There is broad agreement along most candidates running for mayor and City Council that Evanston public transit and biking and pedestrian infrastructure leaves something to be desired.
In February, Evanston Transit Alliance and Climate Action Evanston sent out a candidate questionnaire asking about whether they personally use modes of transportation other than driving, and what kind of pedestrian, cycling and public transit improvements they would like to see in the city. The survey isn’t entirely comprehensive — the Eighth Ward councilmember candidates, Fourth Ward write-in candidate Margaret Welch and Fifth Ward candidate Carlis B.Sutton didn’t respond — but it captured the majority of the field.
In the responses, there was broad agreement that public transit needs to run more frequently, especially on evenings and weekends, and that there are major service gaps that need to be filled. Making the L stations accessible to people with mobility issues was a major priority for many candidates. On the cycling front, there is broad support for putting in protected bike lanes on Dodge Avenue and at least some portions of Chicago Avenue, and a broad consensus that there’s plenty of room for improving sidewalks.
Walking, biking and transit in daily life
Both mayoral candidates said they regularly walk and bike and both said they regularly use L or Metra to get to downtown Chicago. Incumbent Daniel Biss said he bikes to work and recreationally, while challenger Jeff Boarini described himself as “a functional bike rider — that is, I rarely ride for enjoyment.”
Biss also noted that Green Bay Road, which he uses when he bikes to the Morton Civic Center, “isn’t the safest-feeling place to be a cyclist.”
In the First Ward race, both incumbent Councilmember Clare Kelly and challenger Stephen Hackney said they live in a part of Evanston where they could easily walk to local businesses. Kelly said she chose to live “near local businesses and public transportation, and parks so that I can avoid the use of cars for daily needs,” while Hackney said that every Evanstonian should be able to take advantage of “continuous and safe bike lanes, sidewalks, walking paths and public transit.”
In the Second Ward race, incumbent Councilmember Krissie Harris said that, while she tries to walk and bike daily, she found it hard to avoid using a car because she often attends multiple events during the day, and “time is of the essence.” Candidate Jacqueline Mendoza said she would support “improvements that make it
easier and safer for everyone to choose walking, biking, and public transit as everyday transportation options,” while follow challenger Darlene Cannon said she was in favor of a “balanced approach” that ensures that the city can accommodate drivers, public transit, cyclists and walkers.
In the Third Ward race, Shawn Iles said he bikes and takes the L to Chicago but doesn’t take buses. Gennifer Geer said that, while she doesn’t usually cycle, she also takes the L, Metra, Amtrak and Pulse Dempster express bus to O’Hare Airport.
In the Fourth Ward race, incumbent Jonathan Nieuwsma, who also sits on the Environment Board, said he regularly does “all three,” and that he was looking forward to City Hall moving to 909 Davis St. so he’d be able to walk there.
In the Fifth Ward race, Bobby Burns said that he and his family use “a mix of transportation options,” depending on where they have to travel, and they deliberately didn’t buy a second car. Challenger Carlis B.Sutton didn’t respond to the survey.
In the Sixth Ward race, incumbent Tom Suffredin said he and his family mostly drive, a situation that he said many residents in his ward find themselves in simply because of the shortage of public transit options.
“Evanston’s public transit options, including buses and the train, are valuable, but don’t help with James Park, Quad [Indoor Sports], Robert Crown, etc., often making driving the most practical option,” he said.
Suffredin said that improving sidewalks was an important priority for him.
Challenger Candance Chow said she “made a personal commitment to using the El [sic] or Metra as much as possible” and described herself as “an avid cyclist” who spends “as much time as possible biking when the weather permits.”
In the Seventh Ward race, candidate Parielle Davis said that as a mother of young children, she found public transit challenging because buses and most train stations aren’t friendly to strollers. Candidate Kerry Mundy said he appreciates that he can get “almost anywhere” in Evanston by running, adding that, since he works from home, he doesn’t have to commute much.
In the Ninth Ward, incumbent Juan Geracaris described himself as an “avid cyclist” for errands and recreation.
Infrastructure improvements
Both Biss and Boarini said they favor expanding bike lanes and bike trails, but their priorities are different. Biss said he wanted to see the North Shore Channel Trail extended, as well as protected bike lanes near Evanston Township High School, while Boarini spoke in favor of Chicago Avenue bike lanes and more bike parking in downtown Evanston.
In the First Ward, Hackney spoke in support of Chicago Avenue bike lanes, and said he would be interested in looking into traffic calming — using infrastructure such as bike lanes and curb bumpouts to encourage drivers to drive slower — for a section of Sherman Avenue in the ward. Kelly didn’t explicitly reference traffic calming, but said she would be in favor of “streets narrowed and sidewalks widened
throughout downtown,” as well as potentially closing some downtown streets to vehicle traffic.
