Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about TOD

CTA Reports Huge Ridership Gains on Blue Line, Losses on South Side

By Steven Vance | Mar 29, 2016 | 17 Comments

New ridership numbers for the Chicago Transit Authority’s ‘L’ stations show some interesting changes over the past 17 years. The increases in ridership at some stations have been obvious, but the decreases at other stations are a little surprising. Last year the CTA’s ‘L’ had its highest-ever total recorded ridership. From November 1998 to November 2015, the earliest […]

Developer of Bucktown TOD Grilled Over Lack of On-Site Affordable Housing

By Steven Vance | Jan 22, 2016 | 10 Comments

Yesterday, the Chicago Plan Commission approved River North-based developer Vequity’s proposal for a new transit-oriented development in Bucktown. This puts the plan for a six-story building with 44 units and ten car parking spaces at 1920 N. Milwaukee Ave. on track for approval by the full City Council. However, it didn’t happen without a heated debate […]

44-Unit TOD Building Proposed at an Abandoned Drive-Through in Bucktown

By Steven Vance | Jan 18, 2016 | 19 Comments

A proposal for a transit-oriented development in Bucktown is going before the Chicago Plan Commission for approval this Thursday. River North-based developer Vequity wants to build a six-story residential tower with minimal parking at the southeast corner of Milwaukee and Western avenues in Bucktown, right next door to the Western stop on the Blue Line’s O’Hare branch. Vequity needs the Plan Commission to approve a […]

New Uptown Buildings Would Have 240 Units, Only 72 Parking Spots

By Steven Vance | Jul 22, 2015 | 5 Comments

Cedar Street Cos., the company behind the FLATS Chicago developments, which typically involve converting single-room occupancy buildings to more upscale rental units, has proposed two new apartment buildings near the Wilson ‘L’ station in Uptown. One of the buildings would be virtually across the street from the station, at 1050 W. Wilson Ave., and the other […]

Like TOD Ordinance, Less Restrictive Zoning Can Help Lakeview Businesses

By Steven Vance | Apr 16, 2015 | 35 Comments

The Lakeview Chamber of Commerce is concerned that restrictive zoning, car parking requirements, and changing household types may hinder growth in the high-demand neighborhood and negatively affect local businesses. The chamber, along with Special Service Area #27 (map), published a report this week [PDF] that shows that not only is Lakeview’s housing supply failing to keep […]

Our TOD Bike Tour Showcased Chicago’s Parking-Lite Building Projects

By Steven Vance | Apr 14, 2015 | 4 Comments

A score of Streetsblog Chicago readers joined John Greenfield and me last Saturday to pedal to 12 sites where developers are taking advantage of proximity to train stations by building dense housing with fewer parking spaces than usual. The buildings, in different phases of approval and construction, are all near Chicago Transit Authority ‘L’ stops. In […]

Montrose Green TOD Actually Fits Its Neighborhood Just Fine

By Steven Vance | Dec 18, 2014 | 4 Comments

Developer David Brown wants to bring a neighborhood restaurant to a site right outside the the Chicago Transit Authority’s Montrose Brown Line station, along with 24 apartments, a small office space, and 10 car parking spaces. The city’s zoning ordinance would ordinarily require him to fill the entire ground floor of his proposed five-story Montrose […]

Actually, Logan Square’s Neither Traffic-Choked Nor Overcrowded

By Steven Vance | Nov 11, 2014 | 47 Comments

Late last month, over 100 people crowded into a public presentation to hear about a proposed development of 254 housing units, plus 72 car parking spaces and retail, on what’s now a vacant lot around the corner from the California Blue Line ‘L’ station in Logan Square. The number of parking spaces proposed is 182 fewer than […]

Albany Park to Walgreens: Make a Walkable Store, Not Curb Cuts and Parking

By Steven Vance | Jan 14, 2014 | 60 Comments

Members of Albany Park Neighbors, a grassroots group of local residents, are gearing up to convince Walgreens to change the company’s proposed suburban store design for Kimball and Lawrence to one that will work better for a walkable city neighborhood. Walgreens is proposing to demolish an office building with a Payless Shoe Source on the […]

How Parking Requirements Get in the Way of New Chicago Businesses

By Steven Vance | Aug 6, 2013 | 32 Comments

A proposal to legalize transit-oriented development would make it easier to build walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, in part by halving the car parking requirement for residences and eliminating it for non-residential uses near train stations. The ordinance is set to go before aldermen at the zoning committee’s next meeting in September. Right now, without the ordinance, […]

Let’s Be Clear: Uptown Doesn’t Need More Parking

By Steven Vance | Jul 23, 2013 | 20 Comments

Appearing on WGN/CLTV in May, 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman said that “we’re doing everything we can to create more parking spaces.” Cappleman was talking about the renovation of the Uptown Theater at 4816 N Broadway and its parking requirements. His boast about adding more parking caught me off-guard, and I wasn’t alone. Jerry Michaelson, CEO of JAM […]