Improved transit is an essential part of addressing congestion on our roads and meeting the travel needs of residents who cannot afford a car or choose not to have one. Other modes such as walking, biking, car sharing, and ride sharing connect residents to public transportation, schools, stores, work, and more and must be among the options offered to families and businesses when transportation facilities are improved.

Metropolitan Chicago's role as the freight center of North America brings jobs, wages, and sales revenues, but it also presents the challenges of greater congestion, wear and tear on roads and rails, and travel delays. Competitor regions have added strategic capacity and connections to capture a greater portion of growth in the freight sector. As a result, the Chicago region's market share is slipping. To retain its status as a global freight hub, the County will make plans, policies, and rail and trucking investments with strong public benefits.

Regions that are more inclusive—that fully use their human, transportation, real estate, and business assets—achieve greater and more evenly distributed economic growth than less inclusive areas. Within Cook County, transportation services and the opportunities they afford are not equally distributed, which disproportionately affects African Americans and residents of south Cook County. To fully realize equitable distribution of opportunities, the County’s economic development and transportation policies will create a climate conducive to business expansion and to making jobs more broadly accessible.

Striking the right balance between maintenance and modernization of existing transportation facilities and new construction is a challenge. It is tempting to add new capacity, but failure to maintain what already exists increases long-term operating costs, safety hazards, delays, and congestion. Bringing the average pavement quality of County roads up to “good condition” will require an additional $60 million per year for the next 10 years. Cook County will use new practices and technologies to improve the capacity of existing transportation facilities and ensure that today’s investments do not preclude future innovation and growth.

Building the robust transportation network that is so critical to the region’s economic competitiveness depends upon increased, more reliable and flexible revenue sources. In 2015, Cook County took the unprecedented step of ending the long-standing practice of diverting motor fuel tax funds to other uses. Starting in 2017, this action will provide an additional $45 million per year to pursue the priorities described in Connecting Cook County. This first step is part of a campaign to increase funding for transportation from multiple sources, including competitive grants, taxes, tolls, and fares.