Main Street is a critical East-West corridor in the south of Evanston, but existing roadway conditions between the Channel and the Main-Dempster Mile present serious environmental and safety concerns. Missing sidewalks and crosswalks, along with a lack of infrastructure for cyclists, is a missed opportunity to improve the connectivity of our community and the region at large. Currently, those traveling on bike must either pedal along the sidewalk creating conflicts with pedestrians, or share space in the street with fast-moving cars and trucks, creating traffic congestion and also the potential for life-threatening accidents. Sections of missing sidewalks exacerbate this problem and act as a barrier for pedestrians and limit access entirely for disabled individuals. As a result, many of those who travel to destinations along Main St drive due to the lack of safe alternatives…

Evanston Transit Alliance and Climate Action Evanston sent a four-question survey to all mayoral and city council candidates on the subjects of mobility and transit. We created this questionnaire to raise awareness for these issues and to help educate voters on candidate’s platforms ahead of the April 1st, 2025 municipal election. Of the 21 total ballot and write-in candidates, we received replies from 17- a response rate of over 80%! The below findings are summarized based on these responses. Full responses are listed by ward and the order candidates will appear on the ballot. Candidates’ opinions are their own, and publishing these results should not be viewed as an endorsement of any candidate by Evanston Transit Alliance or Climate Action Evanston. Thank you to all candidates for the time and consideration in writing thoughtful and engaging replies…

Evanston Transit Alliance, in partnership with Wilmette Park District, Village of Wilmette and the City of Evanston, has successfully secured a $40,000 Invest in Cook grant. The first phase of planning is now underway for the last remaining 1.5 mile section of the North Shore Channel Trail. This would extend the beloved walking and cycling path from its current dead-end terminus at Green Bay Road and McCormick Boulevard to Gillson Park in Wilmette, near the Baha'i House of Worship and Sheridan Road. The project also includes studying a connection to Poplar Ave which is a bicycle route providing access to the Green Bay Trail in Wilmette, making this connection a true regional link.

The feasibility study is currently underway. Please take the time to examine the documentation below to see what this trail extension could look like, and provide your feedback on preferred routing options via online survey prior to February 28, 2025…

Evanston Transit Alliance has had a very busy year in 2024 with lots to celebrate.

Downtown Evanston Association – Evanston Rides! adult social rides.  ETA led monthly rides from Fountain Square on various local adventures. Rides ranged from under 10 miles to almost 20 miles depending on length of daylight available.  Hundreds of riders joined the excursions combining exercise, sight-seeing and socializing.

Church & Dodge plans – Planners revealed plans for this multi-modal hotspot in September.  ETA was there and offered feedback to help improve this area’s bike lanes, mass transit and safety.  We will eagerly await next steps to see that bike lanes are extended, bus shelters are included and a DIVVY station is not eliminated…

The undersigned are 250+ local residents and businesses who enthusiastically support the city's Chicago Ave Multimodal Project between Davis and Howard. Numerous public forums, stakeholder meetings, and data-driven analysis of existing street conditions have correctly shown the need for these improvements. There has been misinformation circulated regarding the city's proposal, and we want to set the record straight with facts:

Claims that “very few bikes use Chicago Ave” are false. Data from Strava shows Chicago Ave is highly utilized today by cyclists, despite the lack of dedicated bike lanes. Additional residents and visitors of all ages and abilities would feel comfortable riding on Chicago Ave to reach local shops, schools, and parks, as well as Downtown Evanston, with protected lanes…

Evanston faces serious challenges in the coming years: high commercial vacancy rates, long-term declining enrollment in our schools and skyrocketing housing costs. An increasing financial burden on property owners and renters to fund our municipal needs will only exacerbate these woes.

The newly released Envision Evanston 2045 draft plan presents several policy solutions, including the elimination of minimum parking requirements and the loosening of development restrictions on residential lots. These changes have proven effective in other midwestern cities, and are desperately needed in our community to promote housing affordability, economic vitality and environmental sustainability...

What are the most important considerations in re-designing traffic flow as part of Evanston’s Church & Dodge Transportation Improvement Project? We at ETA call for protected bike lanes, safeguarded sidewalk space, and enhanced bus stops—all of which will benefit the community as a whole. Unfortunately, current plans presented at the Sept. 24th Open House move in the opposite direction.

Currently, cyclists going eastbound in the Church St. bike lane are protected on raised concrete. The proposed plan would eliminate this protection and replace it with only paint. We believe this presents a dangerous condition with cyclists forced to bike through mixed traffic, and weave around merging buses or cars. That is a downgrade from what exists today. The same problem exists elsewhere along Dodge and Church—that is, painted bike lanes at bus stops—but we believe it would be particularly dangerous near the high school. It would discourage people from cycling here, plus increase the chance of injuries and fatalities…

With the recent traffic crashes involving cyclists in Skokie, IL, Evanston Transit Alliance calls for the Village of Skokie, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways (DoTH) to improve safety by reducing speed limits, implementing traffic calming, and constructing protected bicycle lanes along Church and Oakton Streets. The recent incidents resulting in the deaths of Joseph Center and Carlos Medina underscore the dangers that cyclists face on our local roads due to the lack of safe infrastructure.

Despite being listed on the Village of Skokie’s Bicycle Network Plan, both Church and Oakton are wide thoroughfares with high volumes of fast-moving car traffic, no traffic calming, multiple unmarked crosswalks and uncontrolled intersections, and no dedicated lanes for cyclists. This creates barriers for safe access to the residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, major employment centers, civic/recreational facilities, and schools located along these roads…