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Should the need arise, evacuating Chicago—due to a terrorism or a natural disaster, say—via mass transit could be tough, according to a new report.
The National Research Council's Transportation Research Board released a study today detailing 38 metro areas' evacuation plans, and according to "The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation," Chicago's in comparatively good shape. Our transit systems have a communication plan with each other, the CTA says it can evacuate 100,000 people by rail and 40,000 people by bus per hour, and most downtown highrises have their own emergency evacuation plans. Still, challenges abound.
The City of Chicago has a high percentage of vulnerable populations. Eighteen percent of families are living below the poverty line; more than 10 percent of residents are 65 or older; 12 percent of persons over age 5 have disabilities; 34 percent of residents speak a language other than English at home—primarily Spanish; and 22,500 households have very limited English skills. In addition, the 2000 Census reported that 15 percent of occupied housing units in the UA were without access to a vehicle. Many of these groups are served by Chicago’s extensive transit system, but are likely to require special attention and assistance in an emergency evacuation.
Another problem is the lack of regional planning—Cook, Lake and DuPage counties don't currently coordinate, but the Chicago Region Evacuation Planning Group is trying to fix that.
The report can be found it its government-parlance glory here.
Photo by Broken Bat
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Phh. The CTA can barely get me to work much less out of a warzone.
I second that. I get around faster on my bike than on the CTA.
I'll third that! I live on the SE Side of Chicago, we only have one bus that passes (Route 30) during non-rush hours and it passes whenever there's some sort of anomaly. I go to CSU and it takes me 25 minutes on bike. If I go the bus route, I have to take two buses and it takes me between 45 minutes or over an hour ($4 a day for rountrip, multiply that by 4 days that I go to school. That's $16 a week, $64 a month). In a car it's like 15-20 minutes and a parking pass for the whole semester is $55 or $110 for the year. It is cheaper for me to go on car (including car maintenance) than to take the bus (we don't have a U-Pass, but from what other schools pay it's more than the parking pass). Of course the best alternative is bike. You buy less oil from greedy oil companies and seedy governments abroad, and it's a health benefit.
No confidence here. 100,000 evacuees per hour? Riiiight. Wasn't I just trapped in the intersection of Damen/North/Milwaukee with 800 other people two months ago because the CTA crapped itself when the most predictable breakdown possible happened at rush hour? I'm sure bombs would have made that much easier for them to figure out.
I'll be on my bike in the event that things go all Republican wet dream in Chicago. I'll be in Milwaukee while you are waiting for the train that isn't coming. Does the CTA think that the train and bus operators are going to continue going into the Loop when there is a major terrorist attack under way? Look at NYC on 9/11. Self propelled transport (bike and on foot) was the only way out of town.
Just don't jump me and take my bike because you didn't plan ahead, mmm-kay?
Dopplerd is right on. Waiting for the bus/train in an emergency? FAIL.
Now if it was more organized, slower evacuation (massive lake flooding due to climate change for instance) I could see a role.
But being in an underground tunnel or elevated platform with 100,000+ other people, all their possessions, kids and animal in a moment of crisis?
Nope. Walking.
When the world ends, I'll be motorcycling it the hell out of here.