of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The Blue Line O’Hare branch passes through adjacent districts north of the corridor (Districts 109, 111), while the Orange Line reaches Cicero Avenue at the far west end of District 114. Parking – Unique to the Traditional travel market, parking is a key element for the expressway, arterial and rail options. Commuters who choose the expressway or arterial options require parking at the destination end of the trip in the City of Chicago. Most long term daily parking in the central area is provided in public and private garages and surface lots. A 1997 inventory cataloged almost 100,000 spaces in publicly accessible parking facilities in the downtown area. Parking costs depend on proximity to the Loop and on time of day. The lowest cost is achieved by parking on the periphery of the Loop and/or by arriving early in the morning (before 7:00 a.m.) On-street parking in the downtown area is typically short term (two hours or less). Alternatively, many commuters who use rail transit require parking at the origin end of the trip. This is especially the case with commuter rail riders. Commuter parking is available at nearly all Metra stations however demand for parking exceeds supply at many stations as evidenced by waiting lists for parking permits in many communities.
Conclusion Traditional Commute travelers in the Cook-DuPage Corridor benefit from a range of highway and transit options that vary significantly depending on their exact origin and destination within the Corridor. Commuters east of Harlem Avenue have the most expansive set of travel options including a network of arterial roadways, the Eisenhower expressway, commuter rail and rapid transit service, and bus routes serving their final destinations. Commuters from the west Cook County suburbs (between Harlem Avenue and the Cook/DuPage county border) lack CTA rapid transit and have a lower level of Metra commuter rail service than commuters originating in the DuPage Districts. Further, a lower level of bus service is available in this area, but is more extensive here than in DuPage County. Commuters whose trips originate further west in DuPage County experience a higher level of commuter rail service while having no direct bus options. The transit options serving the Traditional Commute are quite reasonable, especially for trips to the Chicago central area (District 116). With the extensive multi-modal transit network available, Traditional commuters have access to virtually all destinations within the city via combination of commuter rail, rapid transit and bus. However, travel by transit from the suburbs to areas of Chicago outside the central area, particularly destinations in Districts 113, 114, and 115 can be more difficult since many trips potentially require traveling first to downtown and at least one transfer. The greatest mobility problem of the Traditional Commute travel market is the severe and recurring congestion on the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) for prolonged periods in the Traditional Commute direction. This poses a particular problem for workers whose jobs or personal/family responsibilities require use of an automobile for their
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commute. Further, the arterial roadways do not adequately serve as an alternative to the Eisenhower for longer distance trips. The closely spaced signals, lower posted speed limits and sporadic congestion limit their usefulness primarily to shorter distance commute trips. The Traditional Commute travel market is expected to grow by 18 percent through 2030. As a result, existing levels of both transit and highway use are expected to continue into the future, along with an associated negative impact on the mobility for those who rely on the Eisenhower for a significant portion of their work trip. Mobility improvements for the Traditional Commute travel market should include the following characteristics: • Increase effective capacity on the Eisenhower Expressway and implement intensive traffic management strategies, such as real-time traveler information, new (additional) restricted lanes (e.g., HOV, transit, pass through traffic, trucks, etc.). • Implement improvements that are geared toward the eastbound flow of traffic in the morning peak and westbound in the evening peak. • Improve traffic flow on key east-west arterial roadways primarily through traffic management strategies including traffic signal optimization, as well as potential intersection and capacity enhancements. • Take into account the impact on and benefit to pass-through traffic and commercial vehicle/truck traffic. At least one transit option is currently available to nearly all origins and destinations of the Traditional Commute travel market and is currently relied upon by the majority of this travel market. The level of rail and bus service available for the traditional market is the highest among all other markets in the corridor. However, a number of transit options could also be considered to improve the mobility of traditional market commuters. Recommended characteristics are those that: • Improve the speed and frequency of the Metra UP-W line; • Improve the speed and frequency of the MD-W line; • Improve transit access and/or frequency to the MD-W, UP-W and BNSF stations; • Improve coordination of bus-rail schedules during the morning and afternoon peak periods; • Improve the speed and frequency of the Heritage Corridor rail line serving origins in District 110 in Summit and Justice; • Better serve destinations outside the central Chicago area. Examples could include: o Enhanced intermodal service with timed rail/bus connections at existing stations such as Clybourn on the UP-NW line, Hermosa or Western
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Avenue on the MD-W line, Kedzie on the UP-W line, and Cicero or Western Avenue stations on the BNSF line; o New direct, express or limited-stop service from origins in Cicero, Berwyn and Oak Park to major destinations in District 115 (UIC and Medical Center District), District 113 (areas near Fullerton and Belmont), and District 114 (the University of Chicago campus and its Medical Center in Hyde Park). • Better coordinate existing Pace and CTA bus routes through timed transfers or by combining routes to provide a one-seat ride; • Improve speed and efficiency of bus service; and • Increase the availability of commuter station parking spaces, particularly through implementation of intensive parking management strategies and/or by providing improved intermodal (bus-rail) service.
5.2 REVERSE COMMUTE (TRAVEL MARKET 2) The Reverse Commute (or Reverse) travel market consists of travel originating east of Cicero Avenue (IL 50) in the City of Chicago, between Devon Avenue on the north and 95th Street on the south that is destined for the west suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties (Figure 5.6). This travel market covers the entire Cook-DuPage Corridor as well as surrounding areas. Spanning approximately 1,000 square miles, the market area includes the City of Chicago, all or portions of 88 suburban municipalities, all of DuPage County, two-thirds of Kane County and the central portion of suburban Cook County. The geography of the Corridor’s Reverse Commute travel market is exactly the same as the Traditional Commute travel market but the origin and destination areas and the directionality of travel flow are reversed. The origin area covers most of the City of Chicago, from Cicero Avenue (IL 50) east to Lake Michigan and from Devon Avenue south to 95th Street. This area includes Districts 113, 114, 115 and 116. The destination area comprises the entire Cook DuPage Corridor proper as well as adjacent districts to the north, south and west. It includes some of the largest suburbs in the region such as Aurora, Naperville and Cicero as well as the northwest, far west, and far southwest sides of Chicago. It includes several employment centers of regional importance such as O’Hare International Airport, Midway Airport, the I-88 Research and Development corridor, the Oak Brook area and a small portion of the Thorndale Avenue corridor. This travel market primarily consists of city-to-suburb commute, but also includes city- to-city travel that occurs entirely within the City of Chicago from origins east of Cicero Avenue to destinations west of Cicero Avenue, such as to the far northwest and southwest sides of the City.
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The travel flow of the Reverse travel market is westbound in the morning (eastbound in the afternoon). In terms of numbers of trips, this regional travel pattern is the second largest of the nine travel markets affecting the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Only the Traditional Commute travel market (Travel Market 1) is larger with nearly double the number of daily work trips. The Reverse travel market is comprised of short distance trips of one mile or less that cross Cicero Avenue, long distance trips of 40-50 miles and various trip lengths in between.
Size of the Market Over 123,000 daily Reverse Commute work trips are made from Districts 113-116 (the portion of City of Chicago east of Cicero Avenue) to various workplaces in the corridor and surrounding Districts west of Cicero Avenue (including the areas of Chicago west of Cicero Avenue). All of the travel in the Reverse Commute travel market originates in the City of Chicago and outside of the Cook-DuPage Corridor proper. The majority of the Corridor’s Reverse Commute trip (92,000 trips, or 75 percent) originate equally from Chicago’s north and south sides (Districts 113 and 114). The remaining 25 percent (31,000 trips) originate almost equally among the west-central and central Districts in Chicago (District 115 and 116). Overall, Reverse Commute trips are shorter in distance than their Traditional Commute counterparts. Thirty-one percent of the Reverse Commute trips (39,044 trips) are destined to workplaces in just four nearby districts that border Cicero Avenue (Districts 111, 11-C, 12-C and 112). Seventy-four percent of the Reverse Commute trips (a total of over 90,000 trips) are destined to the districts east of the Cook/DuPage county line. A relatively small proportion of Reverse Commute work trips (24 percent) are destined to districts in DuPage County. However, at 30,109 trips, the absolute number of Reverse Commuters destined to DuPage is still quite significant. Of these DuPage-bound Reverse Commute trips, almost 9,000 trips are destined to District 6-D alone. A much smaller number of work trips in the Reverse travel market are destined to Kane County (2,133 trips or 1.7 percent). Table 5.2 presents in descending order the number of daily work trips from each origin district of the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s Reverse travel market to each of the 24 destination districts. Interestingly, 28 percent more work trips are made from Chicago to districts adjacent to the Cook-DuPage corridor (69,221 trips) than are made to the corridor proper (54,044 trips). The largest district-to-district exchange is 11,120 trips, from the south side of Chicago in District 114 to the southwest side and adjacent suburbs such as Bedford Park in District 112. Meanwhile, the north side of Chicago in District 113 sends over 7,000 daily work trips to each of Districts 111 and 109 comprising the northwest side. Within the Cook-DuPage corridor itself, District 6-D which includes both the Oak Brook activity center and Yorktown area in Lombard has the most Reverse Commute destinations with 8,990 trips. District 10-C which includes all or portions of Oak Park, Maywood, Bellwood, Westchester, and Broadview is the next highest destination attracting almost 8,000 Reverse Commute trips.
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Table 5.2 Work Trips in the Reverse Commute Travel Market
Destination Districts Origin District 112 109 111 107 6-D 10-C 12-C 9-C 110 5-D 11-C 7-C 105 3-D
114 11,120 2,620 2,421 2,937 3,035 3,402 3,002 1,942 3,400 1,514 1,474 1,487 867 1,241
113 2,009 7,147 7,461 4,400 3,548 2,087 1,513 2,006 948 1,758 1,469 1,464 1,917 1,366
115 1,205 1,339 1,368 1,342 771 1,357 1,578 1,381 435 798 1,080 921 577 737
116 1,041 1,805 1,149 1,182 1,636 1,087 703 694 449 633 451 424 460 433
ALL 15,375 12,911 12,399 9,861 8,990 7,933 6,796 6,023 5,232 4,703 4,474 4,296 3,821 3,777
Destination Districts Origin Corridor District 108 106 8-C 2-D 403 4-D 102 1-D 402 104 Corridor Adjacent ALL
114 2,157 1,581 1,007 767 460 613 505 334 185 48 19,818 28,301 48,119
113 428 693 922 812 724 620 433 238 203 81 17,803 26,444 44,247
115 282 359 324 194 107 82 111 164 90 51 9,387 7,266 16,653
116 266 320 337 409 252 156 95 73 112 79 7,036 7,210 14,246
ALL 3,133 2,953 2,590 2,182 1,543 1,471 1,144 809 590 259 54,044 69,221 123,265 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
Origins and Destinations of Work Trips The density of work trip origins and destinations of all Reverse travel market commuters is shown in Figure 5.7 at the traffic analysis zone level. The density of trip origins and trip destinations per square mile is used to account for differences in the size of districts and traffic analysis zones. Overall, work trip origins of this travel market are fairly dispersed and are more prevalent on the north side of Chicago than the south side. Within the Reverse travel market, the most notable concentrations of work trip origins are as follows:
• A large nearly contiguous area of high density origins (1,000 – 2,500 trips per square mile) is found on the north side of Chicago spanning most of District 113, from Devon Avenue south to Chicago Avenue, and from the lakefront west to Cicero Avenue (IL 50). The highest density origins (2,500-5,000 trips per square mile) are found in just two zones; one in the Logan Square neighborhood and the other on the near north side in an area bounded by Chicago Avenue, North Avenue, Halsted Street and the lakefront;
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis s Destination & Origins Work Trip Reverse Commute: 2000
Figure 5.7.
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• A large number of Reverse Commute work trips also originate in the west, southwest, and south sides of Chicago. The highest density origins are found along Cermak Road in the Near West Side and North Lawndale neighborhoods and along 55th Street east of Cicero Avenue in the Chicago Lawn and Gage Park neighborhoods. East of I-94 (Dan Ryan Expressway), concentrations of relative high density origins are found in Hyde Park, along the Metra Electric District South Chicago Branch in the South Shore neighborhood, and in the Chatham neighborhood;
• Finally, about a dozen high density origin zones are found on the periphery of the Loop in the central area of Chicago.
Destinations of the Reverse travel market are more concentrated than origins. The predominant destinations of work trips are in the northwest, far west and far southwest sides of Chicago and in the western suburbs of Cook County between Devon Avenue and Cermak Road. The highest destination densities (2,500-5,000 trips per square mile) are found at O’Hare International Airport in District 107, and the vicinity of Cumberland Avenue (IL 171) and I-90 just east of O’Hare. West of the Cook/DuPage county line, a linear pattern of high density destinations is evident along Thorndale Avenue, North Avenue (IL 64) and the I-88 tollway. Significant destination densities of the Reverse Commute market extend further west along I-88 – to Naperville Road – than is the case with either Thorndale or IL 64. Naperville and Aurora are the only notable areas of higher density destinations west of IL 53. Otherwise, the density of trip destinations in western DuPage County and Kane County is fairly insignificant. Key areas that attract many of the work trips comprising the Reverse travel market include the following:
• Between Cicero Avenue (IL 50) and Harlem Avenue (IL 43) from Devon Avenue south to 79th Street spanning portions of Harwood Heights; the Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Cragin, and Austin neighborhoods of Chicago; Oak Park, Cicero, and Berwyn; the Garfield Ridge and Clearing neighborhoods of Chicago; and Bedford Park.
• Between Harlem Avenue and the Cook/DuPage County line from Devon Avenue south to Cermak Road including O’Hare International Airport, Rosemont, Schiller Park, Franklin Park, unincorporated Leyden Township, Berkeley, Northlake, Melrose Park, Maywood, Bellwood, Hillside, Westchester and Broadview. Places of employment in these areas include many light and heavy manufacturing establishments.
• Along Mannheim/LaGrange Road (U.S. 12/20/45) from the BNSF south to 79th Street spanning portions of LaGrange, Countryside and Hodgkins. Places of employment in this area include many commercial establishments and a United Parcel Service processing facility in Hodgkins.
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• In DuPage district (6-D) a contiguous pattern of high density destinations exists along I-88 from I-294 west to I-355. The highest destination densities are found in Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace and in the Yorktown area. Places of employment in these areas include large corporate, retail and service establishments including Oakbrook Center mall, the Yorktown Center mall, and various light industrial concerns. Smaller areas of high density destinations are found further west, along I-88 in the vicinity of Naperville Road and in the Naperville central business district. Places of employment in these areas are primarily large corporate office establishments and retail establishments respectively.
• Along North Avenue (IL 64) in the communities of Lombard and Addison in District 5-D. Places of employment are light industrial concerns and distribution facilities including a large United Parcel Service processing facility in Addison;
• In northwest Elmhurst along Lake Street (U.S. 20) and York Road again in District 5-D. Places of employment include light industrial concerns and distribution facilities.
• Along Thorndale Avenue in District 105 in the communities of Itasca, Wood Dale, Bensenville and Elk Grove Village. Places of employment include service and corporate establishments located in The Chancellory Business Park in Itasca and many light industrial/manufacturing concerns and distribution facilities located in Wood Dale, Bensenville and Elk Grove Village.
• Along IL 83 between 75th Street and 79th Street in Willowbrook and Burr Ridge. Places of employment are light industrial/manufacturing establishments including many located in the Hinsdale Industrial Park.
• In the City of Aurora in southeast Kane County (District 403). Two zones with a destination density of 250-500 trips per square mile are found near the end of the Metra Burlington Northern Santa-Fe commuter rail line.
Between 2000 and 2030, no major new origin or destination areas are forecast to emerge in the Reverse Commute market (Figure 5.8). However, some existing origin and destination concentrations are forecast to intensify by 2030, indicating where there will be moderate to high growth in Reverse Commute, city to suburb travel. Origins are expected to intensify in all four origin districts. The most significant increase in origin intensity is expected to occur in Districts 114 and 115 spanning the south and west sides of Chicago respectively. Many destinations of the Reverse travel market are projected to intensify by 2030 with increasing numbers of work trips expected to be made. These include the area at Cumberland Avenue and Higgins Road just east of O’Hare; the Portage Park area; areas along 25th Avenue in Melrose Park and Franklin Park; the Thorndale corridor west of O’Hare Airport; the Midway Airport area; and the Bedford-Clearing Industrial District.
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s ins & Destination g Ori p Work Tri 0 3 Reverse Commute: 20
ure 5.8. g
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Figure 5.9 shows that non-work travel is an important component of total travel for the eastern portion of this travel market – from Western Avenue to Harlem Avenue (IL 43).
Transportation Options The same extensive multimodal transportation system of arterial roadways, expressways and tollways, commuter rail lines, rapid transit lines and bus lines that serve the traditional commute market (Travel Market 1) is also generally available to serve the Reverse travel market. However, the effectiveness with which the various system components serve the Reverse travel market varies significantly as travel in this market is not strictly due west; many trips have a significant north-south component. The arterial system with its grid layout and the existing expressways/tollways in combination with arterials are perhaps best suited to serve the Reverse travel market. The commuter rail system, with its radial lines oriented toward downtown Chicago and schedules that optimize travel for the traditional commute from the suburbs to downtown, is perhaps least well tailored to serve the Reverse travel market. Concentrations of destinations west of I-294 are generally not immediately adjacent to commuter rail lines, requiring significant travel on connector bus routes or preferably on distributor bus routes in the few places where these routes exist. The following transportation options provide mobility for the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s Reverse travel market by connecting significant concentrations of both work trip origins and destinations (Figure 5.10):
1. Many arterial roadways provide direct connectivity between Reverse Commute origins and destinations. The overall grid layout of the arterial system is supplemented by several diagonal arterials that provide additional connectivity and alternative paths;
2. The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), alone or in combination with the I-290 Extension or the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) is an option for many Reverse Commute work trips. The Kennedy Expressway (I-90) and the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) are an option for work trips destined to the northwest and southwest sides of Chicago and to the southwest suburbs;
3. Bus service is extensive in the eastern half of this travel market and offers nearly the same high level of connectivity between origins and destinations as arterials although at least one transfer is required for most trips;
4. Five CTA rapid transit lines and six Metra commuter rail lines provide direct connectivity between high concentrations of work trip origins and high concentrations of work trip destinations of the Reverse Commute travel market (as defined for this Cook-DuPage Travel Market Analysis). Used in combination, other CTA and Metra lines provide connectivity for a small portion of trips, but require at least one transfer, typically in downtown Chicago.
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ations s & Destin n i g Ori p on-Work Tri N 0 0 Reverse Commute: 20
ure 5.9. g
Fi
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis t Marke verse Commute Travel the Re g ortation Elements Servin p Trans y Ke . ure 5.10 g
Fi
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The Reverse Commute travel market relies on all four mobility options presented on page 5-29, although the availability of options and their utilization vary throughout the Corridor. Generally, the closer the destination is to the origin, the greater the reliance on arterials, the automobile and bus service. Expressways are the only realistic option for longer distance travel to destinations in DuPage. Rail service is also an option for Reverse Commute travelers with destinations close to the stations.
