Dan Ryan Road Warriors, Do Yourselves a Favor: “Drive Less, Live More”
Road
warriors
are counting down with dread to March 31, when the Dan Ryan’s express lanes
will be closed for much-needed maintenance, taking the already jam-packed expressway
to half-capacity. The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), in collaboration
with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and Illinois Department of
Transportation, is promoting a proven coping mechanism for drivers staring down
two full years of missed morning meetings, cold suppers, and road rage – and
it’s not a super-size travel mug full of Maalox. It’s public transportation.
Both in size and ridership, Chicagoland’s transit system
is second only to New York’s. Most south side and south suburban commuters will
find it’s easy to take transit to their destination by using one or a
combination of Metra, Pace, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), or Northwest
Indiana’s South Shore Line. Easy-to-access schedules, maps, trip-planning tools,
and fare information are available for the CTA, Metra and Pace at www.rtachicago.com, and for
the South Shore at www.nictd.com.
“Once
commuters get past the initial hiccups in their schedules, they may see the Dan
Ryan nightmare as a blessing in disguise,” said MPC’s President MarySue Barrett.
“Transit riders save money on gas and vehicle maintenance, avoid stress and
anxiety caused by aggressive drivers and road delays, and have more time to
spend on the activities and with the people they love. We encourage die-hard Dan
Ryan drivers to ‘drive less, live more.’”
The “Drive Less, Live More” Web site, which will offer
information on transportation alternatives and trip-planning tools, will be
available soon at www.drivelesslivemore.com. In the meantime, access RTA’s
TripsWeb trip planner at www.rtachicago.com
.
MPC contact: Kit Hodge, Associate, Metropolitan Planning Council,
312.863.6044, khodge@metroplanning.org
RTA Contact:
Anayanzi Mendez, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, Regional
Transportation Authority, 312.913.3153, mendeza@rtachicago.org
In
his budget proposal, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich included more than $1 million in
funding for the creation of a statewide water management system. With summer
just around the bend, the state still experiencing a drought, and the Illinois
General Assembly set to adjourn early on April 7, the Metropolitan Planning
Council (MPC), Campaign for Sensible Growth, and Openlands have been working to
ensure legislators check off “approve funding for Illinois Water Supply
Initiative” from their to-do lists.
Illinois lacks a statewide framework for regional water
supply planning and management. Yet aquifers (stores of groundwater) and
watersheds (the land that drains into a waterway) cut across political
boundaries; for instance, development that occurs in one county affects water
resources in neighboring counties. The Illinois Water Supply Initiative will
create a framework for municipal and county governments to work together to
ensure Illinois maintains a clean, abundant water supply for its growing
population. This new state initiative grew out of the Troubled Waters
report
released in January 2006 by MPC,
the
Campaign, and Openlands.
MPC contact: Scott Goldstein, Vice President of Policy and Planning,
312.863.6003, sgoldstein@metroplanning.org
Openlands
contact: Joyce O’Keefe, Deputy Director, Openlands, 312.863.6263, jokeefe@openlands.org
New Research Crunches Numbers in Affordable Housing Crunch
Challenges to the creation and
preservation of affordable and workforce housing have intensified, including the
loss of rental housing and the rise in housing overvaluation, according to
recent studies that offer quantified analyses of the Chicago-area and U.S.
housing markets.
A strong housing market has driven
up price tags on single-family homes, putting housing costs even further out of
reach for working families. In 2005, housing in the
Chicago
metropolitan
region was more than 20 percent overvalued, according to a recent report by the
Global Insight/National City Corp. The study, which analyzed 299 metropolitan
areas, ranked
Chicago
in the middle of the pack.
As the cost of
homeownership becomes more burdensome to local families, the availability of
rental housing – a critical alternative for those not ready or unable to invest
in a home purchase – continues to dwindle nationwide.
Harvard
University
’s
Joint
Center
for Housing Studies found that more
affordable rental housing is being lost than created each year. Deterioration,
condo conversion, and gentrification contribute to the loss of 200,000 rental
units each year, while Low Income Housing Tax Credits and other initiatives only
spur the creation of about 100,000 new rental units for low-income people
annually. Culprits contributing to the loss of rentals include local ordinances
limiting housing density and inadequate financing options.
“To combat these
and other challenges to the creation and preservation of affordable and
workforce housing, we need to keep up the statewide momentum supporting local
housing activity,” said Robin Snyderman, MPC housing director. “We urge state
legislators to pass two critical pieces of housing legislation before the April
7 adjournment, the Comprehensive Housing Planning Act and the Location Matters
bill, which will help create homes affordable to the workforce near jobs and
transit.”
MPC also is encouraged by the recent introduction of the
Housing America’s Workforce Act, a federal bill that builds on lessons learned
in Illinois about affordable housing. For more information about this bill,
visit www.nhc.org/index/policy-action-hot-issues. Learn more about
the state bills at www.metroplanning.org. Download Global Insight/National City
Corp’s Housing Valuation Analysis at www.nationalcity.com/corporate/EconomicInsight. Check out
Harvard’s rental housing analysis at www.jchs.harvard.edu.
MPC contact: Robin Snyderman, Housing Director, 312.863.6007, rsnyderman@metroplanning.org
Contact: King
Harris, Chairman, Harris Holdings, Inc; Senior Executive, Chicago Metropolis
2020, 312.831.4131, kharris@hhicap.com
It’s official: Latinos are the
largest minority group in the
Chicago
metropolitan area, according to The
Brookings Institution study released this month. The demographic shift has
implications for the entire region, but especially the suburbs, which have seen
a greater share of Latino population growth, while the rate of Latino
immigration to the city of
Chicago
has tapered.
“Latino
immigration is and will continue to be a key driver in regional growth,” said
MPC President MarySue Barrett. “Our region is expected to add 2 million people
by 2030. Like all new residents, Latino residents will need good schools, and
quality housing and transit options near job opportunities. We must meet these
needs, and channel the many assets Latinos bring, including purchasing power,
entrepreneurship, and desire for homeownership.”
Between 2000 and 2004, Latinos
accounted for 80 percent of the region’s overall population growth. The
Brookings study analyzed 2004 Census Bureau data to determine that Hispanics now
account for 18.4 percent of the metropolitan population, compared to 18 percent
for blacks.
MPC contact: MarySue Barrett, President, Metropolitan Planning
Council, 312.863.6001, msbarrett@metroplanning.org
Brookings contact:
William H. Frey, Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy
Program, 202.797.6292 or wfrey@brookings.edu.