1. Reopen of the Keeler Station entrance

As mentioned earlier, the Keeler entrance of the Pulaski Blue Line station was closed as an entrance in 1973 and as an exit in 1978 in a wave of cost saving measures by the CTA. However, the station spacing that resulted from this closures (as well as the other closures) greatly reduces the catchment area and accessibility of the Blue Line west of Kedzie. Compounding this issue are the several railroad lines near the site that further degrade the connectivity of the street network, and complicate station access. With this in mind, the first recommendation is to reopen the Keeler entrance of the Pulaski Blue Line station.

This station is preferred for reopening over the Kostner station for three main reasons. First, reopening this station would not impact current Blue Line operations. Because this station is already connected to the Pulaski station platform, Blue Line trains would not have to make any additional stops. If the Kostner Station was reopened, there would be an intermediate Blue Line stop between the existing Pulaski and Cicero stops. While this is not impossible, this stop was closed due to low performance, and there is not anything nearby to suggest that this would be any different if it were reopened today. Additionally, adding stops to the already very slow Forest Park branch of the Blue Line would likely result in significant push back from the CTA, especially if the stop did not result in significant activity. Second, and related to the first argument, is the fact that the Pulaski entrance of the station is served 24/7 by the 53 Pulaski bus, and there is considerable residential and commercial activity around the entrance. This ensures that even if the Keeler entrance does not generate much activity, stopping at Pulaski-Keeler will generate enough activity to to make the stop worth the inconvenience for other Forest Park Branch riders riding though, but not boarding/alighting at the station. Lastly, Kostner is the access point for I-290 to and from the east, and the creation of the new industrial site is likely to increase the presence of heavy vehicle traffic in this area. Stimulating pedestrian activity around this access point could create a new conflict point between pedestrians and heavy vehicles.

The station was initially closed as a cost savings measure for the CTA, but with the roll out of Ventra in 2013, the cost savings are less salient. Before Ventra, every station entrance required a station attendant, but Ventra now provides the option of farecard only entrances that do not require dedicated staff. Ideally, the station should be opened as a traditional station with an attendant in recognition of the safety and security concerns in the area, but performance should be monitored, and in the case that the station is under performing, it could be easily reduced to a farecard only station. The following interactive map shows ridership trends for the Pulaski and Cicero Stations over time. This information would be useful in benchmarking success of the Keeler Station once it is reopened.

2. Add Divvy stations and bike racks at the Keeler Station and onsite

Once the Keeler station entrance is reopened, a Divvy Station and bike racks should be added at the station and at the site to enable cycling as a mode to get to and from the station. Once the site and the station are active, publicly available Divvy origin/destination data can be used to assess how heavily utilized Divvy is as a link between the station and the site. However, even if utilization is low, it is conventional that CTA stations in the City are proximal to a Divvy station, so removal should only be considered as a last resort.

Divvy Station

3. Enhance bicycle and pedestrian facilities along Keeler between I-290 and the proposed Altenheim Trail

The proposed Altenheim trail has the potential to be a high quality, piece of active transportation infrastructure on the west side of the city, so connecting it with other sustainable modes like the CTA key. Keeler is a low volume, residential road, making it an ideal choice as an active transportation corridor between the Altenheim Line and the Blue Line. Improvements must include: * Repaved Sidewalks * Improved Pedestrian Crossings * Painted, contra-flow bike lane * Added Street Lighting

Additional Improvements that would truly make the connection pleasant include: * Barrier Protected (above plastic stanchions) Bike Lanes or Bi-Directional Cycle Track * Traffic Calming * Biophilic streetscaping

Regular surveys of employees and patrons on how they arrived at the site could provide data to assess the success of these interventions, with a positive trend in sustainable modes and a negative trend in driving alone representing success.

Two Way Cycle Track Example

4. Adjust Pace Bus 305 East Roosevelt and Pace Bus 316 Laramie to connect the site to the Cicero Blue Line Station

In addition to active transportation, transit plays a significant role in sustainable transportation. With this in mind, it is important to ensure that there are quality transit connections between the site and the CTA Blue Line for those that prefer not to walk or bike to the site. Pace Route 305 and 316 provide cost neutral opportunities to provide this connection.