The mode share for work trips in this travel market clearly indicates that the Arterial and Expressway options are most relied upon by the Reverse travel market. The overall transit mode share for work trips in the Reverse Commute market is small – 15 percent with a nine percent market share for bus and a six percent market share for rail. Arterials – Similar to the traditional travel market, many east-west and diagonal arterial roadways offer direct, or nearly direct, links between major concentrations of both work trip origins and destinations in the Reverse travel market. The arterial option is most attractive for shorter distance work trips that occur entirely within the City of Chicago, or for trips destined to the western suburbs of Cook County. In this portion of the travel market, the arterial system is laid out in a fairly uniform grid, generally every half mile in the city and every one mile in west suburban Cook County offering most of these commuters an arterial travel option. For these shorter distance trips, travel time on arterials compares favorably with travel time on other modes. Arterials are a less attractive option for more distant destinations in DuPage where arterial spacing is significantly greater and travel times relative to other modes – especially expressways are quite high. From Devon Avenue south to 95th Street, almost 30 east-west arterials serve at least some portion of the Reverse Commute travel market, linking concentrations of origins in the City of Chicago with destinations in the city and beyond. Seven of these arterials – Irving Park Road (IL 19), Grand Avenue, Lake Street (U.S. 20), North Avenue (IL 64), Roosevelt Road (IL 38), Cermak Road/22nd Street/IL 56 and Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34) – extend west of I-294 into DuPage County serving long distance travel. Six diagonal arterials supplement the grid system and provide additional connectivity. Commuters familiar with these roadways may travel in step patterns, using various combinations of east-west and north-south roadways, to optimize their travel time or because of roadway discontinuity. The names, characteristics and functionality of these roadways can vary significantly even along a single roadway. The number of lanes on these roads ranges from one to three lanes in each direction. In the City of Chicago, most arterials have on-street parallel parking although parking is prohibited during peak hours on some sections and effectively adds a second traffic lane. Posted speed limits range from 25 mph through residential areas and local business districts to 55 mph with grade separated intersections in other areas; school zone speed limits of 20 mph are present in many sections. All of these roadways have signalized intersections for the majority of their extent and over various segments may also have stop signs and at-grade rail crossings. Most traffic signals within the Chicago city limits outside of the Loop are not currently operated as systems. Three notable exceptions are Irving Park Road (IL 19) from I-90/94
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis to Lake Shore Drive, Addison Street from I-90/94 to Lake Shore Drive, and Armitage Avenue from Grand Avenue to I-90/94. In the suburbs, many signals on state and county highways are operated as part of systems to improve traffic flow. Nevertheless, 15 key arterials serve the Reverse Commute travel market. Their distinguishing characteristics include one or more of the following attributes: 1) two or more striped lanes in each direction for most or all of their length; 2) ability to serve both short and long distance travel, and 3) diagonal routing that allows travel in a northwest or southeast direction. • Elston Avenue, • Milwaukee Avenue/Higgins Road, • Irving Park Road (IL 19), • Fullerton Avenue, • Grand Avenue, • North Avenue (IL 64), • Lake Street (U.S. 20), • Roosevelt Road (IL 38), • Cermak Road/22nd Street/IL 56 • Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34), • Archer Avenue (IL 171), • Garfield Boulevard/55th Street, • 79th Street, • 87th Street, and • 95th Street (U.S. 12/20).
Expressways – Four major expressways, including one tollway, serve the Reverse Commute travel market: the Eisenhower Expressway and Extension (I-290), the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Kennedy Expressway (I-90), and the Stevenson Expressway (I-55). These expressways typically offer a high speed of travel with a posted speed limit of 55 mph and a minimum of three lanes in each direction. Concentrations of origins and destinations are generally immediately adjacent to expressways requiring minimal reliance on arterials for many work trips. The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) alone, or in combination with either I-88 or the I-290 Extension is an option for many work trips made by the Cook-DuPage Corridor Reverse travel market. The Eisenhower has four lanes in each direction between the Circle Interchange (junction of I-90/94 and I-290 just west of downtown Chicago) and Austin Boulevard. Between Austin and 25th Avenue, the Eisenhower narrows to three lanes in each direction before again returning to four lanes in each direction from 25th Avenue west to the Hillside interchange.
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The Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) extends west of the Eisenhower Expressway starting at the interchange with I-294 and has three lanes in each direction throughout DuPage County. Interchange spacing on the tollway system is typically greater than that on the expressway system and therefore access/egress opportunities are generally more limited. The I-290 Extension (in combination with the Eisenhower) is an option for a smaller portion of Reverse Commute work trips in the Reverse Commute travel market and has three lanes in each direction through most of the relevant section from the Eisenhower to I-355. The Kennedy Expressway (I-90) is an option for Reverse Commute work trips north of the Cook-DuPage Corridor proper and serves the travel market with three to four lanes in each direction. Unique among Chicago area expressways, the Kennedy also features reversible lanes that function as express lanes between the Edens junction (I-94) to Ontario Street. However, the operation of the reversible lanes is set to match the flow of the traditional commute market (inbound in the morning and outbound in the evening) and is therefore not useful for the Reverse Commute travel market. Finally, the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) is an option for Reverse Commute work trips south of the Cook-DuPage Corridor proper and serves the travel market with three lanes in each direction. Use of expressways by the Reverse travel market presents significant mobility issues. First, the Eisenhower has the greatest number of segments where traffic volumes are close to or exceed the capacity of the highway for prolonged periods of time during a typical weekday. The Eisenhower experiences a severe level of congestion in both the eastbound and westbound direction during peak periods on a daily basis. Between Austin Boulevard and 25th Avenue, the Eisenhower narrows from four to three lanes in each direction, and the Austin Boulevard and Harlem Avenue interchanges have left hand ramps located in the center of the expressway. Congestion in this segment of the Eisenhower is the greatest in magnitude and duration, with volumes exceeding capacity in both the eastbound and westbound direction four to six hours each weekday. Despite the Eisenhower’s posted speed limit of 55 mph, westbound travel speeds during the a.m. peak are typically 15-30 miles per hour from Cicero Avenue to 5th Avenue. Eastbound speeds during the p.m. peak from the Hillside Interchange to Harlem Avenue are slightly lower at 15-25 mph. Routine congestion on the Eisenhower Expressway significantly inconveniences the Cook-DuPage Reverse travel market. Similarly, the I-290 Extension experiences volumes greater than capacity in the westbound direction five hours each weekday in the vicinity of North Avenue and St. Charles Road just north of the Hillside interchange. In the eastbound direction, this same segment experiences volumes greater than capacity three to five hours each weekday. Travel times from the Loop to Harlem Avenue, the Tri-State tollway and IL 53 average approximately 25 minutes, 35 minutes and 50 minutes respectively during the a.m. peak. In the eastbound direction, p.m. peak period travel times are comparable,
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis except for the trip from Harlem Avenue to the Loop which takes significantly less time – only 10 minutes. Commuters in the Reverse Commute travel market that choose the expressway option (Eisenhower Expressway in combination with either I-88 or the I-290 Extension) to reach destinations in DuPage must traverse the Hillside interchange where I-290, I-294 and I-88 converge. Despite recent improvements to the Eisenhower from the Hillside Interchange to Mannheim Road (U.S. 12/20/45), this portion of the Eisenhower registers volumes that exceed capacities for 12 hours each weekday, the longest period of severe congestion on any expressway in the Cook-DuPage corridor. Bus Transit – There is an extensive network of fixed route bus service available to serve the eastern half of the Reverse travel market spanning the City of Chicago and west suburban Cook County which comprises all Reverse Commute trip origins and three- quarters of the trip destinations. This bus network is most intensive in the City of Chicago/CTA service area, and starts to dissolve in west/southwest suburban Cook County (Pace service area). The CTA and Pace operate bus service along nearly all arterials critical to the Reverse travel market including most of the key roadways listed in under Arterials. For the Reverse Commute, the most direct bus options exist for travel that occurs entirely within the City of Chicago/CTA, service area; primarily from District 113 to 111 and from District 115 to 11-C. Once outside this area, at least one transfer is required to change direction, to change modes or to cross service area boundaries for the CTA and Pace. Nearly 20 east-west CTA bus routes spaced at half mile intervals offer direct, or nearly direct, links between significant concentrations of both work trip origins and destinations in the northeastern and central portion of the Reverse travel market. These routes provide a direct link between major concentrations of work trip origins in Districts 113, 115 and 116 with significant concentrations of destinations on the northwest and far west side of Chicago in Districts 111 and 11-C. From north to south, these CTA routes are:
84 Peterson 74 Fullerton 92 Foster 72 North 81/81 W Lawrence 70 Division 78 Montrose 66 Chicago 80 Irving Park 20 Madison X80 Irving Park Express 126 Jackson 152 Addison 7 Harrison 77 Belmont 12 Roosevelt 76 Diversey 21 Cermak
South of Cermak Road in District 114, CTA bus service generally does not extend west of the Chicago city limit at Cicero Avenue (IL 50). A number of east-west arterials such as 79th Street and 87th Street have CTA service east of Cicero Avenue and Pace service to the west.
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In addition, the following four CTA bus routes operate on northwest and southwest diagonal arterials and provide a direct connection from origins in the central area district (116), north side (113) and south side (114) to destinations at the north and south end of the travel market in districts 111 and 112: • 56 Milwaukee • 65 Grand • 60 Blue Island/26th • 62 Archer CTA typically provides peak, midday and evening bus service with a.m. peak headways of 10 minutes or less. During the off-peak periods, headways are generally 10-20 minutes. Saturday and Sunday service is also typically available with service headways of 15 to 20 minutes. In west suburban Cook, spanning Districts 107, 109, 111, 7-C, 8-C, 9-C, 10-C, 11-C, 12-C, 108, 110 and 112, a network of Pace bus routes exists that can potentially serve the Reverse travel market but only in combination with CTA rapid transit or bus service. Most of these routes, which operate on the major east-west and north-south arterials, are oriented toward and function as an extension of the CTA rapid transit system connecting with the Green line, the three branches of the Blue line or the Orange line. The following Pace routes have significant east-west components that primarily serve destinations in west suburban Cook County:
223 Higgins 322 Cermak 332 River-York Roads 747 DuPage Connection 326 Irving Park 304 Cicero-LaGrange 319 Grand 302 Ogden-Stanley 318 North 386 Harlem 309 Lake 831 Joliet-Midway 313 St. Charles Road 382 Central/Clearing 317/303/310 Westchester/Madison 379 West 79th Street 301 Roosevelt 385 87th-111th 308 Medical Center 381 95th Street
There are only a few bus options that serve Reverse Commute destinations west of I-294 (Tri-State Tollway) compared to the high number that serve Reverse Commute destinations within the City of Chicago and west suburban Cook County. In general there are no public bus services that directly connect origins in Chicago with destinations in DuPage. Rather, the connection is from one of several CTA rapid transit lines that extend into the eastern portion of the corridor. Three east-west Pace bus routes when combined with CTA rapid transit service provide access to destinations in the Oak Brook and Yorktown areas in District 6-D. These routes include 313-St. Charles, 747-DuPage Connection and 322- Cermak. Route 309-Lake is a potential travel option for destinations in northwest Elmhurst (District 5-D) when used
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Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis in combination with the CTA Green Line and with route 645-Elmhurst Industrial which has a timed connection with the Lake Street bus at the Elmhurst Metra station. Pace’s fixed bus routes typically offer peak, midday and evening service with a.m. peak headways of 20 to 40 minutes. During the off-peak periods, headways are generally 30 to 60 minutes. Limited Saturday and Sunday service is also typically available with service headways of 60 to 90 minutes. There are eight general public bus routes that currently serve Reverse Commute trips from various points in the City of Chicago to United Parcel Service processing facilities in Hodgkins and Addison. These routes are designed to optimize travel time to UPS’s facilities, with schedules designed to match UPS’s shift changes. Six routes connect origins primarily in the west and south side of Chicago to UPS-Hodgkins in District 108. Two routes connect origins on the north and west sides of Chicago to UPS-Addison in District 5-D. These routes offer limited stop and/or express service and provide connections to the CTA rapid transit system. The extensive grid network of bus routes in the eastern portion of this travel market affords most of the Reverse Commuters a transit travel option. However, many work trips would require at least one transfer due to CTA/Pace service area boundaries or a change in travel direction along the grid. Rail Transit – Five Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rapid transit lines and six Metra commuter rail lines serve the broadly defined Cook-DuPage Corridor’s Reverse Commute market. CTA rapid transit service is available in the City of Chicago and extends into the easternmost portion of the corridor in Districts 10-C, 11-C, and 12-C as well as Districts 109 and 111 to the north and 112 to the south. The five rapid transit lines serve the Reverse travel market and provide a direct link between major concentrations of work trip origins and destinations: • Blue Line – O’Hare branch, • Green Line, • Blue Line Forest Park branch (formerly the Congress branch), • Blue Line Cermak branch (formerly the Douglas branch), and • Orange Line.
The Green Line and the Forest Park and Cermak branches of the Blue line extend into the eastern portion of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The Blue Line – O’Hare branch passes through adjacent districts north of the corridor (Districts 109 and 111), while the Orange Line reaches Cicero Avenue at the far west end of District 114. These lines are part of an extensive system of rapid transit and bus services in the City of Chicago that can provide access to and from virtually any destination within the city. The CTA’s rapid transit lines also converge in the Chicago downtown area and all lines currently provide an entirely local inbound and outbound service during peak periods. Six Metra commuter rail lines directly connect significant concentrations of both origins and destinations of the Corridor’s Reverse Commute market, as defined for this travel market analysis. These commuter rail lines provide a transportation option for this travel market, which is comprised of origins in the central area, north side and south
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side of Chicago and destinations west of Cicero Avenue between Devon Avenue and 95th Street. • Milwaukee District West Line (MD-W), • Union Pacific West Line (UP-W), • Burlington Northern Santa-Fe (BNSF), • Milwaukee District North Line (MD-N), • Union Pacific Northwest Line (UP-NW), and • SouthWest Service Three of these lines – the MD-W, UP-W and BNSF extend through the corridor proper into eastern Kane County. The MD-W, the UP-NW and the MD-N also serve destination districts of the Reverse travel market that are adjacent to and just north of the corridor proper (Districts 105, 107, 109 and 111). The SouthWest Service is an option for Reverse Commute trips to the Oak Lawn station that is just south of the 95th Street boundary of the market’s destination area from Union Station, Wrightwood station or Ashburn station in Chicago. The SouthWest Service provides only one “outbound” train during the morning peak period and three “inbound” trains during the evening peak. Two additional commuter rail lines traverse a portion of the travel market but do not currently serve the Reverse Commute travel market, as they operate only inbound service during the a.m. peak and outbound service during the p.m. peak. The first is the North Central Service which splits from the Milwaukee District West Line in Franklin Park and has a station in District 109 (O’Hare Transfer at Higgins Road). The second line is the Metra Heritage Corridor, which traverses the southeast portion of the travel market and has a station in Summit in District 110. As is the case with the entire Metra system, the rail lines that serve the Corridor’s Reverse Commute travel market radiate out from downtown Chicago and function primarily to serve the Traditional Commute to downtown Chicago (as opposed to reverse or intersuburban commute patterns). Train schedules are designed to optimize travel times from the suburbs to downtown Chicago in the morning and the opposite in the evening. Consequently, far fewer peak period trains are available to the Reverse Commute market relative to the Traditional Commute and, with some exceptions (most notably the BNSF), only local service is offered. Significantly more service is available from the downtown terminal stations in District 116 than from non-terminal stations in the four origin districts (Districts 113, 114, 115 and 116). Despite these clear limitations in the availability of reverse commute service, the commuter rail service is very reliable with predictable travel times compared to arterials and expressways. Station access to Metra lines in the Chicago origin districts is accomplished by a range of modes, including walking, bicycling, bus, rapid transit, other Metra rail lines and automobile. Vehicle parking at the origin stations is either not available or is very limited. While nearly all Metra stations in Chicago can be accessed by CTA bus, most stations in Chicago receive very limited reverse commute service in the peak periods.
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The radial layout of the commuter rail and rapid transit systems along with the CTA bus network provide additional mobility options for the Reverse Commute. However, most reverse commuters from the north, south and west sides of the city typically must travel first to downtown Chicago and transfer to another commuter rail line to access workplaces in the western suburbs. One notable exception is the direct rail-to-tail transfer opportunity between the CTA Blue Line and the UP-West line at the Oak Park station. Two Metra terminal stations downtown play an important role in possible transfer opportunities. Transfers between (or to) the three lines of the Union Pacific (UP-N, UP-NW and UP-W) take place at Ogilvie Transportation Center. Transfers between (or to) the two lines of the Milwaukee District, the SouthWest Service and the BNSF line are accomplished at Union Station. Transfers that take place in downtown Chicago among lines at different terminal stations or between CTA rapid transit lines and Metra lines generally require at least a 10 minute walk or a bus ride, potentially adding significant time, inconvenience and/or cost to the overall trip. Travel Connections to Final Destinations – The ability of reverse commuters to complete a trip to their final destination is a key element of service for the rail transit option to be considered feasible. In contrast to the traditional travel market, destinations in the Reverse travel market are generally dispersed and are not in close proximity to rail stations, particularly commuter rail stations in DuPage County. Reverse commuters who choose the rail option will generally require additional transportation to destinations that are too far from the station for walking. Travel connections to the final destination can be accomplished by a variety of means including public bus, taxi service, bicycling or even driving (using a car parked at the station overnight). At least four communities (Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove and Wheaton) provide special overnight parking accommodation at their Metra stations for reverse commuters. For destination districts within the City of Chicago and the western suburbs of Cook County, CTA and Pace connector bus routes can be used to complete trips to more distant destinations from CTA rapid transit stations and Metra commuter rail stations. Although a connection to Metra service is not a primary objective of these routes, they generally operate all day, with 15-30 minute service headways during peak periods and 30-60 minutes headways during midday and evening hours. West of I-294 in DuPage County, access from a rail station to one’s final destination is more challenging and presents a significant limitation on the use of the rail option by the Reverse Commute travel market. The many feeder routes that serve Metra stations in the DuPage portion of the travel market do not provide service in the reverse direction. A few stations are served by suburban link or inter-community routes, although a connection to Metra is not a primary objective of these routes. Still fewer stations have distributor bus routes that are dedicated solely to providing access from/to Metra stations and usually meet several trains in the morning and evening peak periods. Distributor services are localized fixed routes that provide connectivity from commuter rail stations to selected employment sites.
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Conclusion The Reverse Commute market is comprised almost entirely of City of Chicago residents, who have the lowest rate of automobile ownership in the region. This characteristic influences the pattern of work destinations of this travel market and further illuminates the importance of non-automobile options to ensure access to Reverse Commute destinations. Lack of transit options and recurrent congestion on the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) are the most significant mobility problems of the Reverse Commute travel market. This is especially true for longer distance Reverse Commute trips to west suburban Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, which collectively constitute 50 percent of the Reverse Commute travel market. Many Reverse Commute trips with both origins and destinations within the City of Chicago do have more than one transit option, including the many trips destined for O’Hare International Airport and the Midway Airport area. Also, a limited number of Reverse Commute destinations are reachable directly by Metra commuter rail from Union Station or Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, or with a transfer downtown from other areas of the city. However for many of the more distant work trips, there are few westbound commuter rail access opportunities in Chicago and connecting bus service in west Cook County or DuPage County is very limited. Also, there is no direct transit option for reaching the high concentration of work destinations that are located along Cermak Road and the I-88 corridor, from approximately 1st Avenue in Maywood (including the Loyola University Medical Center) to Winfield Road in Warrenville (including Cantera). For these more distant trips, expressway travel is the only viable option since arterials are heavily signalized with low speed limits resulting in long travel times and limiting their utility mostly to short distance trips. However, congestion on the Eisenhower is severe in the Reverse Commute direction during both the morning and afternoon peak periods, particularly between Central Avenue and Mannheim Road. The Reverse Commute travel market is projected to grow by 18 percent through 2030. The existing level of congestion on I-290 is expected to continue, as will the negative impact on the mobility of the Reverse Commute travel market. Developing suitable transit options would likely have the dual effect of increasing the future growth of the Reverse Commute market by increasing the accessibility of jobs in DuPage County, and reducing the congestion on the Eisenhower by providing an alternative mobility option to a quite sizeable travel market. Characteristics of transportation improvements that would potentially increase the mobility of the Reverse Commute travel market are those that: • Provide high performance/medium-high capacity, express and/or limited stop transit service for the Reverse Commute market, serving origins on both the north and south sides of the city (Districts 113 and 114) and destinations in west suburban Cook and DuPage County to Lombard along I-290/Cermak/Butterfield Road, and potentially as far west as Lisle/Naperville/Warrenville.
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• Provide high performance/medium-high capacity Reverse Commute transit to the Thorndale Avenue employment destination area from origins on the north side of Chicago (District 113). • Provide limited stop or express rapid transit service during peak hours to stations closest to the following high concentrations of Reverse Commute trip destinations: Hines VA hospital, Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), MacNeal Hospital, Oak Park Hospital, West Suburban Hospital, the Cook County Circuit Court 4th District courthouse in Maywood, Morton College, Concordia College, Dominican University and North Riverside Park mall. • Expand the availability of transit service linking train stations to the employer concentrations listed above. • Improve speed and efficiency of bus transit. • Improve coordination of transit service connections in the Reverse Commute direction and minimize transfer and wait times to 5-7 minutes. • Increase awareness and use of transit or vanpool and developing new “last mile” options from commuter rail destination stations (e.g., bus routes, distributors, car- sharing, and overnight parking). • Increase frequency of scheduled stops for westbound commuter trains in the morning, based on station proximity to concentrations of destinations and the size of these concentrations. Following are examples that may warrant further exploration: o On the BNSF line, new scheduled stops of westbound trains at Berwyn and/or Brookfield with connecting bus service would improve Reverse Commute access to dense clusters of destinations in Districts 12-C and 10-C. o On the UP-W line, new scheduled stops at Bellwood or Melrose Park with connecting bus service would provide access to concentrations of Reverse Commute destinations north of the rail line; and o On the MD-W line, new scheduled stops at Itasca and/or Wood Dale with connecting bus service would provide better access to Reverse Commute destinations along Thorndale Avenue and IL 83/Busse Road and potentially provide access to concentrations of employers in Addison and Glendale Heights. • Improve traffic flow and improve travel times on the east-west arterial roadways most relied upon by this travel market, particularly segments within Cook County and the City of Chicago. • Alleviate existing congestion on the Eisenhower in the travel direction of the Reverse Commute market, potentially through: o Increasing effective capacity,
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o Developing new high performance/high-capacity Reverse Commute transit service, and/or o Implementing intensive demand management strategies, including real-time traveler information on I-290, arterials and rapid transit that regularly and/or intermittently serve as alternatives to the Eisenhower.
