Wave of the future: is water travel the answer to Chicago’s congestion woes?

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Wave of the future: is water travel the answer to Chicago’s congestion woes?


July 10, 2012 ·

By John Greenfield

Read More: http://gridchicago.com/2012/wave-of-...rid+Chicago%29

When I visited Bangkok, Thailand, the endless daytime traffic jams made ground transportation a frustrating experience, but the Khlong Saen Saep canal boat service offered a speedy, fun alternative. Chicago already has a decent water-taxi system, so as our city moves toward Bangkok-style levels of street congestion, could expanded river and lake taxi service offer a hidden hope for fast, enjoyable transportation?

- “Our waterways are a completely underutilized traffic network,” says Andrew Sargis, manager of Wendella Sightseeing and its Chicago Water Taxi. “If you look at a map of the city, the North, South and Main branches of the river parallel the Kennedy Expressway, the Dan Ryan and Wacker Drive. We should be using that network to move more people and goods and to fight gridlock.”

- While Shoreline has no plans to grow its network, Wendella is looking to extend service up the North Branch to the North Avenue Turning Basin, transporting Metra commuters to the Wrigley Global Innovation Center, Whole Foods and other employers. They’ve already signed a lease for dock space with the Army Corps of Engineers and service could start as soon as this fall.

- Sargis says that while the river north of Addison Street is probably too shallow for water taxis, in theory the boats could navigate the South Branch, Sanitary and Ship Canal, and Illinois and Mississippi rivers all the way down to New Orleans. He added that Wendella hopes to further expand its network in the future, depending on demand.

- Pete Scales, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over the Chicago River and Lake Michigan harbors, says the agency is open to discussing new water taxi routes with private operators. But he cautions that factors like weather may prevent the water network from becoming a practical alternative to the street grid. After all, the Main Branch usually freezes during the winter.

- A more practical water route might be water-taxi service from the Loop to Lakeside, an upscale housing and retail development that McCaffery Interests wants to build on a former steel mill site, located between 79th and 92nd streets on the lakefront. Tens of thousands of new Southeast Side residents might strain the existing transit and road network, but McCaffery’s Joe Bakhos says a lake shuttle would be a great alternative for commuters and could draw additional customers to Lakeside businesses.

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