Pace Routes 305 and 316 presently use a large one way loop via Laramie, Harrison, Cicero and Roosevelt to turn around at the end of their route, and are interlined at the Cicero Station (Interlining describes the process in transit planning where one route turns into another route at a fixed point, typically to reduce the amount of resources required to operate the two routes independently). A deep investigation into the schedules of these routes shows that their maximum combined travel time is 90 minutes, but the 30 minute frequency that the routes operate at forces them into a 120 minute cycle time (the amount of time it takes for a transit vehicle to complete a round trip including the necessary driver break, aka layover). This results in a layover percentage of 33%. Industry best practice on layover percentage fluctuates, but 15% is generally a good target. Applying 15% layover results in a 103.5 minute runtime, leaving 16.5 minutes in unused time between the two routes. All of this is summarized in the table below.

Note: The 16.5 minutes of unused time results in 14 min of usable runtime because of the added layover required

As demonstrated above, there are 14 minutes available between the two routes. The recommendation is for this to be turned into the new Pace route 306, Lawndale Innovation Center Shuttle operating a loop via Cicero, Roosevelt, Kostner and Harrison. Best practice in transit route design typically discourages one way loops, but given the small size of the loop,the limited scope of this shuttle, and the relative lack of destinations between the site and the station, this divergence from best practice is acceptable. If route 306 is integrated into the existing 305/316 interline, it would not require any additional resources from Pace and would not adjust the pattern for either route.

If Route 306 is implemented, ridership should be monitored to assess if it is actually serving as a connection between the Blue Line and the Site. However, given the limited scope of this route, ridership is not likely to be very significant. However, since this route is effectively free to operate, ridership should not be the primary determinant of its future. Instead, unless another, more productive opportunity for using the time presents itself, Route 306 should be allowed to operate.

Route 306: Lawndale Innovation Center Shuttle

5. Reduce and relocated parking at the site

The selected RFP for redevelopment of the site includes roughly 460 parking spaces (not including the truck loading bays) and anticipates 700 permanent and temporary jobs. Assuming that half of those jobs are permanent results in a parking to jobs ratio of about 1.3. Investigating the demographics of the block groups immediately surrounding the area shows that just over half of commuters in the area drive alone to work, and over 30% take transit. Given the demographics of the area, the existing, high capacity transit infrastructure in the area, and the planned additional infrastructure in the Altenheim Line and in this sustainability plan, the developers should investigate reducing this parking figure.

Additionally, initial renderings for the site appear to place a large parking lot at the southern end of the site, along Roosevelt Rd, and sets the community center and retail back from the street. If the intent is to create a welcoming and engaging streetscape, parking should be sited elsewhere.

1. Add Permeable pavement in the parking lots and loading docks

The nature of this site as a logistics and distribution facility with 62 truck loading bays requires surface lots to make up a significant amount of the overall development. As much as feasibly possible, surface lots should be paved with permeable pavement to reduce the strain on the sewer system and reduce the amount of pollution carried by rainwater runoff. However, the fact that most of the surface lots will be frequented by small and medium sized trucks using the loading docks needs to be considered, as permeable pavement is typically less equipped at carrying heavy loads. Further investigation into the technology surrounding permeable pavement should be done at the time of construction to look for situation appropriate applications. At minimum, the surface lots that are not loading docks should be paved with permeable pavement of some type.

Permeable Pavement Diagram

2. Define truck access/egress patterns

In order to balance the needs of heavy vehicles accessing the site and people arriving at the site using active transportation modes, it is required to define and enforce access and egress patterns for heavy vehicles traveling between I-290 and the site. This is necessary because pre-planning regarding these routes allows for planned reduction of conflicts between vulnerable road users from heavy vehicles, and preemptive safety interventions where these conflicts are unavoidable. The following map details the preferred access/egress patterns. Vehicles coming to or from the east would exit at Kostner and use it to access the site, and vehicles coming to and from the west would exit at Cicero and take Cicero to Roosevelt to Kostner. One important consideration for trucks is vehicle height. The standard semi truck is 13’5” tall. The viaduct on Kostner is lower than this, so any vehicles coming to or from the east will need to exit at Independence Ave, and take Pulaski to Roosevelt to Kostner. However, the intent of the site is light industrial with small to midsize trucks, so this alternate route should not need to be heavily utilized.