5.3 CENTRAL DUPAGE (TRAVEL MARKET 3) The Central DuPage travel market consists of travel that originates west of IL 53 in DuPage County, southern Kane County and northwestern Will County and is destined for analysis district 6-D in east-central DuPage that includes Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, and portions of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Westmont, Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale (Figure 5.11). The travel flow of the Central DuPage travel market is eastbound in the morning peak period and westbound in the afternoon, sharing the directionality of the traditional commute travel market (Travel Market 1). District 6-D contains the Oak Brook activity center, Yorktown Center, and major commercial and retail activity along the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) and along Butterfield Road/22nd Street roughly between the I-355/I-88 junction and Oak Brook. Approximately 34,500 daily round-trip work trips are made in this travel market making it the second largest intersuburban market in the Cook-DuPage corridor .
Table 5.3 Work Trips in the Central DuPage Travel Market
Origin Districts Daily Work Trips to District 6-D 501 6,216 2-D 5,052 3-D 4,837 4-D 4,397 102 4,214 1-D 3,784 403 3,307 104 2,683 Total 34,490
Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
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Figure 5.11
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The density of origins and destinations of all Central DuPage travel market work trips for the year 2000 is shown in Figure 5.12 at the traffic analysis zone level. Work travel origins are concentrated in four areas: • Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and the currently unincorporated area around Glenbard South High School; • Naperville and Lisle; • Southeastern Aurora close to the Will/DuPage county line along U.S. 34/Oswego Road, just to the southwest of the Fox Valley Mall; and • Northeastern Bolingbrook along Boughton Road.
Two key destination areas in District 6-D attract a large number of daily work trips among Central DuPage travel market commuters. Destinations along Butterfield Road/22nd Street between I-355 and I-294 comprising large corporate, retail and service establishments, including Yorktown Center, Oakbrook Center and headquarters offices of several corporations. A smaller but intense concentration of work trip destinations includes downtown Hinsdale, Hinsdale Hospital, and the Ogden Avenue business district. Central DuPage travel market work trips are forecasted to increase by 22 percent between 2000 and 2030 (Figure 5.13). The Central DuPage travel market work trip origins are anticipated to become denser and the pattern of origins more pronounced.
This is particularly the case across the southwest portion of the Central DuPage travel market spanning Aurora, Naperville, Lisle, Woodridge and Bolingbrook (south 2-D, 102, 104, Will County), and more specifically: 1) along Oswego Road (U.S. 34) in southeast Aurora, 2) just north of and along the BNSF line in Naperville, and 3) in a large area in the southeastern portion of the travel market, from approximately Washington Street to IL 53; and between Ogden Avenue and Boughton Road. An increasing number of Kane County residents will also join this travel market, reflecting the projected growth of origins from Aurora and North Aurora. By 2030, four destination zones are predicted to attract 2,500-5,000 daily work trips from residents of the Central DuPage travel market (Figure 5.13). Further, CATS’ travel forecasts predict that one zone (at the junction of Butterfield Road and I-355) will attract over 5,000 work trips per day just from Central DuPage travel market commuters. Figure 5.14 shows the non-work origin and destination patterns for this market. The following transportation options provide mobility for daily work trips by connecting key origin and destination patterns of this travel market (Figure 5.15):
1. Fairly direct travel on major arterials among relatively few alternative routes including: Roosevelt Road (IL 38), Butterfield Road/22nd Street, Oswego Road/Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34), Chicago Avenue/Maple Avenue, and IL 53;
2. Travel via the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), in combination with arterial roadways and/or I-355 for significant distances between the point of origin and I-88;
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Figure 5.13.
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3. Direct bus service is available for trips along a small number of bus routes; and
4. Direct rail service from origins along Metra’s BNSF line to one particular concentration of work destinations (Hinsdale) and, when combined with a bus route, to additional work destinations in the Yorktown area. Arterials and the tollway (I-88) are most heavily relied upon by the Central DuPage travel market, potentially with some travelers deciding between the two options on a daily basis. The transit market share of one percent for work trips in this travel market clearly indicates that transit is used by only a very small portion of this market. The tollway is the best option for the approximately 3,300 daily commuters whose trips originate in Kane County, as well as those in far western DuPage. Travelers in this market rely on I-88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway), which typically offers a relatively high speed of travel with a posted speed limit of 55 mph and three lanes in each direction. Exits from eastbound I-88 at Highland Avenue and Midwest Road are the only two I-88 interchanges that would be used by this travel market since there is no eastbound I-88 exit at IL 83. The majority of work place destinations are in close proximity (less than 1 mile) to these two tollway exits. A few major arterials offer direct, or nearly direct, links between work trip origins and destinations in the Central DuPage travel market: Roosevelt Road (IL 38), Butterfield Road/22nd Street, Oswego Road/Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34), Chicago Avenue/Maple Avenue, and IL 53. The posted speed limit on these roads is generally 35 miles per hour, with two lanes of travel in each direction. These arterial roadways are highly signalized and almost all traffic signals are currently operated as systems to optimize traffic flow. Despite this, congestion is increasingly becoming a problem on roadways south of Butterfield Road, including I-88. Bus and rail service could potentially serve a larger portion of Central DuPage work trips, but the services are currently too limited and inconvenient to play a significant role. Transit is a feasible option only for a small subset of trips that originate in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Bolingbrook and Woodridge with destinations along Roosevelt Road, 22nd Street or Butterfield Road, including Yorktown Center (Pace routes 747 and 715). Additional work trip destinations can be reached with a transfer at Yorktown to Pace route 322 which operates along Butterfield Road/22nd Street. Rail transit is a feasible option for work trips originating near the Route 59, Naperville and Lisle Metra stations that are destined for employment centers that are proximate to other Metra BNSF stations, such as Hinsdale’s downtown business district. However, there are no good intermodal transit options serving this travel market, particularly with respect to “last-mile” bus/train connections from the Metra stations to reach a broader set of employment locations.
Conclusion The mobility of the Central DuPage travel market suffers from a very limited set of increasingly congested roadways, and little or no viable transit. This travel market is expected to grow by 22 percent by the year 2030, while the Far West DuPage travel
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market (Travel Market 6) which relies on many of the same transportation facilities is expected to grow by 61 percent. Both travel markets are facing significant future decline in mobility. Roadway enhancements such as capacity improvements and more intensive traffic management strategies could improve mobility for this travel market and may be the only improvement suitable to the relatively dispersed, but growing number of origins from Kane and Will counties. Other travelers relying on the same key elements of the roadway system for both work and non-work travel would benefit from roadway enhancements, as well. For the Central DuPage travel market, the key arterials that are most critical to focus upon include Roosevelt Road, Butterfield Road/22nd Street, Ogden Avenue/Oswego Road, and IL 53. At the same time, transit options should be developed to connect origins in Districts 2-D, 102 and 104 in southwest DuPage, and 501 in north Will County with key destinations in District 6-D. Recommended characteristics of potential new transit services are: • High performance/medium or high capacity rush hour transit to directly serve the most distant and high density origin zones in southeastern Aurora to the key destinations along Butterfield Road/22nd Street; • Local transit service along Oswego Road serving trip origins through central Naperville and Lisle with destinations along the Butterfield Road/22nd Street corridor; • Additional, faster and more frequent service from southeastern Naperville and northeastern Bolingbrook to destinations along the Butterfield Road/22nd Street corridor; • The impact of transit options on existing roadway capacity should be minimized to the extent possible, especially during peak hours. The impact of congested roadways on transit operations should likewise be minimized. Potential approaches to address this characteristic include transit-only use of roadway medians or shoulders, and developing exclusive right-of-way. Finally, enhancing elements of the existing transit network could significantly improve/expand mobility options. Examples warranting further consideration include: • Increasing the number of Metra BNSF trains with scheduled stops at the Aurora, Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove and Hinsdale stations in the eastbound direction during the morning peak/westbound direction in afternoon peak; • Introducing distributor (reverse feeder) service scheduled to meet eastbound Metra BNSF trains at the Hinsdale and Downers Grove – Main Street stations to provide new or improved transit access to the Ogden Avenue and the 22nd Street/Butterfield Road corridor destinations; • Improving speed and efficiency of bus service; and • Minimizing intermodal and bus-to-bus transfer wait times to 5-7 minutes.
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5.4 SOUTH CENTRAL COOK (TRAVEL MARKET 4) The South Central Cook travel market consists of travel that originates in the near west and southwest suburbs of Cook County and is destined for analysis district 6-D in east central DuPage County, including: Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, and portions of Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Westmont, Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale (Figure 5.16). The travel flow of the South Central Cook travel market is westbound in the morning and eastbound in the afternoon, sharing the directionality of the reverse commute travel market (Travel Market 2) and the North Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 8). A modest flow of over 13,000 daily round-trip work trips are made within the South Central Cook travel market (Table 5.4).
Table 5.4 Work Trips in the South Central Cook Travel Market
Daily Work Origin Trips to Districts District 6-D 10-C 3,419 12-C 2,457 8-C 2,222 110 2,098 108 1,611 112 1,588 Total 13,395
Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
The density of work trip origins and destinations is shown in Figure 5.17 at the traffic analysis zone level. The highest densities of work trip origins are located: • Between 1st Avenue and the Tri-State Tollway in the nearby communities of Berkeley, Bellwood, Maywood, Broadview Westchester, Brookfield, LaGrange Park, LaGrange and Western Springs; and • East of Harlem Avenue (IL 43) in central Oak Park, Berwyn and Cicero. Destinations are more concentrated than origins, and are located: • In the vicinity of Oakbrook Center mall; • Along 22nd Street/Butterfield Road between Oak Brook and Lombard; • In and around Hinsdale; and • In Westmont along Ogden Avenue, east of Cass Avenue.
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A minor decline of five percent is expected for this travel market between 2000 and 2030 (Figure 5.18). Several origin communities are fully developed and are forecasted to experience a slight decline in population, which may contribute to the similarly slight decrease in travel flow projected within the South Central Cook travel market. The South Central Cook travel market experiences the most significant densities of non- work trips (both origins and destinations) among all intersuburban travel markets of the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Within the South Central Cook travel market, non-work trips far outnumber work trips. A high proportion of the non-work trips are short distance. The majority of origins are concentrated within four miles east of I-294 and two destination areas between IL 83 and I-294 attract very high numbers of non-work trips: 1) Oak Brook between IL 83 and I-294, and 2) Hinsdale. Figure 5.19 shows the concentrations of non-work origins and destinations in this market. The following transportation options provide mobility for daily work trips by connecting key origin and destination patterns in the South Central Cook travel market (Figure 5.20): 1. Fairly direct travel on major arterials among many alternative routes; 2. Travel via the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), alone or in combination with the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), or arterial roadways for relatively short distances between the point of origin and the interstate; 3. Direct bus service for some trips among a small number of bus routes; and 4. Direct rail service from origins along Metra’s BNSF line to a concentration of work destinations in Hinsdale and, when combined with a bus route to work destinations in the Yorktown area. Indirect rail service from origins along the UP-W Line in combination with a bus route, to work destinations in the Oak Brook area. Arterials are the only realistic option for most work trips of this travel market, given the congestion on the Eisenhower Expressway during the morning and evening peak periods. A number of parallel east-west arterials serve this travel market, although the grid network begins to dissolve in the destination district. Transit accounts for a three percent market share in the South Central Cook travel market suggesting that bus and rail transit are only marginally relied upon for work trips. In general, travel time on transit can be long relative to the distance traveled and is not a reasonable alternative for most trips in this travel market. Many east-west arterials offer direct, or nearly direct, links between work trip origins and destinations in virtually all portions the South Central Cook travel market: Cermak Road/22nd Street/Butterfield Road, Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34), Butterfield Road (IL 56), Roosevelt Road (IL 38), 31st Street/Oak Brook Road, 47th Street/Chicago Avenue/Naperville Road./Maple Avenue, and 55th Street. All of these arterial roadways are highly signalized with signals every quarter to half mile resulting in trips with many stops and starts. On many of these key arterials, some or all of the traffic signals are currently operated as systems to optimize traffic flow.
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The Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) in combination with the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) would be most attractive to travelers originating east of Harlem Avenue where the distance and travel time spent on north-south arterials is low relative to the distance and travel time spent on I-290 itself. It would also be attractive to travelers originating north of I-290, an area that lacks a good east-west arterial route. However, there are several mobility issues facing travelers that choose the expressway option. The Eisenhower Expressway performs the worst of the four interstates in the corridor on measures of congestion and travel speed. The most troublesome section of the Eisenhower is from Cicero Avenue to the Hillside interchange and directly serves the South Central Cook travel market. The availability of many direct east-west arterial routes and the predictable congestion on the Eisenhower limit the attractiveness of the expressway option for many commuters. Three Pace bus routes directly connect major concentrations of trip origins and destinations of this travel market: 322-Cermak Road, 313-St. Charles Road and 747- DuPage Connection. Of the three, route 322 is the most attractive in terms of travel time, level of service and access. Route 322 provides direct service between the CTA Blue Line/54th Street station in Cicero and Yorktown Mall in Lombard along Cermak Road/22nd Street, with 15 minute headways during the peak period and seven day a week service. Metra’s BNSF service is scheduled to serve the traditional commute (Travel Market 1) in such a way as to largely preclude its use for intersuburban travel in the westbound direction during the a.m. peak period for origins in Cook County (other than from the Chicago Loop). Although the rail line passes though high density origins in Brookfield, LaGrange, and Western Springs, as well the key destination of Hinsdale, westbound Metra service cannot be accessed from the stations in Districts 8-C, 10-C and 12-C for a two hour period between 6:00 a.m. to almost 8:00 a.m. There is likewise a 60 minute gap during the p.m. peak for return trips.
Conclusion The mobility of the South Central Cook travel market is most impaired by having only a small number of bus routes and long transit travel times relative to distance traveled when a transfer is required. While arterials provide direct connectivity between nearly all origins and destinations of the South Central Cook travel market, only three bus routes serve this travel market. Further, there are no transit options south of Cermak Road. Given that residents of Districts 12-C, and 10-C have relatively high rates of zero- automobile households (20% and 11%, respectively), the low availability and time- disadvantages of transit is a considerable problem. Congestion on the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) during peak periods decreases the attractiveness of this option for most automobile trips made by this travel market and likewise decreases the attractiveness of the DuPage Connection that operates as an express route on I-290 from the Blue Line Forest Park station to York Road in Elmhurst.
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The mobility of the South Central Cook travel market could be most improved by increasing transit options and reducing travel times for existing transit services. Recommended characteristics of such improvements are: • Providing a transit option to employment destinations in downtown Hinsdale during the peak periods with no more than 20-30 minute headways; • Providing a transit option to reach employment destinations along Ogden Avenue, from origins west of 1st Avenue to Westmont; and • Reducing congestion on I-290 potentially by enhancing capacity and/or implementing intensive demand reduction strategies. It would be possible to improve/expand mobility options for the South Central Cook travel market by enhancing elements of the existing transportation network, such as: • Increasing off-peak headways of existing bus service to better serve non-work travel and half-day jobs; • Improving the speed and efficiency of existing bus service; • Reducing intermodal transfer/wait time to 5-7 minutes between Metra’s westbound BNSF service at the Westmont station and Pace 834, as well as between Metra’s UP-West trains and Pace 332 at the Elmhurst station; • Increasing the number of morning westbound trains that stop at one or more selected BNSF stations (e.g., Hinsdale) along with coordinated, new bus service(s) (fixed or distributor) to serve destinations in Hinsdale, the Ogden Avenue corridor, and the destinations around the Oakbrook Center mall; • Coordinating traffic signals on 55th Street and on 31st Street/Oak Brook Road to improve travel times and the flow of traffic on those two key arterials; and • Implementing transit-only shoulder-riding on I-290 during periods of congestion.
5.5 EAST CENTRAL DUPAGE (TRAVEL MARKET 5) The East Central DuPage travel market consists of bi-directional north-south travel in the eastern two-thirds of DuPage County. The market area extends as far north as the Lake-Cook county border, including communities such as Palatine, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Roselle, Bensenville, Bloomingdale and Elmhurst. It also extends as far south as Bolingbrook and Joliet in northwestern Will County and includes communities such as Woodridge, Willowbrook and Darien in southern DuPage County (Figure 5.21). This travel market includes several activity centers of regional significance, including the Oak Brook activity center along Butterfield Road/22nd Street, the I-88 corridor, the Schaumburg/Woodfield area, O’Hare International Airport, and the Elk Grove Industrial Park. The East Central DuPage travel market is the largest intersuburban market in the Cook-DuPage corridor with a total of over 56,500 daily round-trip work trips.
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Market Page Travel Overview of the East Central Du
Figure 5.21.
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The Metra UP-West line divides the East Central DuPage travel market into a north and south half. Both northbound and southbound trips that cross this dividing line are included in this travel market. A total of 34,700 daily work trips are made in the northbound direction and 21,900 daily work trips made in the southbound direction (Tables 5.5 and 5.6). The exchange of almost 12,000 work trips between Districts 5-D and 6-D in both directions represents one of the strongest travel patterns within the Cook- DuPage corridor.