In the Second Ward, all three candidates supported some form of biking improvements around ETHS. Mendoza said she supports protected bike lanes on Dodge Avenue, and singled out Lake Street as a corridor that would benefit from cycling and pedestrian improvements. Cannon generally supported widening sidewalks at commercial corridors, and studying the impact of commercial drive-through lanes on Dempster Street. Harris supported extending bike lanes on Church Street.
In the Third Ward, Iles supported protected bike lanes for Chicago Avenue and Dodge Avenue, saying the former would bring more customers to Dempster-Main district businesses by making cycling safer and more attractive. He also said he supported traffic calming along Sheridan Road and South Boulevard.
“I have experienced trying to cross Sheridan Roard as a jogger and as a father headed to South Beach with children,” he said. “Traffic is too fast, and the flag system is inadequate for safety.”
Kennedy said he supported bike lanes on Chicago Avenue as well, though he felt that the current proposal should be adjusted “for residential and retail parking.” He also said he wanted the city to invest in bus shelters, complete with benches — something most bus stops in Evanston lack. Kennedy also spoke in favor of making all Purple Line stations Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant — something that CTA doesn’t expect to happen until the late 2030s.
In the Fourth Ward, Nieuwsma expressed support for more east-west bike lanes and more traffic calming “wherever they make sense,” and he wanted the city to give Complete Streets improvements on Greenleaf Street another shot. Burns supported gradually making all striped bike lanes protected bike lanes.
In the Sixth Ward, Suffredin supported “improvements that make walking and biking safer and more appealing” in areas near schools and parks, mentioning Central Street as an example. He also spoke in favor of more pedestrian-friendly spaces and “proactive” sidewalk inspections. Chow said she would support putting in sidewalks on streets that currently don’t have any, and improving the “challenging three-way intersection of Gross Point Road, Central Street and Crawford [Avenue].”
In the Seventh Ward, Davis supported protected bike lanes on Lincoln Street, improving sidewalks, addressing accessibility issues on Green Bay Road and Central Street. She also supported what she admitted was a “moonshot” idea — building a pedestrian bridge on Central Street across Green Bay Road, something that would require navigating the Metra embankment. Mundy said he would support more protective measures for Sheridan Road bike lanes.
The Ninth Ward’s Geracaris said he supported bike lanes on the section of Main Street west of Ridge Avenue, and well as making Dodge Avenue bike lanes protected bike lanes.
Support for public transit
In 2026, CTA, Metra and Pace are expected to run out of federal stimulus funding, which helped them balance their budgets amid revenue declines. State legislators indicated that they won’t increase funding without transit reforms, whether it’s consolidation or giving the Regional Transportation Authority more authority over the three agencies.
Both Biss and Boarini expressed support for some form of consolidation without committing to any specific proposal. Biss said he supported the long-discussed Yellow Line L station in Evanston, more Metra service and improvements to “not very reliable” bus services. Boarini supported expanding east/west bus route options and/or frequency.
In the First Ward, Kelly said that installing elevators at most L stations is a major priority for her. One major obstacle to installing elevators at the current stations is that platforms at many stations aren’t wide enough to be ADA-compliant. Hackney said he supports public transit-related provisions of the Envision Evanston 2045 comprehensive plan.
In the Second Ward, Mendoza and Cannon both spoke in favor of improving off-peak and weekend service, and all three candidates said they wanted the city to work with transit agencies to improve service in areas that don’t have much public transit. Cannon said she supported making the Noyes L station ADA-compliant and expanding reduced fare programs. Harris said she wanted better service to Oakton Community College’s Des Plaines campus, saying that riders need to take two buses to reach it. Route 208 provides the one-seat ride to the campus from Davis Street L station, but anyone from farther south would most likely to need to take at least one bus or L to reach it.
In the Third Ward, all three candidates said they wanted to make more ‘L’ stations accessible, though Iles mentioned the already ADA-compliant Davis station as one of the examples. Geer said she would like the city to increase the wheel tax on SUVs and pickup trucks to help pay for transit improvements, and said she would support adding CTA bus service on Western Avenue. CTA Route 49B currently doesn’t go past the Evanston border.
In the Fifth Ward, Burns said he supported better coordination between services. He also mentioned “implementing real-time tracking” — something that all three agencies currently offer, though the information isn’t always reliable.
In the Sixth Ward, both candidates wanted to improve service frequency and reliability. Chow said she particularly wanted to improve bus service to ETHS, which has been reduced in the last 10 years, and ask Northwestern, which operates its own network of local and intercampus routes that’s limited to students and faculty, “to support additional routes.”
In the Seventh Ward, Davis said that the city should tailor public transit improvements based on the needs of a particular neighborhood, while Mundy suggested that the city can encourage residents to use public transit by, for example, advertising public transit options residents can use to reach events.
In the Ninth Ward, Geracaris said he supported agency consolidation, as well as improving off-peak service frequencies. As he noted, most bus routes stop operating after 10 p.m., and Evanston has only one public transit option between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. He also supported adding Evanston stations on the Yellow Line.
Mayoral, City Council candidates sound off on public transit issues is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.