Lake-Cook Corridor Suburb-to-Suburb Commuter Demonstration Project

As employment at suburban activity centers has increased, congestion at these centers has also grown. Fewer options are available for suburb-to-suburb or city-to-suburb commuters than for the typical suburb-to-city commuter. However, in some cases, these employment centers are located near, but not within walking distance of, commuter rail stations that serve the traditional suburb-to-central city trips. The development of the Lake-Cook Road Corridor is consistent with the development of other major suburban activity centers across the country. Construction of a new commuter rail station on the Metra North Line at Lake-Cook Road is scheduled for completion in mid-1995. A Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality demonstration project is described that examined three shuttle-feeder transit alternatives for application within the corridor that would be anchored at the new rail station. The alternatives examined were fixed-route service, van shuttle service, and demand-responsive/taxi service. A two-stage sample plan was used to survey potential demand among approximately 30,000 employees in the corridor. A combination of an analogue model and a modal split model was used to estimate potential transit demand within the corridor. A comparable route performance analysis from major metropolitan areas with significant amounts of suburban employment was used to calibrate these two models. On the basis of this evaluation, a preferred alternative for van shuttle service was recommended and a detailed service plan developed. A joint public-private funding package was developed to provide for implementation of the service.