Table 5.5 Northbound Work Trips in the East Central DuPage Market
Origin Destination Districts Districts (NB) 3-D 5-D 103 105 107 125 Total 6-D 2,704 6,035 1,285 1,428 494 2,094 14,040 106 1,461 1,589 978 1,037 328 1,546 6,939 4-D 2,476 926 366 416 133 559 4,876 501 1,004 915 619 659 360 759 4,316 502 619 623 400 386 143 612 2,783 104 406 403 369 211 35 303 1,727 Total 8,670 10,491 4,017 4,137 1,493 5,873 34,681 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
Table 5.6 Southbound Work Trips East Central DuPage Market
Origin Destination Districts Districts (SB) 4-D 6-D 104 106 501 502 Total 3-D 1,686 4,837 94 950 188 37 7,792 5-D 636 5,703 41 780 227 86 7,473 125 372 2,102 38 509 127 44 3,192 103 380 1,832 18 462 164 43 2,899 105 63 354 0 98 7 0 522 107 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3,137 14,828 191 2,799 713 210 21,878 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000. District 6-D includes Lombard, Villa Park, and Elmhurst (south of the Union Pacific- West line); Oak Brook and Oakbrook Terrace; and portions of Downers Grove, Westmont, Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale (north of the BNSF line). District 5-D is immediately north of 6-D and includes portions of Itasca, Addison, Wood Dale and
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Bensenville south of the Milwaukee District-West line (approximately Irving Park Road) and the northern portions of Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst. Northbound travel of the East Central DuPage travel market is comprised of the work trip origins and destinations shown in Figure 5.22. The greatest concentrations of trip origins are located:
• Between 22nd Street/Butterfield Road and the Metra Union Pacific-West (UP-W) line in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst; and
• Between Ogden Avenue and 75th Street in Lisle, Woodridge, Downers Grove, Westmont and Darien. Work trip destinations are densest along the UP-West line in the downtown areas of Wheaton, Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst, and in the vicinity of O’Hare International Airport. In addition, four key employment corridors attract many of the work trips comprising this travel market:
• The IL 83/York Road corridor from Mount Prospect to Elmhurst;
• The North Avenue (IL 64)/Army Trail Road corridor spanning Addison, Lombard and Glendale Heights;
• The Thorndale Avenue corridor between Itasca and O’Hare;
• The Algonquin Road/I-90 corridor in Elk Grove Village, Mt. Prospect, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and Palatine in northwest Cook County
Origin and destination concentrations in the northbound direction of travel are forecasted to intensify by 2030, reflecting a projected growth in travel of 27 percent. Most notably, an increasing number of work trips are projected to be made by this travel market to Schaumburg and Arlington Heights, as well as to workplaces along the Thorndale Avenue corridor in Itasca, Wood Dale and Bensenville. Southbound travel within this travel market originates in Districts 103 and 125 in north Cook County and in Districts 105, 3-D and 5-D in northeastern and north-central DuPage. This southbound travel is destined to Districts 4-D, 6-D, 104 and 106 in southeastern and south-central DuPage, as well as Districts 501 and 502 in northern Will County. Several employment centers attract southbound travel during the morning peak period, including Yorktown Center and the Oak Brook area in District 6-D, and the Darien/Willowbrook/Burr Ridge area in District 106. As was shown previously in Table 5.6, work trips to District 6-D from Districts 3-D and from 5-D in northern DuPage County represent the greatest southbound work flows within this travel market. The density of southbound work trip origins and destinations is shown in Figure 5.23. Work trip origins are fairly concentrated relative to other Cook- DuPage Corridor travel markets and are particularly dense in the following areas:
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• Between North Avenue and the Metra UP-W line, from Carol Stream and Wheaton to Glen Ellyn, and then again from Lombard to Elmhurst. • Between Lake Street (U.S. 20) and Army Trail Road, from Bloomingdale to Addison. Additionally, a linear, north-south pattern of work trip origins is visible extending far into District 103 in Cook County, west of I-355/IL 53. One of these more distant zones generates over 250 trip origins per square mile and is located in Schaumburg. The destinations of southbound work trips are even more concentrated than the origins and nearly all southbound destinations are in DuPage. Eighty-two percent of all southbound work trips comprising this travel market are destined for the two destination districts between the UP-W and the BNSF – Districts 4-D and 6-D. Significant concentrations work trip destinations of southbound travel include: • A nearly continuous band of medium density (250-500 trips per square mile) and high density (over 500 trips per square mile) destination zones between the UP-W line and Butterfield Road/22nd Street, from I-355 in Lombard to the Cook-DuPage county line in Oak Brook. • Along IL 83 from Elmhurst to Oak Brook; • Along IL 53 in Glen Ellyn and Lombard; • Adjacent to I-88 in Lisle; and • North of the I-55/IL 83 interchange, in a largely commercial/light industrial area in the vicinity of Willowbrook and Burr Ridge. Two zones representing the employment centers of Yorktown (located near I-355 and Butterfield in Lombard) and Oak Brook (near IL 83 and 22nd Street/Butterfield Road) attract between 1,000-2,500 southbound daily work trips. These two high density destination zones also attract a similar magnitude of trips from the East Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 3); the Oak Brook zone attracts a similar magnitude of trips from the reverse commute Travel Market 2 and the South Central Cook Travel Market 4. While a growth of 27 percent is projected for work-related traffic in the northbound direction of this market, travel in the southbound direction is expected to decline by as much as 21 percent by 2030 (Figures 5.24 and 5.25). This is an interesting example of the dynamic nature and inter-relatedness of travel markets. Population and employment forecasts indicate that the northern portion of this travel market will experience much more aggressive growth in employment than in population by the year 2030, and the region’s travel model is most likely predicting that residents of Districts 3-D and 5-D will be attracted to these new work opportunities that are closer to home. This consequently eliminates their need to travel southward for work and in effect, removes them from the East Central DuPage travel market. Meanwhile, employment in the south half of this travel market is forecasted to grow by 28,000 in 4-D and 6-D, alone. Those jobs – and the additional employment opportunities anticipated in southern DuPage and northern Will County – will presumably be increasingly filled by commuters from Will
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County, Kane County, etc., rather than by residents of the northern portion of the East Central DuPage travel market. Travel flow in the northbound and southbound directions of this travel market occurs simultaneously, with the two travel flows relying upon many of the same roadways and transit services. Bi-directional travel currently overlaps most extensively between approximately Ogden Avenue and Lake Street. Figure 5.26 and 5.27 show the concentrations of non work origins and destinations in this market. Three transportation options connect significant concentrations of daily work trip origins and destinations within the East Central DuPage travel market: 1. Four key arterials provide direct or nearly direct connectivity between concentrations of both near and distant origin-destination pairs: Gary Avenue/Naperville Road in the westernmost edge of this travel market; IL 53 in central DuPage; IL 83; and York Road/Garfield Road at the easternmost edge of this travel market. 2. Two expressways, the North-South Tollway (I-355) and the I-290 Extension provide higher speed alternatives to IL 53 and IL 83, and also serve as alternatives to one another for some trips, particularly for southbound work travel destined to the 22nd Street/Butterfield Road corridor. 3. Direct bus service is available for short trips along a very small number of bus routes. Arterials and expressways are almost exclusively relied upon by commuters in the East Central DuPage travel market. The 2000 U.S. Census mode shares for work trips of the East Central DuPage travel market indicate that nearly all work trips are made by automobile. Transit accounts for only about one-half a percent of the total work trips in this market. These transit trips are made by bus. Although three Metra lines cross this market, they do so in an east-west direction; rail service is not available for the north- south travel patterns of this market (Figure 5.28). IL 53 and IL 83 are the only arterials that traverse the entire length of the market, and both have expressway like features for a significant portion of their extent in this travel market. While other north-south arterials are available to this travel market, the arterials form an incomplete grid and can serve only portions of long distance trips. IL 83 shoulders a disproportionate amount of travel within this market due to its good proximity to both origins and destinations; relatively high posted speed limits and access control; and as an option for avoiding congestion on the I-290 Extension during the evening peak in the southbound direction near Elmhurst. Bus transit is an option for only a very small portion of this travel market. Most north- south bus routes in this part of the Cook-DuPage Corridor operate as feeder service to Metra rail lines for the traditional commute (Travel Market 1), and very few bus routes connect work destinations with the origins in this travel market. However, a few bus routes do connect high-density origin zones with high-density destination zones. These routes are an option for northbound trips from Downers Grove, Lisle and Woodridge to 5-68
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Figure 5.27.
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the downtown areas of Glen Ellyn and Wheaton (Pace routes 834 and 715) and northbound trips from Elmhurst to Bensenville, the O’Hare area and the Elmhurst industrial areas (Pace route 332 and 645). There are three Pace routes serving parts of the southbound market but the only reasonable southbound bus option connects origins in downtown Bensenville and Elmhurst with Oakbrook Center (route 332). A bus-to- bus transfer at Oakbrook Center provides access to additional employment centers along 22nd Street and Roosevelt Road via routes 322 and 747.
Conclusion Congestion on north-south roadways and lack of transit options are the most significant mobility problems of the East-Central DuPage travel market. Travel forecasts indicate that northbound work travel will increase 27 percent by 2030. This growth in travel will increase congestion on IL 53, I-355, and IL 83 within the East Central DuPage market area. Although the I-355 extension (between I-55 and I-80) is not within this market area, the resulting pass-through traffic is likely to add to congestion within this travel market and to further impede the mobility of the East Central DuPage travel market. However, there are no transit options for the vast majority of work trips to provide an alternative mobility option for this travel market. Mobility improvements for the East Central DuPage travel market should include the following potential characteristics: • Target key roadways particularly Naperville Road, I-355, IL 53, IL 83, York Road, the I-290 Extension and the I-290 Extension/I-294 junction; • Add effective capacity potentially through intersection improvements, additional lanes, new (additional) restricted lanes (e.g., for trucks, transit or HOV), and intensive traffic management strategies; • Geared toward the northbound flow of traffic in the morning peak period and southbound in the evening peak. • Take into account the impact on, and benefits to, pass-through traffic and commercial vehicle/truck traffic. New transit services connecting origins and destinations of this travel market are needed to alleviate rapidly growing congestion and to provide a mobility option. Transit services most suitable to addressing the mobility problems of this travel market have the following characteristics: • Provide high performance/medium-high capacity transit service; • Reflect both “express” and “local” mobility that the expressway and arterial options offer; • Design options primarily for “choice” riders to provide speed, efficiency, convenience and comfort;
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• Provide direct service if feasible and/or minimize wait and transfer times to 5-7 minutes; • Include flexibility to accommodate future demand and changing patterns; • Efficiently serve employment centers in both east-west and north-south corridors (e.g., Thorndale Avenue, IL 83, 22nd Street/Butterfield Road, IL 53, North Avenue); and • Connect the most dense employment areas with zones of high-concentration origins. Examples of important origin-destination connections include the following: o Origin concentrations in Wheaton/Glen Ellyn (along IL 53) to destinations along the Thorndale Avenue corridor in Itasca and Roselle. o Origin concentrations in Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst along Roosevelt Road to destinations along the IL 83/York Road corridor north of Elmhurst to Wood Dale and Thorndale Avenue. o Origins between North Avenue and the UP-W line from Lombard to Elmhurst to destinations in Oakbrook Center and the linear corridor of businesses along Butterfield Road/22nd Street to Yorktown Center following the current alignment of existing Pace route 322. o Origin concentrations in Bloomingdale and Addison between Lake Street (U.S. 20) and Army Trail Road to the Yorktown Center, destinations along Butterfield Road/22nd Street and the Oakbrook Center.
5.6 FAR WEST DUPAGE (TRAVEL MARKET 6) The Far West DuPage travel market consists of north and south travel that originates in the western two-thirds of DuPage County and is destined for District 2-D, an area in west DuPage County bordered by the Metra Union Pacific-West (UP-W) line, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) line, the Kane/DuPage county border and Naperville Road (Figure 5.29). Several activity centers of regional significance such as the Cantera/Warrenville activity center, portions of the I-88 High-tech Corridor, and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are located in this travel market. The travel flow of the Far West DuPage travel market is southbound from analysis Districts 1-D and 3-D in the a.m. peak (northbound in the p.m. peak) and northbound from two other analysis districts, 102 and 501, during the a.m. peak (southbound in the p.m. peak). The Far West DuPage travel market is adjacent to Travel Market 5: East- Central DuPage, which is a bi-directional north-south travel market.
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This travel market is comprised of over 17,000 daily round-trip work trips (Table 5.7). The travel flow is considerably stronger in the northbound direction. District 2-D was selected as the only destination district of the Far-West DuPage travel market, due it’s preponderance as an attractor, rather than a generator, of north and south travel flow.
Table 5.7 Work Trips in the Far West DuPage Travel Market
Daily Work Trips to Origin Districts District 2-D Northbound Direction 102 5,979 501 4,224 Southbound Direction 1-D 3,942 3-D 3,220 Total 17,365 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000. Figure 5.30 presents the work trip origins and relatively more concentrated destinations that comprise the travel flow of the Far West DuPage travel market. There is one zone in the northern portion of the market area and six zones in the southern portion of the market area with daily work trip origin densities exceeding 250 trips per square mile. The greatest origin densities of the Far West DuPage travel market are clustered in the following areas: • Carol Stream and Glendale Heights south of North Avenue (IL 64).
• The southwest corner of DuPage County in Aurora near Montgomery Road, Ogden Avenue and the Will County border. This is the same area that generates a very high number of work trip origins to District 6-D in the Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 3);
• Central Naperville along Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34), between IL 59 and Naperville Road and the southeastern area of Naperville along Naper Boulevard, south of 75th Street. Work trip destinations are quite concentrated in this travel market with several major work trip destinations in District 2-D: • Along Ferry Road/Warrenville Road and Diehl Road that run parallel to I-88, from the Kane-DuPage county border on the far western end of the market area to Naperville Road on the far east side of District 2-D. The Ferry Road/Warrenville Road/Diehl Road area, which is a part of the I-88 High
5-75 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis ations s & Destin n Trip Origi k 00 Wor et: 20 Far West DuPage Mark
Figure 5.30.
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Technology Corridor, is by far the greatest attractor of work trips affecting the Far West DuPage travel market. Places of employment include Lucent Technologies, BP Amoco, and numerous other corporate offices. • Along Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34) between Washington Street and Naper Boulevard;
• Along the BNSF, between IL 59 and Naperville Road including downtown Naperville;
• The northeast corner of District 2-D in Winfield and Wheaton near Roosevelt Road (IL 38). This area contains part of downtown Wheaton and the DuPage County Government Center (including a courthouse, convalescent center, and administration building). Overall, work trips of the Far West DuPage travel market are expected to increase by 61 percent between 2000 and 2030. A comparison of projected origins and destinations by direction of travel suggests that work-related traffic in the northbound direction is expected to increase significantly by 2030 while the southbound travel patterns in this travel market are expected to remain relatively stable. The northbound flow is expected to intensify particularly from origins along Ogden Avenue and Naper Boulevard. This is largely due to the significant increase of origin densities in District 102 in south Naperville and the northern portion of District 501 (Will County), combined with increasing destination densities in the Warrenville/Naperville area. This projected pattern is especially noticeable around the interchange of Naperville Road with I-88, where one zone is forecasted to attract over 5,000 trips per square mile from this travel market (Figure 5.31). Non-work travel is an important component of total travel in this market (Figure 5.32). The distance and destinations of non-work trips is similar to the work trips. Three zones near the intersection of Ogden Avenue and Naperville Road and one zone containing downtown Wheaton attract 2,500 – 5,000 non-work trips per square mile. Three transportation options connect significant concentrations of daily work trip origins and destinations within the Far West DuPage travel market (Figure 5.33). Rail transit is not an option for this north and south travel market. • Five key arterials provide direct or nearly direct connectivity between origin and destination areas of medium or high density. These include north-south roadways Eola Road, IL 59, Washington Street, and Schmale Road/Naperville Road/Naper Boulevard. Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34) is the fifth key arterial which, in the area of this travel market, is generally a southwest to northeast diagonal.
• While there are no north-south expressways serving this travel market, I-88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) provides nearly direct east-west connectivity to several key employment destinations when used in conjunction with north-south arterials.
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ge Travel Market West DuPa rving the Far Key Transportation Elements Se
Figure 5.33.
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• Limited and circuitous bus service is available for work trips between some key origins and destinations. The reliance on the roadway network to serve the mobility needs of this travel market is very high. The 2000 mode shares for work trips comprising this travel market indicate that the vast majority of work trips are made by automobile. Less than half of one percent of work trips are made by transit. The three I-88 interchanges in this market area are located at IL 59, Winfield Road and Naperville Road and serve many of the work place destinations of this travel market. Ferry Road, Warrenville Road and Diehl Road parallel I-88 and play an important role in providing access to workplaces in conjunction with the tollway, as well as providing an alternative to the Tollway. Although the existing Pace bus routes connect the most dense origins and destinations of this travel market, bus schedules and hours of service are designed to serve the traditional commute (Travel Market 1) or the reverse commute (Travel Market 2) and not the Far West DuPage travel market. All work trips require using a bus feeder service to Metra stations or a combination of a feeder and a reverse feeder bus service. Pace bus service is currently undergoing restructuring in a significant portion of this travel market area. The frequency of service, number of stops, length of route, and hours of service would need to be redesigned to make bus service a feasible and attractive option for this travel market.
Conclusion The Far West DuPage travel market is a geographically large travel market that is served by relatively few north-south and east-west roadways. Options are very limited due to the lack of north-south expressways and rail service, and the current objective of existing bus service to serve primarily the traditional commute. There are no attractive transit options available to the Far West DuPage travel market. Yet with a projected growth of 61 percent, this is the fastest growing intersuburban travel market affecting the Cook-DuPage Corridor. The destinations of the Far West DuPage travel market are largely concentrated in the eastern half of 2-D, resulting in reliance upon many of the same transportation facilities as the Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 3), which is anticipated to grow by 21 percent by the year 2030. Both travel markets are currently facing a significant future decline in mobility. The impact of anticipated growth in work trips and non-work trips on the transportation system will be dire if options aren’t developed in the near future. While providing adequate mobility today, capacity enhancement on the following roads will likely be necessary to sustain the mobility of this travel market: Eola Road, Schmale Road/Naperville Road/Naper Boulevard and Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34). Congestion mitigation efforts are currently needed for IL 59 and Washington Street. Potential mobility improvements for this travel market should:
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• Enhance/protect capacity; • Focus on transportation management strategies, right-of-way protection for future roadway expansion and develop transit options of varied capacity; and • Take into account the impact on traffic of commercial vehicle and truck traffic. A top priority to improve mobility would be to provide transit options that connect origins in Districts 102 (south DuPage) and 501 (Will County) to destinations in downtown Naperville, along Ogden Avenue and to the many destinations along Ferry/Warrenville and Diehl Road. Recommended characteristics of potential new transit service include: • High performance/medium or high capacity rush hour transit to directly and efficiently serve the most distant and high density origin zones to key destinations along Diehl Road and Butterfield Roads; • Local transit through central Naperville that provides a mobility option to reach destinations near Ogden Avenue, Naperville Road and I-88; • Additional, faster and more frequent transit service from southeastern Naperville and Bolingbrook to the Warrenville/Naperville employment center. A transit option to adequately serve this origin-destination flow will likely need to be high capacity in the future; • Minimize transit wait and transfer times to 5-7 minutes; • Serve both “choice” and “captive” riders; • Serve both work and non-work trips; • Not adversely affect traffic flow on key arterials; and • Complement or integrate with transit options of the Central DuPage travel market. Specific origins and destinations in need of improved connectivity include: • Origins in southeast Aurora with destinations along the Warrenville Road corridor and downtown Naperville; and • Origins in Glendale Heights and Carol Stream to the downtown Wheaton area and destinations in Warrenville Road and downtown Naperville.
5.7 NORTH DUPAGE (TRAVEL MARKET 7) The North DuPage travel market comprises travel that originates in central and northern Kane, far northwest Cook and northern DuPage counties and has destinations in northern DuPage. The overall market area extends as far west as the Kane/DeKalb county line, and as far east as the Cook/DuPage county line (Figure 5.34). Two discrete east-west travel patterns that partially overlap in northern DuPage comprise this travel market. First is a travel pattern that originates in northern Kane, far
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northwest Cook and far northwest DuPage that is destined for north central DuPage (District 3-D). District 3-D includes all or portions of the communities of Roselle, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. The second travel pattern includes origins in central Kane and northwest and north central DuPage counties with destinations in northeast DuPage County. Trips in this portion of the travel market are destined to Districts 5-D and 105 in northeast DuPage spanning all or portions of Itasca, Wood Dale, Bensenville, Addison, Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst. These two overlapping travel patterns comprise the overall North DuPage travel market which has an eastbound flow in the morning peak period (westbound in the afternoon) matching the directionality of the traditional commute travel market (Travel Market 1). The three destination districts of the travel market (Districts 3-D, 5-D and 105) contain a large number of light manufacturing and distribution establishments concentrated in large industrial parks located in Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Addison, Lombard, Elmhurst, Itasca, Wood Dale, Elk Grove Village and Bensenville. The North DuPage travel market consists of a total of over 26,000 daily round-trip work trips, apportioned nearly equally between the two travel flow patterns described above. Table 5.8 presents in descending order the number of daily work trips from each origin district of the North DuPage travel market to each one of the three destination districts.
Table 5.8 Work Trips in the North DuPage Travel Market
Destination Districts Origin Districts 3-D 5-D 105 Total 1-D 7,937 2,953 2,248 13,138 3-D 4,359 3,017 7,376 101 3,301 3,301 401 1,608 1,608 402 701 419 1,120 Total 12,846 8,013 5,684 26,543 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
The largest district-to-district flow in this travel market is almost 8,000 work trips from District 1-D to adjacent District 3-D. The next largest exchange is between adjacent Districts 3-D and 5-D, at over 4,000 trips.
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The density of work trip origins and destinations at the traffic analysis zone level are shown in Figure 5.35. The majority of trip origins to District 3-D are concentrated in the eastern half of District 1-D and the southeast corner of District 101 (east of IL 59 and south of Golf Road/IL 58) indicating that most trips in this portion of the North DuPage travel market are relatively short distance. The vast majority of work trip origins to Districts 5-D and 105 are also east of IL 59. Work trip destinations are slightly more concentrated than origins, with six destination zones attracting 1,000-2,500 trips per square mile. The most notable concentrations of work trip destinations in District 3-D are listed below. Places of employment in these areas are primarily light manufacturing, distribution facilities and/or retail and service establishments.
• Along Gary Avenue from Geneva Road to Army Trail Road in Carol Stream and Bloomingdale, including Stratford Square Mall and Bloomingdale Court Shopping Center
• Downtown Wheaton attracts 500-1,000 trips per square mile.
• A nearly contiguous pattern of destinations from Gary Avenue east to IL 53 north of Lake Street (U.S. 20) spanning Roselle, Medinah, Itasca, and Bloomingdale.
• Between Bloomingdale Road and IL 53, spanning the eastern portion of Glendale Heights and the western portion of Addison. Work trip destinations in District 5-D and 105 are largely light manufacturing and distribution facilities (Figure 5.36). The most notable concentrations of destinations in Districts 5-D and 105 are:
• In District 5-D, between North Avenue (IL 64) and Lake Street (U.S. 20) extending from IL 53 east to York Road and including portions of Addison, Lombard, and Elmhurst.