Active education of delivery drivers and regular compliance check could serve as a metric of success. Additionally, active monitoring of locations where pedestrians and cyclists are struck or nearly stuck by heavy vehicles would be integral to measuring success.

Site Context: Cycling

3. Include resources for businesses on the benefits of fleet electrification and potential for e-cargo bikes in their distribution network

The proposed Lawndale Innovation Center located on the southwest corner of the site is marketed as a “hub of economic development and a place for small businesses to be empowered by freight, logistics, packaging and delivery.” In accordance with this mission, it should provide resources and educational materials for these small businesses on the potential benefits of fleet electrification and integrating e-cargo bikes into their distribution networks however possible.

Fleet electrification has the dual advantage making freight and logistics more environmentally sustainable and potentially reducing the bottom line for the companies operating the vehicles. Although electric vehicles have a higher upfront cost than traditional internal combustion vehicles, their lifetime operational costs are typically lower, and the price of electricity is less volatile than the cost of petroleum based fuels. In addition to the environmental and financial benefits of fleet electrification, there is an opportunity to create a positive feedback loop that could support the local Chicagoland economy.

In May of 2021, Lion Electric announced their plans to open a truck manufacturing facility in Joliet, IL, 50 miles southwest of Chicago. Lion is Canadian based company that produces all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles. The opening of this Joliet facility represent the largest dedicated production site for zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S and is expected to produce up to 20,000 vehicles annually. The Lawndale Innovation Center could work to establish an arrangement where representatives from the Lion company come to the center to talk to small business owners about electric vehicle benefits and options, and potentially have demonstration vehicles come to the facility occasionally. This could result in a symbiotic relationship where small businesses are equipped with the information to electrify their fleet if they desire, and Lion Electric has an easily accessible, local customer pipeline.

Lion Electric 8 Medium Duty Truck

E-Cargo bikes provide a low carbon alternative to traditional deliver vehicles that is particularly suited for dense urban settings like Chicago. A study by the University of Washington Urban Freight Institute estimated that “Electric cargo bikes could allow cities to cut carbon emissions from package deliveries by 30% while reducing traffic congestion and air pollution” (University of Washington, 2021). UPS has been using e-cargo bike capable of carrying up to 400lbs for deliveries in Seattle since 2018. In addition to fleet electrification, information about the benefits of e-cargo bikes and education on how they can become a part of small businesses’ distribution network could be provided at the Lawndale Innovation Center. The site being bisected by the proposed Altenheim line even provides opportunity for e-cargo bike test rides and demonstrations if a vehicle is made available.

Lion Electric 8 Medium Duty Truck

For both electric delivery trucks and e-cargo bikes, records should be kept of the number of vendors using the distribution facility that operate electric trucks and e-cargo bikes to measure over time if there is an uptake in adoption.

4. Give electric vehicles priority at some docks

In addition to educating the small businesses using the distribution facility about the benefits of fleet electrification, giving electric vehicles priority at a few of the 62 bays could provide a potential time incentive for transitioning to electric vehicles that could be very appealing to some business owners.

1. Increase street lighting in and around the site

Similar to the defined access/egress patterns for trucks, this plan subtly defines pedestrian access/egress patterns with the reopening of the Keeler Blue Line station and the investment in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along Keeler between the station and the Altenheim trail. Street lights along Keeler should be audited to ensure they are in working order, and if feasible, converted to LED. This has the dual benefit of reducing energy consumption and brightening the path. Additionally, lighting along Roosevelt between Cicero and Pulaski should receive the same treatment for anyone using the Pulaski or Cicero Bus to arrive at the site.