Chicago Avenue

Route description

Chicago Avenue has two lanes west of Austin Avenue, and the Chicago city limits, and roughly four lanes east of Austin Avenue.

Chicago Avenue runs just to the north of Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park. It then runs through Maywood and over the Des Plaines River before entering River Forest. Chicago Avenue is largely residential through River Forest and Oak Park, with a few small commercial strip malls and developments.

At Austin Avenue, Chicago Avenue becomes part of the addressing system for Chicago as 800 North, or 8 blocks (one mile) north of Madison Street. Chicago Avenue runs through the largely impoverished Austin and Humboldt Park neighborhoods. In the late 1940s and early 1950s at Chicago and Clark Streets, it was home to the first Puerto Rican immigrants to Chicago, who called the area "La Clark". East of about Kedzie Avenue, Chicago Avenue runs through the West Town and Near North Side areas.

Public transportation

Chicago Avenue is served by multiple Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) "L" lines: the Red Line (as ), the Brown Line/Purple Line Express (as ), and the Blue Line (as ).

The 66 Chicago is a CTA bus route that primarily travels along Chicago Avenue. It runs between Navy Pier (via Fairbanks Court) and Austin Boulevard. On September 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CTA began installing temporary "pop-up essential bus lanes" along a 4.6 mi stretch on Chicago Avenue (Laramie Avenue to Ashland Avenue). The bus lanes were made permanent in December 2022. On April 2, 2021, the CTA began running battery electric buses along bus route 66, the first route to ever host them.

References

References

1. Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Chicago Avenue", p. 22., Loyola University Press, 1988, {{ISBN. 0-8294-0597-6
2. "RTA System Map". Regional Transportation Authority.
3. (21 September 2020). "City Announces New Bus-Only Lanes to Reduce Crowding on 2 Busy Routes". WTTW.
4. (21 September 2020). "CTA To Roll Out Dedicated Bus Lanes Along Chicago Avenue, 79th Street". Block Club Chicago.
5. (11 November 2020). "Eyes on the Street: Chicago Ave. pop-up bus lanes aren't robust, but seem to be helping". Streetsblog Chicago.
6. (9 December 2022). ""Pop-up" bus lanes on Chicago Ave. are now permanent, other upgrades planned citywide". Streetsblog Chicago.
7. (3 April 2021). "Electric Feel: CTA is piloting six e-buses on the #66 route with smoother, quieter ride - Streetsblog Chicago". Streetsblog Chicago.
8. "CTA Unveils New Electric Buses as Part of City’s Green Initiatives".