• Nearly all of District 105 spanning portions of Itasca, Wood Dale, Elk Grove Village and Bensenville. Two zones attracting between 1,000-2,500 trips/square mile from the North DuPage travel market are located in Itasca. The first is at approximately IL 53 and Irving Park Road (IL 19) and the second is in the vicinity of Thorndale Avenue and Arlington Heights Road. Overall, the intersuburban North DuPage travel market is projected to grow by more than 40 percent by 2030 making it the travel market with the second highest growth rate in the Cook-DuPage Corridor. Figures 5.37 and 5.38 portray the projected 2030 work trip origins and destinations for the North DuPage travel market which shows significant changes projected for the travel pattern to Districts 5-D and 105. Origin
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densities are forecast to increase in District 1-D in West Chicago near North Avenue and IL 59; in the vicinity of Army Trail Road and County Farm Road spanning portions of Bartlett, Hanover Park and Carol Stream, and along Gary Avenue again in Carol Stream. Similarly, origin densities are projected to intensify in the heart of District 3-D to a more uniform contiguous density of 250-500 trip origins per square mile throughout Bloomingdale, Glendale Heights and Glen Ellyn/Countryside. Destination densities are forecast to intensify at Gary Avenue and Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale in District 3-D. Destination densities will also intensify along Thorndale Avenue and Irving Park Road (IL 19) in District 105. In District 5-D, destination densities are expected to increase in locations along North Avenue in the vicinity of Addison Road in Addison and in locations along Irving Park Road (IL 19) and Green Street just south of O’Hare Airport in Bensenville. Figure 5.39 and 5.40 show the concentrations of non-work origins and destinations in this market. Four transportation options connect significant concentrations of daily work trip origins and destinations within this travel market. Transit options that serve this travel market are limited and are available only to a small portion of the predominant travel patterns in the North DuPage travel market (Figure 5.41).
1. Seven key east-west arterials provide direct or nearly direct connectivity between areas of medium and high density origins and destinations.
2. One expressway, the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway combined with either Thorndale Avenue or the I-290 Extension provides direct connectivity to key employment destinations west of O’Hare Airport and in northwest Elmhurst for a small number of trips;
3. Direct bus service is available only for short trips along one bus route; and
4. Rail service on two Metra commuter rail lines provides direct connectivity between small numbers of origins to a larger number of destinations.
The 2000 mode share for work trips comprising this travel market indicate that the vast majority of work trips are made by automobile. Only one half percent of the work trips in this travel market are made by transit. Arterial roadways are almost exclusively relied upon by commuters in the North DuPage travel market. Arterials are more numerous in this travel market than in many other intersuburban Cook-DuPage travel markets, and they provide good connectivity between origins and destinations. Key east-west arterials serving this market include Irving Park Road (IL 19), Lake Street (U.S. 20), Army Trail Road, North Avenue (IL 64), Schick Road, Lies Road, and Geneva Road. In conjunction with these east-west arterials,
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eleven north-south roadways form a fairly strong grid network, providing access to alternative paths of travel. Transit options are not widely available in the North DuPage travel market. Pace route 715 is the only bus route that directly connects significant concentrations of work origins and destinations by providing a connection for trips from downtown Wheaton to downtown Glen Ellyn. Schedules of the two Metra commuter rail lines traversing this market offer travel between stations within this travel market. However, with the exception of destinations near the Itasca and Wood Dale MD-W stations, most origins and destinations are not close to the commuter rail lines. Therefore, significant north- south travel would be required at either end of a commuter rail trip. Several key stations at the destination end of these trips have distributor (or reverse feeder) service to reach major employment sites of this travel market.
Conclusion Congestion on east-west arterials is of growing concern and transit options are very limited and do not connect the major work trip origins and destinations of this travel market. The mobility of the North DuPage travel market relies almost exclusively on numerous east-west and north-south arterials that form an interconnected, but widely spaced grid network, along with the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway. Many of the key arterial roadways also serve substantial freight traffic due to concentrations of light manufacturing and distribution facilities in this market. Work travel in this market is expected to grow significantly, with a projected 42 percent increase by 2030. The concentration of trip destination densities is projected to become much stronger particularly for destinations along Thorndale Avenue west of O’Hare Airport. Given the short distance nature of most North DuPage work trips, roadway enhancements would most improve the current mobility of this travel market. Developing transit service that is appropriate to the travel patterns of this market could further enhance mobility by providing an alternative to the automobile. Recommended characteristics of roadway enhancements include those that: • Improve traffic flow through traffic management strategies of the grid network, including regular /routine optimization of signal timing plans; • Take into account the eastbound directionality of the traffic flow during the morning peak, and the opposite in the evening peak; • Improve traffic flow on Lake Street between IL 53 and Addison Road, Army Trail Road east of IL 53, and on north-south arterials located between IL 53 and IL 83; • Take into account the impact on and benefits to commercial vehicle and truck traffic; • Eliminate rail-highway conflicts and congestion points, including the at-grade crossing of Irving Park Road/Wood Dale Road and the Metra MD-W line in Wood Dale; and • Anticipate a significant increase in the growth of this travel market. 5-94
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The very low transit market share (0.5 percent) in this market reflects the lack of transit options; however, the relatively short-distance nature of most North DuPage work-trips and high household ownership of automobiles underscore the availability and flexibility of personal modes of travel. New transit services could be developed to provide this travel market a transit option, although the latent demand for such services could not be established in this travel market analysis. In case a transit option is designed for this market, the characteristics of the new transit service would: • Offer a service network for a high level mobility; • Provide minimal wait and transfer times of 5 to 7 minutes; • Add non-express (local) services to provide a high level of access and flexibility; • Prioritize the connectivity of concentrations of work trip origins east of IL 59 with key destinations in Districts 3-D, 5-D and 105, potentially through options that; o Serve origins along Army Trail Road, Lake Street and/or North Avenue; o Serve origins along Gary Avenue with a north-south service connecting to east-west services; o Serve destinations in Addison, northern Elmhurst and along Thorndale Avenue; • Increase opportunities for utilizing existing rail lines, potentially those that: o Serve destinations in the Addison area east of IL 53 from the Lombard station of the UP-W line; o Increase service to serve the concentrations of businesses along Thorndale Avenue from both Itasca and Wood Dale MD-W stations; and o Improve bus-rail schedule coordination to the MD-W Itasca station.
5.8 NORTH CENTRAL COOK (TRAVEL MARKET 8) The North Central Cook travel market consists primarily of travel that originates in several near-west suburbs located east of Harlem Avenue as well as portions of the northwest and far west side of Chicago and is destined to District 9-C spanning nine west suburban communities located south/southeast of O’Hare International Airport. There is a adjacent origin-destination travel pattern comprised of trips that begin in the District 9-C communities between Harlem Avenue and Mannheim Road and are destined in areas west of Mannheim Road in District 7-C (Figure 5.42).
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These two adjacent travel patterns comprise the overall North Central Cook travel market, which has a westbound flow during the morning peak period and an eastbound flow in the afternoon, sharing the directionality of the reverse commute travel market (Travel Market 2) and the South Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 4). The North Central Cook travel market is comprised of relatively short distance trips when compared to the other Cook-DuPage Corridor travel markets. The two destination districts of this travel market (7-C and 9-C) contain a large number of industrial/manufacturing establishments and transportation facilities including the Union Pacific Proviso yard in Berkeley/Northlake.
A total of over 6,000 daily round-trip work trips are made in this travel market, making it the smallest of the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s nine travel markets (Table 5.9).
Table 5.9 Work Trips in the North Central Cook Travel Market
Destination Districts Origin Districts 9-C 7-C 111 1,809 12-C 1,634 9-C 1,620 11-C 1,430 Total 4,873 1,620 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
Overall, the work trip origins of this travel market are dispersed. The density of work trip origins and destinations in the North Central Cook travel market is shown in Figures 5.43 and 5.44 at the traffic analysis zone level. The most notable concentrations of work trip origins with 250-500 trips per square mile are as follows:
• Three zones in Districts 111 and 11-C along Central Avenue between Belmont Avenue and Chicago Avenue. These zones cover portions of northeast Oak Park and the Austin and Belmont-Cragin neighborhoods of Chicago;
• A small area in District 12-C in Berwyn located east of Harlem Avenue (IL 43) between Roosevelt Road and Cermak Road; and
• In the large residential area of Melrose Park south of North Avenue (IL 64) east of 25th Avenue and in a similarly large residential area of Franklin Park west of 25th Avenue south of Belmont Avenue both in District 9-C.
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Destinations of this travel market are also rather dispersed, however there are three contiguous zones in 9-C that currently attract 500-1,000 daily work trips from commuters residing within the North Central Cook travel market. The intensity of work trip destinations in 9-C highlights a significant area of employment attracting this travel market: between 1st Avenue/Des Plaines River Road and 25th Avenue from North Avenue (IL 64) to Belmont Avenue, in the communities of River Grove, Melrose Park and Franklin Park. This area consists largely of manufacturing establishments along with major institutions such as Triton College and Gottlieb Memorial Hospital.
The North Central Cook travel market is a growing market; work trips are forecasted to increase by 33 percent between 2000 and 2030 (Figure 5.45 and 5.46). The density of work trip origins is anticipated to increase in Districts 11-C and 12-C particularly along Harlem Avenue in the western portions of Oak Park and Berwyn. The number of zones with high density of work trip destinations will nearly double by 2030. In particular, a total of six zones in District 9-C will attract 500-1,000 daily work trips from residents in District 9-C, building upon the travel patterns observed today.
Figures 5.47 and 5.48 shows the concentrations of non-work origins and destinations in this market. Several destination zones in District 9-C stand out for their very high concentration of non-work trip destinations, most notably one destination zone that is located at North Avenue and 25th Avenue in Melrose Park that includes the Winston Plaza shopping center and attracts more than 5,000 daily non-work trips per square mile. The following transportation options provide mobility for daily work trips by connecting key origin and destination patterns of this travel market (Figure 5.49):
1. Four key arterials provide direct connectivity – Belmont Avenue/Franklin Avenue, Fullerton Avenue/Grand Avenue, North Avenue (IL 64) and Lake Street (U.S. 20)/Chicago Avenue; and the overall grid layout of the arterial system provides additional connectivity and alternative routes;
2. Travel via one expressway, the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) is an option for some work trips, but only in combination with arterial roadways for significant portions of the trip at both ends;
3. Extensive bus service offers nearly the same high level of connectivity as arterials but requires at least one transfer between buses; and
4. Rail service on two Metra commuter rail lines provides direct connectivity between work trip origins and destinations. When combined with bus service, CTA rapid transit lines offer other alternatives, although with the inconvenience of a least one rail-to-bus transfer. The 2000 mode shares for work trips comprising this travel market indicate that the vast majority of work trips are made by automobile, despite the extensive transit network. Arterials and expressways are clearly heavily relied upon by commuters in the North Central Cook travel market. Still, seven percent of the work trips in this travel market
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are made by transit, second highest of the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s seven intersuburban travel markets. The vast majority of these transit trips are made by bus.
The transit options are quite reasonable and the extensive grid network of regular fixed route bus service in the North Central Cook travel market provides most of these commuters a transit travel option. But, the inconvenience of transferring is a significant impediment. In this travel market, almost all trips by bus will require a transfer due to CTA and Pace service area boundaries or a change in direction along the grid. The only other Cook-DuPage Corridor travel markets that are affected by this issue but to a lesser extent are the South Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 4) and the West Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 9).
Rail service is provided by the UP-W and MD-W commuter rail lines and the CTA’s Green and Blue rapid transit lines, but utilization by this travel market is low reflecting the rather low level of rail service, the need for better bus access, and the lack of service coordination between rail and bus service.
Conclusion A full range transportation options including arterial, expressway and bus and rail transit options is available to commuters in the North Central Cook travel market. Furthermore there are several alternatives within the arterial and bus transit options as well as several bus-rail combinations.
Congestion is so severe on the Eisenhower Expressway in this market area, that this is the only travel market where the expressway option is not desirable. With the exception of North Avenue (IL 64) arterials are limited in capacity and do not utilize effective traffic control techniques. Although grid arterial networks are often assumed to offer a high level of mobility to automobiles and buses, the mobility offered by some key arterials in this travel market is significantly compromised by intersecting freight and commuter rail traffic.
Given the projected growth in the North Central Cook market by 2030, it is expected that existing mobility problems will remain and gradually get worse. Although a multimodal transportation system is currently in place, a number of improvements can be considered to enhance the system’s performance:
• Provision of direct bus service that transcends CTA and Pace boundaries of service or improved coordination of CTA and Pace bus service to minimize any time spent waiting while transferring;
• Improved coordination of traffic signals along arterials north of North Avenue and on Lake Street to improve the flow of vehicles and better integration of existing traffic control systems along North Avenue.
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• Signal preemption and other approaches to improve bus efficiency along key arterials could also be considered; and
• Improved coordination of Pace bus services at Metra stations to facilitate the rail-to-bus transfers at UP-W and MD-W commuter rail stations.
5.9 WEST CENTRAL COOK (TRAVEL MARKET 9) The West Central Cook travel market is a bi-directional north-south travel market in Cook County between Mannheim Road and Cicero Avenue. This market extends as far north as Devon Avenue and as far south as 95th Street (Figure 5.50). The northbound flow in the West Central Cook travel market includes travel that originates south of the Metra UP-West line and is destined to communities located north of the UP-West Line while the opposite pattern is true for the southbound flow. The West Central Cook travel market is comprised of nearly 24,000 daily round-trip work trips. This travel market includes several important activity centers, including Triton College, the Cook County Circuit Court 4th District courthouse in Maywood, Hines VA Hospital and Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), Maywood Park Racetrack, North Riverside Park Mall, Brookfield Zoo and Midway Airport. Over 13,500 daily a.m. peak work trips are made in the northbound direction and approximately 10,400 daily a.m. peak work trips are made in the southbound direction (Tables 5.10 and 5.11). Major industrial parks and businesses southeast of O’Hare International Airport along 25th Avenue and North Avenue (IL 64) are some of the primary destinations of the northbound travel flow. The exchanges of work trips between Districts 9-C and 10-C and between 11-C and 12-C represent the strongest north-south travel patterns within the Cook portion of the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
Table 5.10 Northbound Work Trips in the West Central Cook Market
Origin Districts Destination Districts (NB) 9-C 11-C 109 111 Total 12-C 1,634 2,199 1,183 866 5,882 10-C 2,148 1,019 867 337 4,371 112 570 485 511 536 2,102 110 388 161 388 250 1,187 Total 4,740 3,864 2,949 1,989 13,542 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
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Table 5.11 Southbound Work Trips in the West Central Cook Market
Origin Districts Destination Districts (SB) 10-C 12-C 110 112 Total 11-C 1,120 1,566 236 532 3,454 111 823 716 429 903 2,871 9-C 1,652 596 158 289 2,695 109 537 328 155 349 1,369 Total 4,132 3,206 978 2,073 10,389 Source: US Census Journey-to-Work, 2000.
In the northbound direction of travel (Figure 5.51) significant concentrations (250+ trips/square mile) of origins are located: • North of 31st Street between Cicero Avenue and Harlem Avenue throughout most of Cicero and Berwyn, and including the southern portion of Oak Park. • North of Roosevelt Road between Cicero Avenue and Mannheim Road including portions of Bellwood, Maywood, and River Forest Relatively dense concentrations of work trip destinations are found along North Avenue between Thatcher Avenue and Mannheim Road, an area that comprises a mix of commercial and industrial businesses and includes several major institutions such as Gottlieb Memorial Hospital and Triton College. Overall, there are five major employment areas that attract the majority of work trips in the northbound portion of the West Central Cook travel market:
• Along North Avenue (IL 64) spanning nearly the entire width of the travel market from Central Avenue in Chicago to Mannheim Road in Melrose Park.
• Along the east side of 25th Avenue from Irving Park Road south to Fullerton Avenue in Schiller Park and Franklin Park;
• Along Higgins Road between Canfield Road and East River Road in Park Ridge and Chicago;
• Between I-190 and Lawrence Avenue, west of Des Plaines River Road including portions of O’Hare Airport, Rosemont and Schiller Park; and
• At Irving Park Road and Harlem Avenue in Chicago and Norridge including the Harlem Irving Plaza shopping center. A high level of growth of 41 percent is anticipated for the northbound direction of travel in the West Central Cook travel market by 2030. The northwest orientation of the travel
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flow will become more pronounced, as origins in District 12-C show the greatest increase in density along with destinations in Districts 9-C and 109 (Figure 5.52). In the southbound direction of travel (Figure 5.53), origins are more dispersed relative to the northbound direction of travel and the destinations are more concentrated. Southbound origin concentrations are primarily found between the Milwaukee District- West Line and the Union Pacific West Line. In particular, a nearly continuous pattern of work trip origins exists along North Avenue (IL 64) from Cicero Avenue (IL 50) to 25th Avenue just along the border of this southbound market indicating many short distance trips. Origins also extend northward along the west side of Cicero Avenue to the Kennedy Expressway (I-90) and again along the west side of Harlem Avenue to Belmont Avenue. Destinations of southbound work trips are concentrated north of Cermak Road with the highest densities found in downtown Oak Park, Bellwood and Maywood (including Hines/LUMC). Additional concentrations of work trip destinations of southbound travel include MacNeal hospital in Berwyn, and Midway airport. The southbound travel flow in this travel market is expected to remain relatively stable with a projected increase of three percent in work travel by 2030 (Figure 5.54). Non-work travel is a very important component of total travel for the West Central Cook market. Non-work trip origins and destinations are very concentrated between Belmont Avenue and 31st Street and are located primarily within the Cook-DuPage Corridor proper. Non-work travel is far more intensive in the northbound direction of this travel market than in the southbound direction. Figures 5.55 and 5.56 show the concentrations of non work origins and destinations in this market. Travel flows in the northbound and southbound directions of this travel market occur simultaneously, and rely upon many of the same roadways and transit services. Bi- directional travel overlaps most extensively on the transportation network between North Avenue and Roosevelt Road, with the exception of Harlem Avenue, where the overlap is most extensive. Here, bi-directional travel overlaps from Belmont Avenue to Ogden Avenue, a distance of seven miles. Two transportation options connect significant concentrations of work trip origins and destinations (Figure 5.57): • Five key north-south arterials provide direct connectivity: Mannheim Road, 25th Avenue, 1st Avenue/Cumberland/Des Plaines River Road, Harlem Avenue and Cicero Avenue; other north-south roads provide additional options, and the overall grid network of the arterial system and one expressway provide east- west mobility; and • Extensive bus service offers nearly the same high level of connectivity as arterials but with the inconvenience of requiring at least one transfer due to a change in direction, route segmentation or crossing CTA/Pace service area boundaries.
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The 2000 mode shares for work trips comprising this travel market indicate that the vast majority of work trips are made by automobile. Despite the considerable amount of transit services available to this travel market, only eight percent of work trips in this market are made by transit. Bus service accounts for 6.3 percent reflecting its dominant role in providing transit service in this market while rail has a market share of less than two percent. (Note: the Census reports “primary” mode of transportation to work. Those utilizing rail transit presumably do so in conjunction with an arterial or bus option, as there is no north-south rail transit that connects the origins and destinations of this travel market.) Travel on arterials – whether by auto or by bus – provides excellent access but can be quite slow, as the traffic signals are closely spaced and few are operated in interconnected systems east of Harlem Avenue. CTA bus service is more extensive than Pace service with more closely spaced routes for better bus access, greater frequency of service and longer hours of operation. Most trips by bus likely require at least one transfer, in order to travel in a different direction within the grid network. Transfers are additionally necessary between CTA and Pace vehicles when crossing service boundaries (generally the city limit of Chicago). Ten commuter rail and rapid transit lines traverse various areas within this market, but their contribution to the mobility of the West Central Cook travel market is very low due to their radial orientation to the Chicago Central Business District.
