Ashland-Western Coalition

The bus rapid transit NIMBY group known as the Ashland-Western Coalition has been doing its darndest to get aldermen to sign on to its severely watered-down alternative proposal to the CTA’s plan for fast, reliable, “gold-standard” BRT on Ashland Avenue. Fortunately, response from local politicians to the coalition’s anemic “Modern Express Bus” proposition - essentially just bringing back the old, slow #X9 Ashland express bus -  has been lukewarm. Better still, 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar, who already has a good track record for promoting sustainable transportation, has thrown his hat in the ring as a strong supporter of the full BRT plan.