Chicago Makes ‘Pop-Up’ Bus Lanes Permanent

According to John Greenfield, writing for Streetsblog Chicago, a 3.5 mile stretch of “pop-up” dedicated bus lanes on Chicago Avenue between Ashland and Laramie will be made permanent. The red bus-only lanes will be in effect 24 hours a day, unlike other bus lanes elsewhere on Chicago Avenue.

In a statement, CTA president Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said, “The temporary, pop-up essential bus lanes were a useful tool we implemented during the pandemic that have since proven to be vital in ensuring that buses traveling the #66 bus can pass through what has long been a bottle-neck and major source of delays along the route.” 

Other safety improvements coming to Chicago Avenue include sidewalk extensions and bollards and speed humps to force slower left turns at dangerous intersections.

Chicago lags far behind other major cities when it comes to dedicated bus lanes, with only 11 miles across the whole city. For comparison, Los Angeles has 107 miles of dedicated lanes, while New York City, which recently began using traffic cameras to crack down on bus lane blocking violations, has 138 miles.