Conclusion The West Central Cook travel market has a strong network of arterial roadways that provides excellent connectivity between origins and destinations. This travel market also has a bus transit option that provides nearly complete coverage of the arterial network, appropriate to the relatively intense, dispersed and short-distance travel patterns of this market. However, only a small portion of the travel market relies on bus service for work trips relative to the amount of service provided and to the relatively high percent of zero-automobile households in this travel market. This likely reflects shortcomings in the service in this travel market that prevent the bus transit option from being more relied upon. For example, bus transit may not provide a feasible option for major West Central Cook employment centers with round the clock and/or weekend shifts, including O’Hare, LUMC/Hines VA hospitals, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MacNeal Hospital, Morton College, and Triton College. And nearly all of these major employers are within the Pace service area, which provides less frequent and more limited hours of service than CTA bus transit. In addition, bus transit to jobs at Midway Airport requires West Central Cook southbound commuters at least one, and in some cases, two inconvenient transfers in the same direction of travel due to CTA’s segmentation of this bus route. The characteristics of highway and transit improvements that could increase the mobility of the West Central Cook market include: • Improving coordination of traffic signals especially on 1st Avenue, Cicero Avenue, and on other arterials east of Harlem Avenue where the limited capacity of
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roadways create mobility problems for automobile users, bus riders and trucks/commercial vehicles; • Reducing congestion on the Eisenhower for a faster alternative to east-west arterials of the grid network as well as on north-south arterials at I-290 interchanges; • Providing bus transit signal priority on key arterials during rush hour; • Eliminating the need for same direction bus-to-bus transfers through provision of bus service by a single provider in key corridors and elimination of route segmentation; • Minimizing wait and transfer times to 5-7 minutes through improved coordination of bus services along key arterials where the grid system makes a transfer necessary; • Providing better access and schedule flexibility to some of the key destinations in the market including the Cook County Circuit Court 4th District courthouse, Triton College, and the Loyola University Medical Center/Hines VA; • Improving services connecting the concentrations of origins in Berwyn and Oak Park with destinations along North Avenue to serve both the existing travel patterns and the projected growth in travel; and • Improving services connecting origins along North Avenue between 25th Avenue and Cicero Avenue to destinations in Oak Park and along Madison Street in Maywood and Melrose Park.
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6.0 Corridor Mobility Issues
This section summarizes the market characteristics, key transportation elements and mobility issues for each of the nine major travel markets of the Cook-DuPage Corridor that were examined in Section 5. The synthesis of findings from the individual travel markets provides a Corridor-level picture of mobility issues and helps identify where and why transportation improvements are most needed.
In addition, capital projects proposed in the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) are examined for their potential impact on the various Corridor travel markets. This section concludes with a distillation of the most significant mobility problems affecting the Cook- DuPage Corridor.
As discussed throughout this report, nine distinct travel markets impact the Cook-DuPage Corridor within the following commute categories:
Traditional Commute (one travel market) Reverse Commute (one travel market) Intersuburban (seven travel markets)
These travel markets represent the Corridor’s most significant travel patterns from the 2000 Census Journey-to-work database. These individual markets are illustrated in Figure 6.1 below, for reference.
Figure 6.1 Cook–DuPage Corridor Travel Markets
Travel Market key: 1: Traditional Commute 2: Reverse Commute 3: Central DuPage 4: South Central Cook
9
et 5: East Central DuPage
Travel Market 7 rk 6: Far West DuPage l Ma Travel Market 7 Travel Market 8 ave 7: North DuPage r T
5 6 8: North Central Cook
5 Travel Market 8 9 et et Travel Market 1 t rk rk
e 9: West Central Cook
k l Ma r l Ma Travel Market 1 Travel Market 2 a ave ave r r M T T
Travel Market 3 l Travel Market 2 e Travel Market 4 v a r
Travel Market 3 T Travel Market 4 Travel Market 6
Travel Market
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6.1 MARKET CHARACTERISTICS To address the concepts of mobility from the user perspective, the following quantifiable market characteristics were examined for each travel market and are presented in Table 6.1:
Size of each travel market;
Density of trip origins and destinations;
The use of transit for commute trips in each travel market;
The mix of work and non-work travel in each market; and
The projected growth of work and nonwork travel in each market by 2030.
Size of travel markets
While the Intersuburban commute is the predominant type of commute affecting the Cook- DuPage Corridor, the Traditional Commute travel market (Travel Market 1) from the suburbs to Chicago is the single largest travel market of the Cook-DuPage Corridor, with over 213,000 daily round trip work trips.
The Reverse Commute travel market (Travel Market 2) is the second largest travel market of the corridor. The Reverse Commute covers the same geography as the Traditional travel market and is comprised of roughly half as many daily work trips – 123,000.
Due to the general dispersion and complexity of intersuburban work travel, seven distinct travel markets (Travel Markets 3-9) with common travel patterns and directionality were identified to more closely examine intersuburban trips. The individual Intersuburban travel markets of the Cook-DuPage Corridor are generally smaller in area and in number of trips than either the Traditional and Reverse Commute travel markets, with most having fewer than 25,000 daily round trip work trips.
Two notable exceptions are the East Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 5) with over 56,000 trips and the Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 3) with almost 35,000 trips. The former consists of north-south travel in the eastern two-thirds of DuPage, while the latter consists of travel from southwest DuPage, northwest Will and southeast Kane County to east-central DuPage. The common link between these two major travel markets is that Oak Brook and Yorktown serve as key destination areas in each travel market.
Origin and destination areas with high densities of trips
High density work trip origins (1,000+ trips/square mile) are most prevalent in the Traditional and Reverse commute markets. High density origins in these two travel 6-2
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Table 6.1 Market Characteristics of the Cook-DuPage Travel Markets
1234 5 678 9
Central South Far West North North MARKET CHARACTERISTICS Traditional Reverse DuPage Central Cook East Central DuPage DuPage DuPage Central Cook West Central Cook Work and Non-Work Trips Northbound Southbound Northbound Southbound
Work trips
Size Total Work Trips (2000 CTPP, Journey-to-Work) 213,964 123,265 34,490 13,395 34,681 21,878 17,365 26,543 6,493 13,542 10,389
Concentration Total origin zones in market area 473 206 179 102 125 165 74 139 48 82 50 Zones originating 250+ work trips 18717027193028 720 61616 Zones originating 500+ work trips 100 119 2 0 15 8 2 4 0 2 6 Zones originating 1,000+ work trips 5066000010000
Total destination zones in market area 20647346461631253465215082 Zones attracting 250+ work trips 157138311648291729141616 Zones attracting 500+ work trips 135 69 20 8 15 10 10 17 3 3 4 Zones attracting 1000+ work trips 93211034285001
Projected Growth in Work Trips (2030) 2030 Total estimated work wrips 252,109 145,508 45,600 14,230 42,036 18,086 30,098 35,073 8,690 15,476 12,219 2000-2030 Growth in Work Trips (%) 18% 18% 22% -5% 27% -21% 61% 42% 26% 41% 3%
Transit Use for Work Trips Bus Trips 12,544 11,125 97 366 81 89 20 42 374 799 644 Rail Trips 58,321 6,992 145 72 97 115 40 78 57 238 145 Total Transit Trips 70,865 18,117 242 438 178 204 60 120 431 1,037 789 Percent Transit Market Share 33% 15% 1% 3%0.5%0.9%0.3%0.5% 6% 9% 7%
Non-work trips
Size Total Non-Work Flows (CATS 2000 Estimates) 70,540 134,290 32,423 41,534 38,018 33,833 38,029 53,900 41,841 42,716 26,620
Concentration Total origin zones in market area 473 206 179 102 125 165 74 139 48 82 50 Zones originating 250+ non-work trips 59 125 29 42 33 35 24 42 33 26 18 Zones originating 500+ non-work trips 39 95143127221625271812 Zones originating 1,000+ non-work trips 21 63 3 13 14 9 5 7 15 14 4
Total destination zones in market area 20647346461631253465215082 Zones attracting 250+ non-work trips 90 81252734322648192221 Zones attracting 500+ non-work trips 62 68161923252034181516 Zones attracting 1000+ non-work trips 29 44 8 11 10 11 10 18 11 12 7
Projected Growth in Non-work Trips (2030) 2030 Estimate of Non-Work Trips 66,677 144,808 34,438 40,714 42,894 32,724 50,226 65,476 47,996 47,156 25,278 2000-2030 Growth of Non-Work Trips (%) -5% 8% 6% -2% 13% -3% 32% 21% 15% 10% -5%
Ratio of Work to Non-work Trips 0.3 1.1 0.9 3.1 1.1 1.5 2.2 2.0 6.4 3.2 2.6
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High density work trip destinations are also prevalent within the Traditional commute market. The Chicago central area, as the single largest regional destination in Northeastern Illinois, attracts a high density of work trips over a rather expansive and contiguous area.
Many high density destinations are also found in the Reverse commute travel market primarily at and around O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport, but also in the Jefferson Park and Cragin neighborhoods of Chicago, the Oak Park central business district, the area in the vicinity of 1st Avenue and Roosevelt Road in Maywood, Hodgkins, and the Oak Brook area.
Unlike origins, work trip destinations are observed with high density in most Intersuburban travel markets, and the same locations tend to repeat in multiple markets. The Oak Brook and Yorktown areas are high density destinations for several Intersuburban travel markets including Central DuPage (Travel Market 3), South Central Cook (Travel Market 4) and East Central DuPage (Travel Market 5).
Other high density destinations of Intersuburban travel are located in the central business districts of Oak Park, Hinsdale, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn and Wheaton; in northwest Elmhurst, Itasca, Addison, and Carol Stream and in the Naperville/Warrenville area along Diehl Road and Warrenville Road.
The concentration of work trips to these suburban destinations found in multiple intersuburban markets indicates that improving mobility to key work place destinations in the suburbs could improve mobility for several travel markets.
Mix of work and non-work travel
Compared to work travel, non-work travel is typically shorter distance and tends to be highly concentrated within each travel market. The ratio of work to non-work trips indicates that non-work travel is an important component of travel across all nine travel markets. Non-work travel equals or exceeds work travel in all but two markets – the Traditional and the Central DuPage travel markets. Non-work travel comprises the highest proportion of travel in the North Central Cook travel market, a small size market where non-work trips outnumber work trips by a ratio of six to one. In contrast, non-work trips are least significant in the Traditional travel market, where work trips are three times as high as non-work trips.
Market share of transit
The regional transit system provides by far the most service, and the best service, for the Traditional Commute travel market. Transit captures a one-third market share overall among the daily work trips of the Traditional Commute – the highest of any of the nine travel markets. By comparison, the transit market share of work trips in the Reverse Commute travel market, the transit market share of work trips drops by about half, to 15 percent.
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Among Intersuburban travel markets, the highest transit shares occur in the travel markets of west suburban Cook county. South Central Cook (Travel Market 4), North Central Cook (Travel Market 8) and West Central Cook (Travel Market 9) all have transit shares that range from 3 percent to 9 percent for work trips. Transit market shares among the four Intersuburban travel markets spanning DuPage are one percent or less.
Although information regarding transit use for non-work trips is unavailable from the Census, ridership levels during the off peak indicate that use of transit for non-work purposes is much lower than for work trips.
Expected growth of work and non-work travel
The volume of work trips is expected to increase by 2030 in most of the Cook-DuPage Corridor’s nine major travel markets. The most dramatic increases are expected among intersuburban travel, particularly in the Far West DuPage and North DuPage travel markets. Modest increases are expected in both the Traditional and Reverse travel markets. Similarly, the volume of non-work travel is also expected to increase in nearly all travel markets, with the most dramatic increases again occurring in intersuburban travel particularly the Far West DuPage and North DuPage travel markets. Some travel markets, including the Traditional travel market are expected to see modest declines in non-work trips of 5 percent or less.
6.2 KEY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ELEMENTS Key elements of the transportation system are those that are most likely to be relied upon by commuters in each travel market to get from home to work. While many individual work trips rely on various combinations of roadways and/or transit services, the identification of key transportation elements is concerned with identifying the pieces (or “elements”) of the transportation system that are the most critical to serving the commute patterns of large proportions of commuters comprising each travel market. Key transportation system elements are defined as highway segments or transit services that directly connect origin zones producing medium (or higher) trip origin density to destination zones attracting medium or higher trip end density. Medium density zones are those that either generate or attract 250+ daily work trips/square mile. Table 6.2 presents these key transportation system elements and the travel markets that each serves.
Of the various components of the transportation system, arterial roadways are most heavily relied upon to provide mobility to each of the Corridor’s travel markets. The following major east-west arterials serve multiple travel markets including the Traditional and Reverse travel markets, as well as three or more Intersuburban travel markets:
North Avenue (IL 64) Roosevelt Road (IL 38) IL 56/22nd Street/Cermak Road Ogden Avenue (U.S. 34) Lake Street (U.S. 20)
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Table 6.2 Key Transportation System Elements 1 2 3456789 South East North West Central Central Central Far West North Central Central Traditional Reverse DuPage Cook DuPage DuPage DuPage Cook Cook Arterial Streets: East-West Thorndale Avenue z IL 19 (Irving Park Road) zz z Belmont Avenue/Franklin Avenue z Army Trail Road z Fullerton Avenue/Grand Avenue zz z IL 64 (North Avenue) z z zzz US 20 (Lake Street) z z zzz Schick Road z Lies Road z Geneva Road z IL 38 (Roosevelt Road) zzzz zz IL 56 (Butterfield Road) z IL 56/22nd Street/Cermak Road zzzz zz 31st Street/Oak Brook Road z 47th Street/Chicago Ave./Naperville Rd./Maple Ave. zz Archer Avenue/55th Street /Garfield Boulevard zz 55th Street z 79th Street zz 87th Street zz 95th Street (US 12/20) zz Arterial Streets: North-South Eola Road z IL 59 z Schmale Rd./Naperville Road/Naper Boulevard z Gary Avenue/Naperville Road z Washington Street (Naperville) z IL 53 z IL 83 z York Road/Garfield Road z Mannheim Road (US 12/20/45) z 25th Avenue z IL 171 (1st Avenue)/DesPlaines River Road z IL 43 (Harlem Avenue) z IL 50 (Cicero Avenue) z Arterial Streets: Diagonal Grand Avenue zz US 34 (Ogden Avenue / Oswego Road) zzzz z IL 171 (Archer Avenue) zz Milwaukee Avenue/Higgins Road zz Elston Avenue zz Expressways I-290 (Eisenhower Expressway) zz z z I-290 Extension zz z z I-88 (Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) zzzz z I-355 (North-South Tollway) zz Elgin-O'Hare Expressway z I-90 (Kennedy Expressway) zz I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) zz Commuter Rail Milwaukee District West Line zz zz Union Pacific West Line zz z zz Burlington Northern Santa-Fe zzzz Union Pacific Northwest Line zz Milwaukee District North Line zz Heritage Corridor z Rapid Transit Green Line zz Blue Line - Forest Park branch zz Blue Line - Cermak branch zz Blue Line – O’Hare branch zz Orange Line zz Bus City Bus zz zz Suburban Bus z z zzzzzzz Intermodal Transit Services Union Pacific West + Suburban Bus zz z z Milwaukee District West + Suburban Bus zz z Burlington Northern Santa-Fe + Suburban Bus zzzz z Rapid Transit + Suburban Bus zz z Rapid Transit + City Bus zz City Bus + Suburban Bus zz zz
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Similarly, expressways emerge as a key transportation system element in nearly all travel markets. The two notable exceptions are the Far West DuPage (Travel Market 6) and the West Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 9) that have north-south directionality and are not traversed by a north-south expressway. The Eisenhower Expressway, the I-290 Extension and the I-88 Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway are key elements that are relied upon heavily for east-west travel by the Traditional and Reverse travel markets, as well as several Intersuburban travel markets.
The commuter rail and rapid transit systems are primarily relied upon to provide mobility for the Traditional commute travel market and are potentially available, but much less effective, at serving Reverse and Intersuburban travel. Key system elements for the Corridor are Metra’s Milwaukee District West Line, Union Pacific West Line and Burlington Northern Santa-Fe Line, and the CTA’s Green Line and Blue Line.
Finally, city and suburban bus service are key elements serving both the Traditional and Reverse travel markets. There is a fairly extensive network of bus service available for Intersuburban travel in the markets that span the far west and northwest sides of Chicago and the western suburbs of Cook county, particularly for trips made east of Harlem Avenue. In these intersuburban markets however, bus is relied upon by a fairly small percent of these markets for their daily commute. Bus transit is not widely available in the DuPage portion of the Corridor as an option for travel.
6.3 CORRIDOR MOBILITY ASSESSMENT The mobility of each of the nine travel markets is assessed in the context of access and service quality and is presented in Table 6.3. While based on a careful examination of travel patterns and transportation options that are available to each of the travel markets, this assessment is subjective by it’s nature; therefore, a relative rating scale of “High,” “Medium” and” Low” was used. Bus, rail, arterial and expressway options were assessed independently; however, to simplify the presentation and to take into account available intermodal transit options, the results are shown in two broad categories for Transit (T) and Highway (H).
The assessment related to Access was determined by examining the following questions for each market:
• Do the existing transit services and highways connect areas originating over 250 work trips/square mile with destination zones attracting over 250 work trips/square mile?; and
• What is the availability of existing transportation facilities and transit services during the a.m. peak in the direction of the travel flow of each respective market?
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All destinations were considered accessible by automobile given the extensive network of roadways in the Corridor. Ideally, such a measure would reflect the availability of a full- fledged multimodal network of highway and transit to serve all potential combinations of movements in a region, but clearly transit is not equally available to all Corridor travel markets.
Table 6.3 Corridor Mobility Summary
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 South North West Service Characteristics Central Central Central Far West North Central Central (a.m. peak) Traditional Reverse DuPage Cook DuPage DuPage DuPage Cook Cook T H TH TH TH TH TH TH TH TH Access Connectivity Availability
Service Quality Efficiency Frequency Convenience
Mobility Ratings 14 13 8 13 8 14 11 14 5 13 5 13 7 14 12 14 12 14 Totals (min=10, max=30) 27 21 22 25 18 18 21 26 26
Transit Share (CTPP 2000) 33% 15% 1% 3% 0.7% 0.3% 0.5% 6% 8% Work Trips (CTPP 2000) 213,964 123,265 34,490 13,395 56,559 17,365 26,543 6,493 23,931 Projected Growth (2030) 18% 18% 22% -5% 27% NB 61% 42% 26% 41% NB -21% SB 3% SB
T = Transit options (rail, bus and intermodal combinations) Level Rating H = Highway options (arterials and expressways) High= 3 pts. Medium = 2 pts. Low = 1 pt.
While the Access assessment brings focus to the availability of transportation options and the connectivity they provide between key origins and destinations, Service Quality focuses on how much or how well the options provide mobility and “serve” each travel market.
• In a multimodal environment, service quality depends on the efficiency of available transportation options in connecting origins and desired destinations. In this context, we considered how circuitous or direct the available options are, wait or transfer times, posted speed limits, and actual travel speeds and observed congestion by time of day (where available).
• The assessment of frequency, or how often an option is available to make a desired trip, only varies among the transit modes and is based on published transit service schedules.
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• The rating of convenience reflects the ease which the trip can be made, based on the number of required transit transfers and how proximate the service or facility access points are to trip origins and destinations.
To get a sense of how the travel markets compare in terms of mobility, a basic numeric score was applied to the rating scale (High = 3, Medium = 2, Low = 1). For each market, a mobility rating was tallied for Transit (T) and Highway (H) options independently, and then totaled. Because “Efficiency” was the only mobility factor that varied in the assessment of highway options available to each market, the extent and service quality of transit options available to each travel market had the determining role in this mobility assessment.
The Traditional Commute (Travel Market 1) has the greatest mobility of the nine travel markets. Nearly all origins in the DuPage portion of the Corridor have a commuter rail transit option, complemented with feeder bus service. The west Cook portion of the Corridor has both commuter rail and, to some extent, bus options (although bus travel requires at least one transfer from Pace to CTA). Areas east of Harlem Avenue have greater access to bus, rapid transit and to some extent, commuter rail.
While Metra’s BNSF is zoned for express service and the UP-West and MD-W provide some semi-express service, most of the available transit service is local, especially in Cook county. Transit travel time is considerably higher when only local service is offered. The efficiency of transit therefore received a “Medium” rating for the Traditional market as a whole.
Conversely, the Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 5) and the Far West DuPage travel market (Travel Market 6) ranked the lowest (worst) on our mobility assessment. These two travel markets are comprised of north-south travel for which there are relatively few roadways available and currently no viable transit options either by bus or by rail. Congestion is currently a problem on key arterials and expressways during peak periods, despite the fairly extensive deployment of signal systems and intersection improvements to facilitate traffic flow.
The Reverse Commute travel market (Travel Market 2) and the North DuPage travel market (Travel Market 7) also have significant mobility issues. The overall poor rating of the Reverse Commute travel market is largely due to:
• A lack of transit options to reach key concentrations of destinations (particularly those in DuPage),
• The long travel time it takes to make a transit trip relative to travel distance,
• The inconvenience of same direction and/or multiple transfers among bus, rail and intermodal options, and
• The circuity of rail transit travel through downtown Chicago.
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The routine congestion on I-290 and the inefficiency of arterials for longer distance trips as an alternative to I-290, result in a “Low” rating for Efficiency among highway options.
The North DuPage travel market (Travel Market 7) also faces significant mobility issues. There is no transit option for the vast majority of trips comprising the North DuPage travel market. Although Metra’s Union Pacific-West line and Milwaukee District-West line traverse several dense origin zones, there are few connecting/distributor bus services available at the destination train stations to conveniently reach major workplaces in this travel market.
