Along some of the main thorough fares there is separated pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. Some examples include shared use paths like the North Shore Channel Trail or Lakefront Trail, protected bicycle infrastructure like the Sheridan Road bike lanes, or separated infrastructure like the Davis Street/Church Street and Dodge Street Bike Lanes. More infrastructure is also being added, such as the recently completed Oakton Street Shared-Use-Path, or the coming down the line, like the Chicago Avenue Protected Bike Lane.
For corridors that don't have dedicated infrastructure, it may be more pleasant to walk or ride along side streets that see less through traffic and slower travel speeds. Some of these include Greenleaf Street or Mulford Street for going east-west and Hinman Avenue or Maple Avenue for going north-south.
Evanston is provided transit by all three agencies of the RTA, the CTA, Metra and Pace.
The CTA operates the Purple Line rail service that normally runs between Linden in Wilmette and Howard in Roger Park but also runs weekday peak service beyond Howard to the Loop in downtown Chicago. The Purple Line connects to both the Red and Yellow Lines at Howard, allowing transfers to downtown when the express isn't running or to Skokie respectively. They also operate the 97 bus route between Howard and Old Orchard Mall in Skokie thru downtown Skokie, 201 bus route also between Howard and Old Orchard instead through Davis in Evanston, and the 206 bus route from Howard to Central Street thru West Evanston during peak service.
Pace operates four bus routes through Evanston that connect to nearby suburbs around the metropolitan area. The 208 bus route runs between Davis and the Northwest Transportation Center in Schaumburg along Golf Rd through downtown Des Plaines. The 213 bus route runs between Howard and Highland Park along Green Bay Rd through Davis with added service during peak service that terminates in Wilmette. The 215 runs between Howard and Old Orchard along Howard St and Crawford Ave. The 250 bus route runs between Davis and the O'Hare Multi-Modal Facility in Rosemont through downtown Des Plaines with expediated service added with the Pulse Dempster Line that parallels the route.
Metra operates the Union Pacific-North Line between Chicago Ogilvie Transportation Center and Waukegan with select trains extending to Kenosha. Some trains short terminate early at Winnetka or Highland Park to add service to the suburbs closer to the city. Metra also operates the nearby Milwaukee District-North Line between Chicago Union Station and Fox Lake and Union Pacific-Northwest Line between Ogilvie Transportation Center (OTC) and Harvard.
Both CTA and Pace fares can be paid with cash, Tap-to-Pay card or with a Ventra Card, either physical or digital. Fares vary from $2.00 to $2.50 and include a two-hour transfer window, except when paying with cash. Day passes can also be loaded onto a Ventra card that allow for unlimited rides within the respective time limit with a 1-Day Pass costing $5, a 7-Day Pass costing $20 and a 30-Day Pass costing $75. Ventra does not have fare capping where you stop being charged after hitting a daily, weekly, or monthly quota, so you must preemptively buy your pass.
Metra fares are a separate ticket that cannot be paid for with a Ventra Card. Tickets can be purchased with cash from a conductor onboard the train, with cash or card at a Ticket Vending Machine at the Platform, or on the Ventra App. Unlike the CTA and Pace that have flat fare, tickets on Metra are based on 4 different fare zones, which generally means a longer trip will cost more. That is except for trips that do not start or end at a downtown station, which means the fare for going from Evanston to OTC costs the same as going from Evanston all the way out to Kenosha. Metra offers one-way tickets, or day passes that cost the same as a round trip, along with discounted weekend passes. For more regular riders, they also offer a Day Pass 5-Pack at 5% discount (Ventra App Only), or a monthly pass for the same price as 10 day passes. Metra did remove incremental fares so if you are traveling beyond your fare zone, you must have a single ticket that works for that trip.
For those that use all three agencies, a Regional Connect Pass can be added to any Metra Monthly Pass for $30, allowing unlimited rides on all CTA and Pace services for that month (Ventra App Only). Starting next year, the RTA is starting a pilot for a Regional Day Pass that will allow a Metra and CTA/Pace Day Pass to be purchased at the same time for a discounted price.
Whether its visiting family and friends or patronizing a business, saying how you got somewhere can get others thinking about mobility options. Most people assume everyone gets to a location by driving but hearing that there are other ways may get them to support it more.
Stay informed by signing up for the Go Evanston newsletter. We will send out updates about city projects and changes to our transit network alongside information about micro-mobility and transit related events.
If you have issues getting around your area or feel unsafe doing so, letting your city representative know is the first step towards changing it. There are ward meetings regularly held to meet them in person, but they can also be emailed at any time. They will either let you know what they can do or forward your concern to someone who has that jurisdiction.
Multiple public works projects happen every year with a majority of them involving the public right of way. Attending these meeting or writing a response to the proposal can help make sure that the projects account for all modes of transportation
While most major capital projects are federally funded, smaller local projects and transit operations receive a majority of their funding from the state. Write in to your state representative or senator to let them know how transportation funds should be distributed.
