Project overview

The South Halsted Bus Corridor Enhancement Project was initiated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in partnership with Pace Suburban Bus to improve transit along approximately 11 miles of South Halsted Street, from the Pace Harvey Transportation Center to 79th Street. The corridor also includes segments of 79th and 95th Streets that provide connections to the CTA Red Line 79th and 95th Street Stations.

This study will explore potential transit improvements for the corridor’s 11,500 daily transit customers. Improvements being considered as part of the project may include:

• Enhanced coordinated service plans
• Realigned bus stops
• Roadway treatments (such as dedicated bus lanes and queue jumps)
• Updated passenger amenities
• Accessibility improvements
• Traffic signal optimization and prioritization
• Pace Pulse stations south of 95th Street

Transit improvements developed in this study will complement CTA’s planned extension of the Red Line to 130th Street from 95th Street, which is currently undergoing the federal environmental review and planning process.

Project partners

Project timeline

Where we are now

In 2019, CTA and Pace completed the Corridor Evaluation, Recommendations, and Project Strategy Final Report and entered the Environmental Review phase for the project.

For information about the current status of the project, please visit: https://www.pacebus.com/project/pulse-halsted-line

Project area

The study corridor is located in the communities of Harvey, Phoenix, Calumet Park, Riverdale, Dixmoor and the City of Chicago neighborhoods of West Pullman, Morgan Park, Roseland, Washington Heights, and Auburn Gresham.  The corridor is populated with mainly commercial businesses.

Current transit service on the corridor

Current transit service on the corridor is provided by CTA routes #108 and #8A (southbound buses terminating at 127th) and by Pace routes #352 and #359. Numerous other CTA and Pace bus routes connect with other bus routes in the area. The corridor also intersects with Metra’s Rock Island Line at the Gresham Station, Metra Electric Line at the West Pullman and Harvey Stations, and the CTA Red Line at the 79th and 95th Street Stations.

Corridor advisory group

A Corridor Advisory Group (CAG), which includes local elected officials, regional transit and planning agencies, and other stakeholder representatives, will guide the study. The purpose of the CAG is to identify local concerns regarding transit access and mobility in the project area and provide guidance on solutions.

The CAG will meet up to three times at key project milestones during the study. A list of CAG members and copies of materials prepared for CAG meetings will be posted here as they become available.

Funding

In 2017, CTA received a federal grant through the Chicago Metropolitan Planning Agency’s (CMAP) Unified Work Program (UWP) to complete a study of South Halsted with Pace as a direct project partner. The total grant amount is $800,000, of which $640,000 are federal UWP funds. Pace and CTA will each contribute $80,000 toward the local match and will collaborate on the project planning and development process.

Project Resources

• Project Fact Sheet
• CAG #1 presentation on June 7, 2018
• CAG #2 presentation on October 16, 2018
• Corridor Evaluation, Recommendations, and Project Strategy Final Report (Nov 2019)
  • Appendix A - Conceptual Corridor Improvement Plans
  • Appendix B - CAG Meeting 2 Summary
  • Appendix C - CAG Meeting 3 Summary
  • Appendix D - Traffic Analysis
  • Appendix E - Parking Inventory
  • Appendix F - Bus Speed
  • Appendix G - Environmental Screening
  • Appendix H -  IDOT 5% Locations
  • Appendix I - Cost Estimate
  • Appendix J - Bus Operations
  • Appendix K - Median Narrowing & Roadway Widening
• Purpose and Need Statement

CAG #3 on February 14, 2019

• CAG #3 presentation
• CAG #3 meeting materials

The study team welcomes your comments and feedback. Please provide comments to southhalstedbus@transitchicago.com.