The low mobility of the Central DuPage travel market (Travel Market 3) is also notable. While this travel market does have direct rail service to at least one major employment destination (downtown Hinsdale), eastbound trains that serve both the Naperville and Hinsdale stations are infrequent during the morning peak period – approximately one an hour. A limited set of bus services connect concentrations of origins in Wheaton, Naperville, Lisle and Woodridge with Yorktown and Oak Brook. However, these options are inefficient with long travel times relative to the distance traveled and require a transfer at Yorktown to access workplaces further east along 22nd Street.
Travel Markets 4, 8 and 9 in the Cook portion of the Corridor faired relatively well from a market mobility standpoint, largely due to the greater connectivity, availability and frequency of bus transit. The South Central Cook travel market (Travel Market 4) is the only one of the three with a DuPage district as a destination that lacks the CTA’s more extensive grid bus network and multimodal bus/rail options. Three bus services provided by Pace – routes #322 (Cermak Road), #313 (St. Charles Road) and #747 (DuPage Connection) – are convenient to major origins and destinations of this travel market but the service hours and frequency of these services are limited.
The North Central Cook and West Central Cook travel markets (Travel Markets 8 and 9, respectively) are most inconvenienced by same-direction Pace/CTA transfers necessitated by service boundaries and CTA route segmentation (e.g., service on Cicero Avenue is broken into three route segments) that also require a transfer in the same direction of travel.
Transit share, market size and projected growth are also presented in Table 6.3 to provide additional context. Finally, the percentage of households with no vehicles available is highest in District 11-C and 12-C (at approximately 20 percent), followed by Districts 9-C and 10-C (at approximately 10 percent). These four districts represent origins within the Traditional, South Central Cook, North Central Cook, and West Central Cook travel markets (Travel Markets 1, 4, 8, and 9). The higher transit shares observed in these travel markets may reflect the higher level of captivity to transit, as well as the significantly higher level of transit service that is available to these travel markets.
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6.4 POTENTIAL CORRIDOR MOBILITY IMPROVEMENTS Suitable characteristics of mobility improvements are described for each travel market in Section 6.5. Below are mobility improvement strategies for more general consideration that address the five mobility factors in Table 6.3:
Connectivity
o New transit services linking to regional transit system
o New local transit service
Availability
o Highway capacity improvements
o Congestion reduction strategies during peak period
o Additional scheduled commuter rail stops at existing stations
o Commuter rail station parking management
Efficiency
o Traffic signal optimization
o Transit signal priority and queue by-pass
o Exclusive or shoulder right-of-way for transit
o Limited stop/express transit service (bus and rail)
o Timed transfers and improved service coordination
Frequency
o Decrease peak and off-peak period transit headways
o Increase the frequency of stops by Metra at key suburban stations
Convenience
o Reduce need to transfer in same direction
o Minimize bus-to-bus and rail-to-bus transfer time
Highway improvements on arterial and Interstate facilities would increase the mobility of most travel markets, for both automobile and transit users. Roadway capacity improvements would be most beneficial in cases where users of the facility regularly
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experience severe congestion and have few (if any) alternative routes. Highway users and transit riders would experience benefits in terms of improved travel speeds, reliability or better access to facilities. Examples of capacity improvement strategies could include additional lanes, intersection improvements, new transit services, bus pull outs, and parking restrictions on arterials.
The addition of new high capacity/high performance linkages to the regional transit network would significantly improve mobility for five of the nine Travel Markets. Almost all of these travel markets have an overlap of major travel flows to common destinations that include the Warrenville Road/Diehl Road between Warrenville and Lisle, IL 56/22nd Street between Lombard and Oak Brook, and/or the Thorndale Avenue Corridor.
Arterial traffic management is suited to all travel markets to improve significant stop-and- go traffic conditions, reduce congestion, and supplement or substitute capacity expansion. Specific techniques or approaches toward traffic management and their benefits may vary in different areas of the Corridor, but should be routinely considered on a systemwide basis.
Finally, also spanning all travel markets is the enhanced coordination and improved efficiency of bus and rail transit service. These (generally) non-capital intensive improvement strategies would greatly improve the availability of intermodal options where opportunity currently exists within the various travel markets, and should be a key consideration in implementing any new bus/rail transit connections.
6.5 PROPOSED MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS IN THE 2030 RTP Many projects that could potentially improve mobility for the major travel markets of the Cook-DuPage Corridor are included in the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) adopted by the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) in October 2003. Table 6.4 indicates which travel markets would potentially be impacted by each of the RTP capital projects that have been proposed within the area of the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
It is important to note that the 2030 RTP precedes this travel market analysis. The RTP project proposals were not (and could not have been) developed specifically to address the mobility needs of the nine travel markets that are identified as part of this Cook-DuPage Corridor travel market analysis.
Overall, the 2030 RTP project proposals have the most impact on the Traditional and Reverse commute travel markets. Interestingly, Travel Markets 5 and 6 are among the travel markets with the fewest project proposals impacting them, although these two travel markets were rated lowest with respect to mobility (see Table 6.3).
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Table 6.4. Potential Impacts of Projects in the Regional Transportation Plan on Corridor Travel Markets 1 23456789
South East North West Central Central Central Far West North Central Central Project Traditional Reverse DuPage Cook DuPage DuPage DuPage Cook Cook Transit Union Pacific West Improvements zzz zz Blue Line West Extension zz z | Ogden Avenue Transitway zz Central Area Bus Rapid Transit System || Circle Line zz Milwaukee District West Improvements and Extension zz zz Cermak Road Bus Rapid Transit z z|z| DuPage “J” Line Bus Rapid Transit zz|zz| Inner Circumferential Rail Service zz | |z Suburban Transit Access Route (STAR) Line |z Mid-City Transitway zz zz O’Hare and Midway Airport Express Rapid Transit z Highway I 88 (East-West Tollway) Lane Addition z zz| z I 290 HOV Lanes zz | || Elgin O’Hare Expressway completion & West O'Hare Bypass z|z Elgin O’Hare Expressway Lane Addition |z I 355 Extension |z|
z significant impact | some impact
In developing the scope of the Cook-DuPage Corridor Study Travel Market Analysis, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) requested further exploration of one of the above RTP project proposals - the I-290 HOV Lanes. The exploration relates to the identification of the apparent market potential - in terms of size and general geography - for new or enhanced transit service either as an alternative to, or potentially in conjunction with, the proposed HOV lanes on I-290.
In light of the observed travel patterns and trip length, two of the nine Cook-DuPage travel markets are assumed to have a high reliance on I-290 and would likely benefit significantly and directly from the proposed HOV lane and/or potential new transit service(s): the Traditional Commute (Travel Market 1) and the Reverse Commute (Travel Market 2). The associated latent transit market potential within these two travel markets is the focus of discussion in this section.
Based on the analysis of existing travel patterns, the location and density of daily work trip origins and destinations, and current mode shares for transit indicate that the greatest market potential for new or improved transit service as an alternative to, or potentially in conjunction with, the proposed I-290 HOV lanes appears to be:
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1. The Reverse Commute travel market, particularly for work trips with destinations in DuPage, and 2. The Traditional Commute travel market for trips from DuPage to destinations in the central area of Chicago that are outside of the immediate Central Business District (CBD).
The Reverse Commute travel market represents a strong travel market for potential new transit services in conjunction with, or as an alternative to, the proposed I-290 HOV lanes. The vast majority of Reverse Commute employment destinations in DuPage are located along a few key expressways and major arterials, and few existing transit options serve this travel market. The DuPage destinations of the Reverse Commute travel market are generally not proximate to the existing commuter rail stations. Few bus routes connect the rail stations and work locations, and the frequency of both commuter rail and bus services to serve this travel market are minimal. Of the 22,000 daily reverse commute trips from Chicago to the DuPage portion of the Corridor, transit is used for only 1,700 of the daily work trips (just under 8 percent). The vast majority of these Reverse Commute trips to DuPage by transit (1,100 of the 1,700 daily trips, or 65 percent) are to workplaces in Districts 5-D and 6-D that are currently reachable by a combination of existing transit services from Chicago.
In addition, it is likely that the number of commuters comprising the Reverse Commute travel market would increase if transit access were provided to more employment destinations in DuPage. Nearly 30 percent of the households in the city of Chicago do not own a vehicle, thereby limiting employment options to those locations that are reachable by transit. However, note that this final point indicates a potential for new growth of the Reverse Commute travel market due to the availability of transit, rather than a shift to transit by current automobile users.
Compared to the Reverse Commute travel market, there is relatively less - but still significant - market potential for new transit services as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the proposed I-290 HOV lanes for the Traditional commute market, particularly for travel to destinations in the central area of Chicago that are outside of the CBD. Currently, travel by transit from the suburbs to areas of Chicago outside of the CBD requires circuitous travel through downtown and at least one transfer, as the commuter rail network is currently optimized to serve trips destined to one key destination - the Chicago CBD.
A total of nearly 12,000 daily round-trip work trips are made from DuPage to non-CBD destinations within the central area District 116. Transit’s share for these trips is fairly high (60 percent), yet serving more destinations outside the CBD by transit has significant market potential given the density of the trip ends and the fairly compact geography. Increasing the transit share from say, 60 percent to 80 percent, would shift 2,400 riders to transit who are currently taking a non-transit mode.
Finally, it is important to note that the transit mode share of the Corridor’s Traditional Commute travel market to destinations on the north, west and south sides of Chicago in 6-14
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Districts 113, 114, 115 is currently less than 10 percent. However, less than 8,000 daily work trips are made from DuPage to these three districts combined; thus the number of daily round trip work trips is fairly small relative to the large geography comprising the three destination Districts and the destinations are dispersed.
In addition to the Reverse Commute and Traditional Commute travel markets, three Intersuburban travel markets would also potentially benefit from a proposed HOV lane and/or alternative major new transit services, if such improvements provided new mobility options or improved speeds on the Eisenhower Expressway and parallel arterials. These additional travel markets are the South Central Cook, North Central Cook, and West Central Cook travel markets (Travel Markets 4, 8 and 9). The benefits accrued by these three travel markets, however, would be considerably less significant than those likely to be experienced by the Traditional Commute and Reverse Commute travel markets due to the relatively short distance of work trips, dispersed origin and destination patterns, and the overall magnitude of these travel markets. The trip patterns of the three Intersuburban travel markets suggest a much higher reliance on the existing grid of arterials than I-290.
The potential market for transit as part of an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the proposed I-290 HOV lanes is significant, particularly for transit designed to serve the Corridor’s Reverse Commute travel market to employment centers in DuPage county and, to a somewhat lesser extent, to serve the Traditional Commute travel market for work trips with non-CBD destinations. It appears that transit could play a role in reducing congestion on the Eisenhower if it captured a significantly higher portion of the trips made by these two travel markets. However, it is important to note that the greatest benefit of new transit options are to the mobility of travelers in terms of choice and accessibility. Transit services may reduce but would not be expected to eliminate congestion on the Eisenhower, given the sheer volume of traffic (commercial and personal) carried by I-290 and its function in connecting places throughout the region and the tri-state area, well beyond the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
6.6 CONCLUSION A key objective of this Cook-DuPage Travel Market Analysis was to undertake a detailed assessment of corridor mobility problems. The findings of the Travel Market Analysis will be used to develop suitable, potential transportation improvements in the subsequent phases of the Cook-DuPage Corridor study.
The mobility issues of the Corridor’s nine travel markets were assessed both independently and collectively, in a regional context. Origin-destination based travel patterns, the availability of highway facilities and transit services, and the level and quality of service offered by different modes indicate that the most significant mobility issues affecting the Cook-DuPage Corridor are:
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Access by transit to major employment centers. Transit currently is not an option for nearly all Intersuburban and Reverse Commute trips to and within DuPage. Major employment destinations that are largely inaccessible by transit include:
• Ferry Road, Diehl Road, Warrenville Road and Butterfield Road from IL 59 to IL 53, in Warrenville, Naperville and Lisle;
• Butterfield Road/22nd Street between Lombard (Yorktown) and Oak Brook;
• The area between North Avenue and Lake Street in Addison and Elmhurst;
• The Thorndale Avenue Corridor in Wood Dale and Itasca;
• Areas along the IL 53/I-290 Extension in Schaumburg; and
• The Loyola University Medical Center/Hines VA Hospital in Maywood.
Service quality of I-290. Persistent congestion in both directions on I-290 is a regional and Corridor concern both caused by, and negatively impacting, pass- through travel and the Traditional, Reverse, South Central Cook, North Central Cook, and West Central Cook travel markets. Congestion on I-290 further exacerbates the poor traffic flow on arterials that are used either routinely or incidentally as an alterative to I-290 during peak periods. The efficiency of travel for automobiles, buses and commercial vehicles are all negatively impacted by the high level of congestion on I-290.
Service quality of bus transit. Many Corridor commute trips within or through Cook county require use of both CTA and Pace services to undertake the trip by bus. From a user perspective, CTA/Pace service boundaries within Cook county result in inconsistent frequencies and hours of service, same direction transfers, and poorly timed (uncoordinated) transfers. In addition, a few key north-south routes have been inconveniently segmented, requiring one or two transfers in the same direction despite a single provider.
Service quality of arterials. Poor arterial traffic flow affects bus, automobile and commercial traffic. Stop-and-go travel due to closely spaced traffic signals and stop signs on key arterials, particularly in Chicago and central Cook county, lead to high travel times for commuters during peak hours. The inefficient stop-and-go traffic flow is further exacerbated by on-street parking and vehicle turning movements into/out of driveways. At-grade rail/highway crossings and conflicting (uncoordinated) traffic signal timing contribute to poor traffic flow particularly on arterials in Cook county. Meanwhile, travel on arterials in the DuPage county sections of the Corridor is mainly restricted by high traffic volumes and relatively few continuous arterials due to the dissolution of the urban arterial grid. The arterial grid is least present/least dense in the western half of DuPage county,
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where the Corridor’s highest population and employment growth rates are predicted for the year 2030.
The above four major corridor mobility problems warrant a coordinated, multimodal approach by regional planning bodies, local officials and transportation service providers in developing potential solutions. There is a critical need to focus upon intersuburban and reverse commute access to major employment centers of the Cook-DuPage travel markets in developing potential major transportation investments in the Cook-DuPage Corridor, particularly to major employment centers. Reducing congestion on I-290 is a second important Corridor and regional issue that would necessitate a major investment in order to solve and should be carried forward to the next phase of study, particularly for consideration in conjunction with developing potential new transit and multimodal options to serve work trips to major Corridor employment centers.
At the same time, a system-wide approach to addressing traffic flow problems and transit coordination issues is critical to affect a meaningful level of improvement. Any new Corridor transportation investment proposal considered in the next phase of study should strive to improve (and at a minimum, maintain) the current levels of bus and arterial service quality.
A broad range of potential transportation improvement options will be evaluated for market feasibility, physical feasibility and financial feasibility in the next phase of the study. Potential options will be drawn from the RTP project proposals, as well as new proposals that will be developed specifically based on the findings of the Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis. A shortlist of potential options will be further detailed and undergo a rigorous Alternatives Analysis. The Alternative Analysis will culminate in the selection of a locally preferred alternative(s) that will clearly delineate anticipated future major transportation investments in the Cook-DuPage Corridor.
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Appendix A
Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis Study Amended Scope of Services
1. Project Management and Administration
The objective of this task will be to ensure a smooth flow of work and delivery of key project reports on time over the course of the proposed 12-month duration of the project. The project management approach will be hands-on, flexible, and will recognize that fine-tuning adjustments of the analysis approach may be needed along the way to respond to unforeseen delays in data availability and analysis.
The project manager will be responsible for providing day to day interaction with the RTA, developing and maintaining the proposed schedule, allocating resources to best meet the needs of the project, and fine-tuning the approach to respond to data availability and analysis issues as they arise. The principal-in-charge will be responsible for quality assurance and control. This function will be a continuous effort conducted on a task-by-task basis and will start with the development of a schedule of project deliverables. The key subtasks include the following:
1.1. Project Initiation A kickoff meeting will be held to initiate the project following the approval of the Scope of Work and the corresponding level of effort. A list of critical data requests to key agencies will be formulated and submitted at this meeting to initiate the process of compiling the data.
1.2. Schedule The schedule that will be developed following project initiation will be responsive to the proposed 12-month duration. The dates for key milestone deliverables will be set and the critical path items will be identified. Assumptions on the timing of key data availability by different agencies will be clearly spelled out in the final schedule.
A preliminary DRAFT schedule has been developed and is shown in Figure 1. This schedule assumes that in July 2003 two critical data sources will be provided to the study team. These include the land use database maintained by NIPC and the CATS model trip tables. At the same time, data requests will be made to Metra, CTA, and Pace to obtain data related to transit routes, operating characteristics, ridership, and rider surveys. Finally, another major critical path item in this schedule is the availability of the Census journey-to-work data that are expected to be released in August of 2003.
1.3. Progress Reports These brief monthly reports will be used to relate the actual progress made against the key project deliverables. In addition to documenting work completed to date, the progress reports
A-1 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis will suggest corrective actions in cases where there are unforeseen delays in data availability or in the analysis tasks.
1.4. Quality Control and Project Administration Both of these tasks are considered as ongoing activities rather than freestanding independent tasks. Active hands-on project management and quality assurance will be conducted on a task- by-task basis to ensure a smooth flow for the project. All draft, draft final, and final work products will be reviewed for quality control, prior to submittal to the RTA. Comments by the RTA will be incorporated into the draft final and final versions prior to publishing and distributing the corresponding reports.
1.5. Meetings with the RTA We expect to have frequent and ongoing interaction with members of the RTA staff throughout this year-long project. We expect to have monthly meetings with the RTA to monitor the early phase of this project. This will ensure that we stay on track within the agreed-upon budget and will allow us to make any necessary adjustments in scope and approach if warranted by data availability and other unanticipated issues that may arise during the course of this project.
2. Analysis of Existing and Future Conditions
The objective of this task will be to paint a comprehensive and accurate picture of the socioeconomic and travel conditions and trends in the Cook-DuPage corridor. Such a picture will include a socioeconomic profile of residents in the corridor, the existing highway and transit infrastructure, the travel patterns in the corridor, and the level of service offered by different modes serving the corridor.
For each of these socioeconomic and travel dimensions, we will also analyze and document the expected trends. We will examine forecasts of population and employment, describe the projects included in the Transportation Improvement Plan, evaluate the corresponding projections of level of service for highway and transit modes, and quantify the projected travel for different competing modes.
Although this task will have qualitative and descriptive elements, it will rely heavily on quantitative statistics and analysis. In-depth analyses of NIPC land use data and projections, Census journey to work products, existing household survey data, and outputs from CATS model runs will be required. The prompt availability of these data sources and the timing of data release by the Census will therefore be critical in developing a tight schedule and ensuring timely deliverables.
2.1. Population, Demographics, Employment and Land Use The first step in the analysis will be to refine the corridor boundaries. The boundaries of the corridor have been developed following discussions with the RTA, Illinois DOT, and CATS. The corridor definition includes the area between the Milwaukee District-West and BNSF rail lines, and between EJ&E/IL 59 and Cicero Avenue
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For the purpose of analysis, the corridor has been divided into 12 groups of zones. The north- south boundaries of these groups of zones are approximately located along: • The DuPage/Kane county line (EJ&E/IL 59); • A N-S line located roughly equidistant between IL 59 and IL 53; • Route IL 53; • Highway I-294; • US12/45 (Manheim Road); • Route IL 43 (Harlem Avenue); and • Cicero Avenue.
The UP-West rail line will also be used as the E-W boundary that differentiates between the core study area north of BNSF and south of the UP-West lines versus the expanded study area north of the UP-West and south of the Milwaukee District-West line. This geographic breakdown will create the 12 zone groups used throughout this task. The quarter section system used by NIPC, the block group geography used by Census, and the zone system used by CATS will need to be used as the basis for data analysis. Aggregations of travel pattern summaries at the county level will also be used to show major trends in travel in the metropolitan area. Aggregations at the 12 zone group level of detail will also be used for presentation of data throughout this task. The second step will be to identify the time horizon of each analysis. A comparison of socioeconomic and travel data dating back to 1990 will be useful in establishing the observed population and employment growth and land use changes over the past ten years. In addition, trends between 2000 and year 2030 will provide a picture of projected growth patterns in the corridor. The following analyses and summaries are anticipated:
• Age, income and other individual and household characteristics;
• 1990 and 2000 land use and trends through 2030 based on NIPC;
• 1990 and 2000 population and trends through 2030 based on Census and NIPC; and
• 1990 and 2000 employment and trends through 2030 based on Census and NIPC.
