What types of transportation do you use during an average week, and how has this shaped your view of transportation policy?

I live in a car free household, and I am proud of it. To add to my car-free cred, neither my parents, nor I nor my grandparents have ever owned a car. In a typical week, I walk, bike, train and bus. My most frequently used buses are the 22 and 36, my trains are the Brown, Red and Blue.

As much as I love my bike lanes, CTA, METRA, and PACE they are nowhere near where they need to be. The frequency is poor, the stations and trains are not clean, and the systems are barely integrated. As County Commissioner, I will represent people who rely on public transportation everyday and are tired of seeing it de-prioritized, underfunded, and treated as someone else’s problem.

What are some transportation challenges in your district?

The transportation issues in my district aren’t that different from every other district in the city. We have poorly funded public transit, a small and disconnected bicycle network, and streets that tell pedestrians that their comfort and safety comes second to the convenience of those who drive. While not unique in the city, some of the poorest areas of my district are also those worst served by public transportation, pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

Cook County residents often find their local roadways fall under multiple different jurisdictions and standards. How do you view the County’s role in ensuring consistent, safe, and accessible transportation for constituents?

On the issues of pedestrian safety and bike infrastructure the County is a laggard. Raised intersections, protected bike lanes and bump outs are all completely absent on the county owned roads of Western and Ashland. Meanwhile the County is an obstacle to BRT and prioritizes freight, as opposed to passenger rail infrastructure, through the CREATE program. As county commissioner, I will put complete streets first. Further, I will pass an ordinance that creates incentives, and where possible requires, other jurisdictions to build safe, high quality, active transportation focused roadways. For the roads that the County directly controls, I would rebalance the half billion we spend on auto-centric investment towards public transportation, active transportation, and pedestrian safe streets. Ideally, the County would be spending half or more of its transportation infrastructure budget on public transit and active transportation infrastructure.

What can Cook County do to stabilize and expand access to bikeshare programs that span municipalities?

Cook County needs to take an active role in creating a sustainable, county-wide bikeshare program. It’s time for the County to stop taking the back seat and to lead. I propose that Cook County do the following:

• Create a countywide funding and coordination framework so municipalities aren’t negotiating individually with bikeshare operators. Cook County can provide matching funds, standardize contracts, and ensure coverage expands equitably across borders.

• Create a unified county bike share membership. We talk often about unified transit card and associated unlimited ride passes across METRA, PACE, and CTA. As we push to expand Divvy, it’s critical that we make sure that the systems are inter-operable and that the same passes work on all. We don’t want balkanized and disconnected systems.

• Invest in regional bike infrastructure that supports bikeshare, including protected lanes, low-stress networks, and safe connections between suburbs and the city. Bikeshare only succeeds when riders have safe places to ride. Further, the County has not built a single inch of on-street protected bike lane. It’s time to change that. I would seek to install protected or, better yet, grade separated bike lanes throughout the County. It’s time for a county bike grid.

• And lastly, I would fully fund these systems and their expansion throughout the County.

What role can the County play in bringing funding sources and revenue streams to county transportation projects?

Commissioners are both connectors of different levels of government and a leader of a particularly powerful government. Both need to be brought to bear to increase the amount of money available for transportation projects. I would support directing additional tax revenue towards spending on active and public transportation as well as directing competitive grants the County wins towards such projects. If we are going to rebuild the County’s transportation system around something other than the personal automobile we need to take a whole-of-government approach. Anything less and we will further entrench the status quo.

Cook County has a history of innovating access to public services, including public transit – such as the Fair Transit South Cook pilot. As commissioner, what are ways you envision the County innovating on transportation?

I seek to transform the County’s transportation system from the bottom up. I would support the following initiatives:

• Transform METRA into a rapid, frequent regional rail system. There is nothing stopping us from transforming METRA into a second “L” system in the style of Spanish Cercanias or German S-Bahns. We just think too small. To do this the County should fund or otherwise enable; the full electrification of METRA owned rights-of-way, acquisitions of METRA used freight rail rights-of-way, Star:Line’s regional rail tunnel.

• Full BRT build-out on Western and Ashland. I don’t just mean paint. I would physically separate bus lanes and build fully accessible stations.

• Integrate fare payment and schedules on PACE, METRA, and CTA. The County will now have NITA appointments. Let’s leverage them to put experienced transit users and professionals who support regional integration on the Boards.

• Build a county-wide bike share program. I want bike-shares to be available to all throughout the county. Where there isn’t a bike share program, the County should build one.

• Invest in a county wide bike grid. People won’t bike if they take their lives into their hands every time they get behind the handlebars. I would like to see protected bike lanes and grade separated bike lanes throughout the county. I would seek to build 100 miles each year - double what the City does.

• Full signalization of County roads. Western is a particularly bad offender here. With signals every two blocks in some parts crossing can be deadly. Every intersection should be signalized so that people don’t have to walk one block south and then another north just to cross the street.

• Pass a version of Fare Fairs for Cook County. We provide subsidized passes for seniors, we should do the same for low-income individuals. I would support the County funding and implementing a low-income transit pass to ensure that the system is available to all.