2.2. Existing and Planned Transportation Network A qualitative and quantitative documentation of the existing highway and transit system facilities and services is envisioned along with a description of planned projects based on the CATS 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). This task will provide a physical inventory and mapping of highway and transit services available in this corridor today.
• The highway analysis will document existing highway facilities focusing on the area Interstate highways and major arterials.
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• The transit analysis will focus on the route system, physical alignment, operating characteristics and fare structure of each transit provider.
• Information will be collected from existing reports, schedule timetables, and the agencies’ GIS systems that include Metra’s three commuter rail lines, CTA’s Green and Blue rail line branches, CTA’s bus service, and Pace suburban bus service in the corridor.
• Differences in frequency of transit service by day of the week and time of the day will also be documented to provide a more complete picture of transit service variations.
• The condition and extent of bicycle and pedestrian facilities will be addressed qualitatively, based upon a review of data gathered for CATS Soles and Spokes long- range bicycle and pedestrian plan, currently underway. The CATS information may be supplemented by County and/or municipal data, if obtained by the RTA.
2.3. Travel Patterns The objective of this task is to provide the background data to start identifying and quantifying the total size of the various transportation system user markets that are currently served within the corridor. A multimodal approach will be used to quantify the volume and direction of highway travel and transit ridership in the corridor. Differences in observed travel patterns by mode, time of day, and possibly by day of the week will help identify important variations in travel patterns.
• Travel by automobile will be quantified by using highway traffic counts and screenlines at key locations along the corridor.
• Travel patterns for Metra, CTA, and Pace will be quantified by examining ridership statistics that may include the following:
o Ridership at a system or corridor level;
o Ridership at a route and time of day level, and
o Station-level statistics that reflect rider boarding and alightings.
• Market share information for each mode can be extracted from the 2000 Census (for work trips), from the 1989-1991 CATS Household Travel Survey, or from the CATS model for zones within the corridor.
• Finally, published IDOT study/-ies of the I-88/I-290/I-294 junction will be used to assess automobile travel patterns entering and leaving this key junction of the corridor.
2.4. Roadway Level of Service
The congestion on highway facilities along the Cook-DuPage corridor will be documented and quantified in this task. Both the location of congestion as well as the temporal differences in
A-4 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis congestion levels will be assessed. Performance measures that will be sought for various facilities in the corridor include the following:
• Volume-to-capacity ratios from the CATS model or from primary data collected by agencies and local governments for interstate highways and primary arterial Corridor routes;
• Measures of travel time in selected origin-destination pairs by time of day and/or measures of average delay at selected locations. Sources that could be used for these measures could include outputs of the CATS model, travel time data collected by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, IDOT or data collected from the G-C-M Corridor website providing real time data on area Interstates.
2.5. Trends and Regional Model Projections
The total existing demand for travel in the corridor and its projected growth over the next thirty years will provide us with measures of the current and expected size of the different markets within the corridor. We propose to use the CATS model system to summarize total travel patterns. The analysis can be conducted at different levels of detail including:
• County to county flows for year 2000, 2030 and one intermediate year for which forecasts are available;
• Existing and projected growth in total travel along key selected origin-destination groups of zones within the corridor;
• Identification of origin group of zones in the corridor with the highest current rate of trip generation or the highest growth patterns;
• Identification of destination or group of zones in the corridor with the highest current attraction rate or expected growth in travel attracted to these zones;
• Focus on selected individual zones within the core corridor may be warranted and will be conducted in selected cases to obtain a more detailed analysis or origin-destination patterns.
2.6. Report #1: Cook-DuPage Corridor Study: Conditions of the Corridor
This first project report will provide a detailed profile of existing conditions and overall trends. The value of the report will be to frame the mobility problems in the corridor by highlighting areas of observed and projected population and employment growth, identifying portions of the corridor that have experienced major growth in travel and now face traffic congestion, and quantifying the direction and magnitude of the projected future growth in total travel in the corridor.
This report will document the existing conditions but will also set the stage for the more detailed analysis to follow under Task 3 that will focus on market segments. The project team
A-5 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis will produce a draft report for a first-cut review by the RTA. A draft final version of the report will be produced for review by major stakeholders before publishing the final report. The same review and publication process will be used for all deliverables in this study.
3. Analysis of Travel Market Segments
3.1. Approach and Methodology This task will build on the analysis of the existing and future conditions in Task 2 by focusing on the distinct types of travel markets that exist within the Cook-DuPage corridor. These markets include travel for work and non-work purposes, traffic destined to or originating at O’Hare airport, external trips that pass through the corridor, and commercial vehicle traffic using the corridor. In addition, we will use existing Census and household survey data to differentiate among segments of the market based on socioeconomic characteristics such as age, income, or degree of captivity to transit. Finally, an optional task is to collect new primary data to examine the travel patterns and attitudes of corridor travelers in greater detail. Although such an option is desirable and would help explain traveler behavior better, we are proceeding on the assumption that we will rely on existing data and that any additional data collection options will be evaluated at a later date.
3.2. Analysis of Major Travel Markets
3.2.1. Corridor Work Travel Market The objective of this task is to quantify all work-related travel with origins or destinations within the corridor along with work trips that pass through the corridor. The analysis of work- bound travel relies largely upon the CATS work trip tables and the soon-to-be- released Census Transportation Planning Package. If the anticipated 2000 CTPP is not released by August 31, 2003, an alternative source to the CTPP will be determined with the RTA.
• The 2000 Census data can be used to establish the current travel patterns in the corridor with a great level of accuracy.
• The 1990 Census data can be analyzed and compared with the 2000 Census to provide us with estimates of the growth experienced during the past ten years.
• Although the CATS model can be used as an alternative source for base-year 2000 work travel, it will be most useful in assessing the projected growth between 2000 and 2030 along with growth projected for an intermediate forecast year.
• Additional detail on commuter rail riders’ travel to work patterns can be provided by the recent 2002 Metra onboard survey on the UP West, Milwaukee District-West, and BNSF rail lines. The CTA and Pace will also be contacted to identify the existence of any relevant survey data for work-related trips on the rail and bus system.
A-6 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
• The level of geographic detail for the analysis of work trips will vary across different sections of the study area. More emphasis and a greater level of detail will be placed on the core study area between the BNSF and UP-West lines.
• Similarly, a greater level of detail will be used in the analysis of origin and destination zones located close to major transportation facilities outside the core study area such as the Milwaukee District-West rail line and the I-290 extension.
3.2.2. Corridor Non-work Travel Market A similar approach to that described above is proposed to quantify non-work travel within and through the Cook-DuPage corridor. Such an effort will not benefit from the Census CTPP data and will have to rely heavily on the CATS non-work model:
• Groups of zones will be used as the frame of reference. Concentrations of non-work trips to special activity generators may require an origin-destination geographic analysis at a higher level of geographic detail.
• The CATS model will be used as the source for base-year 2000 data. It will also be used to assess the projected growth between 2000 and 2030 along with the growth projected for an intermediate forecast year.
• Additional detail on non-work trips by transit can be provided by the recent 2002 Metra onboard survey on the Milwaukee District-West, UP West and BNSF commuter rail lines. The CTA and Pace will also be contacted for similar survey data on non-work travel.
3.2.3. O’Hare Airport Travel Market The travel to and from O’Hare will be very difficult to quantify in the absence of a dedicated airport employee and visitor survey. The ideal survey dataset will provide the mix of trip purposes, accurate origin or destination information, mode choices by time of day, and the primary route(s) used to access the airport. We will conduct the origin-destination analysis focusing on the 12 zone groups. Data sources that could be used to support this analysis include:
• The 1990 Landrum and Brown report and the 1995 CATS O’Hare Intermodal Station study report; and
• The survey at O’Hare that is being conducted by RSG for the Chicago Department of Transportation as part of a study for the proposed Airport Express service. These survey data are likely to provide us with the depth of information needed to identify traffic to O’Hare with origins or destinations within the boundaries of the Cook-DuPage corridor.
A-7 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
3.2.4. Through Trips The trips that are external to the Cook-DuPage corridor will not be captured when we analyze Census and CATS data with either the origin or the destination of the trip within the corridor boundaries. With the use of some simplifying assumptions, we can identify groups of trip origin zone pairs that would need to use highways and transit services within the corridor to reach their zonal destinations outside the corridor. The same methodology used for work and non-work trips will be repeated for current and forecast year “through trips” to capture both the absolute magnitude as well as the observed and projected growth patterns of the corridor’s “through traffic.”
3.2.5. CVO Trips The assessment of commercial vehicle traffic will rely on the analysis of available data from sources such as the ISTHA CVO data, AADT data from Illinois DOT, and the review of studies such as the MidCity Transitway study documents. The percentage of trucks at selected locations will provide an overall picture of commercial vehicle operations in the corridor. Emphasis will be placed on major roadways such as the Eisenhower expressway, the I-88 corridor, the I-290 extension, I-294, and the I-355 expressway. It is expected that I-Pass data will be made available to the study team to quantify truck traffic along the tollway segments within the study area.
3.2.6. Transit Dependent and Choice Riders Finally, the analysis of Census data will allow us to study corridor residents’ mode choices for work trips and relate their choices to the availability of an automobile in the household. The CATS 1989-1991 Household Travel Survey is also an option to study auto and transit usage in households with different degrees of captivity to transit.
Similar data will also be available from the on-board surveys conducted by Metra and possibly by surveys undertaken by the CTA and Pace. Maps comparing the mode usage of corridor residents and transit dependency may be useful in thinking about improvements in highway and transit service along areas of the corridor with different auto ownership characteristics.
As with the rest of the activities under Task 3, greater emphasis will be placed on the analysis of groups of zones and selected individual zones located within the core study area.
4. Evaluation of Major Activity Centers
4.1. Approach and Methodology The evaluation of the major activity centers in the corridor will rely on a combination of land use and employment data provided by NIPC, a geographically-referenced database of employers in the corridor, trip generation rates and traffic data for different activity centers and types of businesses, and an optional data collection task. Although a budget for data collection
A-8 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis has not been included, the Scope of Work includes the development of a data collection methodology and/or survey instruments for traffic and survey data collection at the outset of Task 4. A typology of activity centers will be used to categorize the various activity centers in this corridor. Retail centers, office parks, business corridors, medical centers, concentrations of dense residential development, and centers with mixed development will be identified and documented. We will focus on up to three of these activity centers for an in-depth analysis of the travel patterns to and from each activity center. We will adopt a case study approach and will treat the analyses for each activity center as a way of supplementing the existing regional and corridor data on travel flows.
4.2. Location, Type and Magnitude of Major Activity Centers The impact of major activity centers on the corridor is reflected in the number of trips that can be generated at or attracted to each of these activity centers. The magnitude of these traffic impacts depends on the number of residents, the number of employees, and the type of businesses at each activity center. The NIPC employment data and future-year forecasts can be obtained at a zone level for the entire Chicago metropolitan area and a GIS database can be developed to show current employment patterns and the projected employment growth at a zone level. These data can be supplemented by the InfoUSA database that includes detailed information for employers within a specific zone or within a pre-specified distance from a highway or transit facility. The employer information can be extracted at a zipcode+4 level of detail. For the selected activity centers we will identify the employers and will provide the following detailed pieces of information for a total of up to 1,000 employers: • Type of employer (business, government, non-profit, etc.); • Company name, street address, and phone and fax information; and • Number of employees, annual sales, and primary line of business and SIC code. This type of business directory needs to be carefully examined and crosschecked with NIPC employment data to ensure the reasonableness of information regarding the number of employees at multiple employer sites. These two sources of employment data and forecasts and employer-related information can be combined to provide an enhanced picture of the magnitude of the different activity centers in the corridor and the concentrations of employers of different sizes in a particular area.
4.3. Traffic Generation These sources can be combined with estimates of trip generation rates for different types of employers and businesses. Furthermore, transit ridership along routes serving these activity centers coupled with traffic data at highway locations adjacent to each center can provide a fourth piece of information to assess the magnitude of traffic generated at and attracted to each of these centers. Finally, an analysis of traffic data by time of day can provide yet another dimension in assessing the traffic impacts.
A-9 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
4.4. Origin of Traffic The focus on selected activity centers provides us with the opportunity to study flows to each center from different parts of the corridor. Such an approach would be very useful in identifying concentrations of trip origins that may be served by dedicated transit services or improvements in the highway infrastructure. To obtain detailed origin information, an additional data collection effort needs to be undertaken. Examples of the range of methods and costs associated with such an effort are summarized briefly below:
• Traffic counts could be conducted at key locations to observe and quantify traffic entering/leaving by time of day. The magnitude of observed traffic patterns would be measured but without any O-D or purpose information. • An intercept survey of activity center visitors and employees can be used to collect data on trip origin, trip purpose, purpose, mode, travel time, party size, frequency of visiting the center and socioeconomic data. • A workplace survey can be used to collect similar information from activity center workers. This survey allows the option of a longer survey instrument and requires the coordination with local employers. • A license plate data collection can also be combined with a follow-up telephone survey to obtain the same types of data. In this case, the approval of the Secretary of State would be needed to link license plate numbers to addresses and individuals’ names. • Finally, it is possible that local businesses or an activity center such as a hospital may provide the RTA with information on visitors’ and employees’ trip origins in a way that does not compromise confidentiality. This is the least costly approach but it would also be the most difficult to implement successfully. The most efficient approach for obtaining travel origin information will be determined at a later date. One option that is available would be to use a subconsultant to collect and analyze the data or to utilize internal RTA resources.
4.5. Report #2: Cook-DuPage Corridor Study: Travel Impacts of Select Major Activity Centers
This second project report will focus exclusively on the selected major activity centers. It will identify the sources of travel to the center, the magnitude of traffic attracted to the center, the type and amount of traffic to different businesses in the center, and the variation in the level of traffic by time of day and day of the week.
The project team will produce a draft report for a first-cut review by the RTA. A draft final version of the report will be produced for review by major stakeholders before publishing the final report. The same review and publication process will be used for all deliverables in this study.
A-10 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
5. Assessment of Corridor Mobility Problems
The purpose of this task is to provide an interpretation of the travel market that allows the RTA to begin to define alternatives for study in one or more subsequent Alternatives Analysis projects.
5.1. Deficiencies of System The discussion will begin by summarizing the major deficiencies of the current transportation system in the corridor based on an interpretation of all previous data collection and analyses efforts. Deficiencies will be defined as a function of travel demand and transportation system capacity. Major highway capacity deficiencies will be identified based on the level of service analysis. Transit services where demand approaches or exceeds available supply and realistic capacity will be identified based on discussions with operators. This analysis will quantify the severity of deficiencies where possible and qualitatively describe other deficiencies that are identified in previous tasks. Deficiencies will be described in terms of their relative order of magnitude compared to other deficiencies in the corridor.
5.2. Underserved Markets and Overserved Markets By correlating the deficiencies identified above with findings from the market analysis, this task will help to identify areas and corridors where there appears to be an imbalance between the supply of transportation by different modes and the demand for travel. This discussion will focus on the markets that need to be served based on the O-D travel flows contrasted with the ways in which these markets are served today by the available highway facilities and transit service.
5.3. Opportunities and Constraints Through the assessment of trip purposes, O-D patterns, and demographics in previous tasks, we will identify markets in which there is an unmet demand for transit services or in which transit could provide a competitive alternative to other modes. In this manner, opportunities for transit services that serve various transit-depended market segments or choice riders will be identified. Other mobility deficiencies and supply-demand imbalances that may be more effectively served by highway improvements will be discussed. This assessment of potential highway and transit improvement opportunities and constraints will help identify the characteristics and types of services that may be needed to improve service to the existing and emerging markets in the corridor.
5.4. Characteristics of Potential Improvements Needed For the transportation improvement opportunities identified above, features of potential transit services and/or other system improvements will be identified. The goal of this task is to ascertain the best approach to address transportation deficiencies in the Corridor. The respective advantages and disadvantages of transit and highway modes to address the needs of identified user markets and to improve or eliminate system deficiencies will be explained. Recommendations will be based on the relative shares of transit-dependent riders and choice riders in the target markets served, and on the overall level of demand and the magnitude of
A-11 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis deficiencies. As such, both the quantity in terms of general capacity of the system and the quality in terms of features needed to attract choice riders will be identified. This task element will also specifically address the apparent potential of new transit services and/or enhancement of existing transit service to serve as an alternative to the proposed HOV lane on the Eisenhower (between Mannheim Rd and Cicero Avenue ). Findings from prior tasks of this study will be examined along findings from IDOT’s HOV feasibility study and the preliminary draft Statement of Purpose and Need for the HOV to guide this discussion
5.5. Draft and Final Reports – “Cook DuPage Corridor Study: Market Analysis” The draft and final project reports will combine the content of Reports 1 and 2 with the results of all subsequent tasks. The report will present a comprehensive and cohesive market analysis for the Cook-DuPage Corridor, and identify needed transportation improvements in terms of markets to be served, system deficiencies to be addressed, the location/geography of needed highway or transit improvements, and recommended characteristics of each improvement to optimize mobility.
An executive summary will provide major highlights of the study and a clear interpretation of findings. A draft final version of the report will be produced for review by major stakeholders before publishing the final report. Ten copies of the draft report and 75 copies of the final report, plus an electronic version of each in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format will be provided to the RTA.
5.6. Summary Brochure – “Cook-DuPage Corridor Study: Market Analysis” The objective is to develop a brochure that summarizes the key findings for wide distribution to a non-technical audience. To maximize the effectiveness of this brochure, the key findings will be discussed in a bullet summary format that avoids technical jargon. Color graphics and photos will also be used to help convey the key messages and findings from the analysis most effectively. The format of the brochure will be an 8.5x11 page folded into 4 panels and printed in color on glossy paper. A camera-ready proof will be provided to the RTA for approval before printing. 1,000 copies and an electronic version in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format will be provided to the RTA.
5.7. Presentation of Findings A 30-minute presentation will be developed and presented to the RTA, IDOT, agency representatives and/or a small representative group of local officials (two meetings total). A 15 minute version will also be developed and presented at a meeting of local officials within the Corridor and at a public open house. Key findings from the analysis will be presented to help highlight our interpretation of the identified travel patterns and mobility issues. A wealth of back-up material including trip table summaries, socioeconomic trends, highway and transit level of service statistics, and results from other technical analyses will also be available to respond to questions on an as-needed basis.
A-12 Final Report Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis
For the purpose of budgeting, it will be assumed that two a total of five presentations will be made (2 long versions, and 3 short versions). In addition, a Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt) file of each version will be provided to the RTA.
6. Statement of Purpose and Need
This task is not viewed as an effort to meet NEPA standards for an Alternatives Analysis or Major Investment Study, but to develop a foundation upon which to develop and/or consider proposed alternative Corridor improvements in future phases of the overall Cook-DuPage Corridor Study. A memorandum titled “Cook-DuPage Corridor Study: Purpose and Need for Improving Corridor Mobility” will be the deliverable of this task. The memorandum will interpret the findings of this study in a way that highlights the need for mobility improvements in the corridor. This statement will outline current system deficiencies and projected mobility problems in the future. The document will establish, as appropriate, the need for the development and study of detailed solutions in an Alternatives Analysis.
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Acknowledgments The Regional Transportation Authority would like to acknowledge the participation of the following agencies and individuals in the Cook-DuPage Corridor Travel Market Analysis.
Assistance, information and technical review Local government coordination, review provided by the following agencies and and guidance provided by: organizations:
Chicago Area Transportation Study Corridor Coordinating Group Chicago Department of Aviation Chicago Department of Transportation Jose Luis Alvarez Town of Cicero Chicago Transit Authority
Citizens for Appropriate Transportation Richard B. Boehm City of Naperville Village of Oak Brook County of Cook County of DuPage Carmen Carruthers City of Naperville DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference Illinois Department of Transportation Peter Dame Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Village of Oak Park
Metra Robert Dean North Central Council of Mayors DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission Pace Patrick Higgins Village of Western Springs Regional Transportation Authority Village of Oak Park Jill Leary West Central Municipal Conference West Central Municipal Conference
Roy McCampbell, JD Village of Bellwood
Funding for this project was provided by Beth McCluskey RTA and IDOT. North Central Council of Mayors
RTA Project Team:
Stephen E. Schlickman William R. Lenski, AICP Executive Director Manager, Corridor Planning Studies
Paula S. Thibeault Michelle D. Ryan, AICP Former Executive Director Principal Analyst, Corridor Planning Studies
John DeLaurentiis, AICP Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Deputy Executive Director, Planning Project Manager: Kimon Proussaloglou, PhD
Regional Transportation Authority 175 W. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1550 Chicago, Illinois 60604 Phone: 312.913.3200 Fax: 312.913.3206 E-Mail: [email protected] Web site: www.rtachicago.com