Housing near public transit encourages car-free living

I recently attended the Wicker Park Committee meeting about the proposed redevelopment of a strip mall on Milwaukee Avenue, a block from the CTA's Blue Line stop at Damen, that would add much-needed housing to the area. Many of my neighbors weren’t enthusiastic. They objected to the building’s height — about seven stories — and to a recent design revision that replaced parking garage space with additional housing units. Speaker after speaker lamented that the development would bring traffic, congestion, parking competition and misery to the neighborhood.

But beneath every objection to this development was the same, mistaken assumption: that more housing automatically means more cars.

That development’s location next to the Blue Line is not an accident. When we build housing near a train, with less parking, we encourage a different kind of resident to move in: someone who doesn’t own a car, or someone who’s ready to finally get rid of the car he or she doesn't want anymore.

People don’t consider that car ownership is a hassle many Chicagoans are sick of. But if you primarily walk, bike and ride the CTA, even if you spend $1,000 a year on occasional car rentals and ride-hailing, you still save thousands compared to car payments, gas, insurance, parking and repairs. You also get steps in, can bike or use the time on the bus or train to read (or nap).

Ironically, it’s people who need to drive who should be the biggest supporters of transit-oriented developments like the one on Milwaukee Avenue: The more people walking and riding the train, the fewer cars clogging our streets.

What we build shapes behavior, a principle we understand perfectly well in other contexts. Right now, for instance, the Cubs want to expand a team-owned parking lot from 579 to 947 spots in Wrigleyville. Multiply that by 81 home games, and that’s 29,808 additional cars that will be traveling through Lake View to and from games every summer.

The development on Milwaukee Avenue builds housing in a way that gives more people the option to live without cars. The car-free life may not be for you, but it is a choice thousands of Chicagoans are ready to make — and when they do, all of us benefit.

Cyrus Dowlatshahi, Bucktown

Inspired by Illini

There are just over 360 teams that play NCAA Division I basketball for their college or university. Of those, only 68 are selected for the men's championship tournament in March. This year, the University of Illinois team won three tournament games and advanced to the Final Four. As a family of U. of I. graduates, we are sad that this group of personable, articulate, thoughtful student athletes lost to UConn and didn’t get to play in the championship game. But we received so much enjoyment from seeing all of them, especially freshmen Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic, improve over the course of a season in which they won 28 games. We were proud to see the way they handled postgame questions, even after a loss.

So, here’s a thank-you to Brad Underwood and his coaching staff and a shoutout to Wagler, Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, the Ivisic twins, Champaign native Kylan Boswell, Jake Davis, Ben Humrichous and AJ Redd. Whatever their future career path holds for them, they have enriched both their lives and ours as observers.

Craven family, Evergreen Park

Trump’s unhinged Easter post demands immediate action

Where are the Democratic and (rational and patriotic, if there are any) Republican leaders as President Donald Trump threatens to push American servicemen and women to commit war crimes by destroying civilian infrastructure in Iran pursuant to a mentally unhinged tweet: “Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.” It is unfathomable that any rational world leader would go public with this kind of communication.

At a bare minimum, there should be a call for Congress to return to Washington and take steps to curb this out-of-control president before he endangers more American lives and further damages, not just the United States, but also the world economy.

And when will the retired generals and admirals do the same? They know that Iran’s asymmetric warfare cannot be stopped short of a bloody land war.

It is time for real patriots to speak out to curb this madman before he causes any more damage. Trump is damaging not just the reputation of the U.S. as a moral government and responsible ally, but that of the American people who elected him twice.

Charles W. Murdock, former dean, Loyola Law School, former Illinois deputy attorney general and former Marine Corps pilot

Trump country

In response to reader Alan Stoeck's recent letter on his expectations of the Kennedy Space Center to be changed to the Trump Space Center, let's just cut to the chase and start calling our country, the United States of Trump.

Gael Mennecke, Beverly

Spring break of yore

Spring break has become a time when students fly to places with warm weather to party and have fun with friends and strangers. Sometimes the celebrations get out of hand and become problematic for locals and police.

Way back when this old man was a student, it was called "cleanup week." This was a time when your parents would make up a "to do" list, and teenagers and young adults spent time cleaning up the mess that accumulated over the winter months, like tending to the yard, garage, basement etc.

Times change. It’s called evolution. Some things get better.

Bill Fischer, Plainfield

Remembering a tragedy

On this day in 1949, 3-year-old Kathy Fiscus fell into a well in California. Some heard her crying. The well was so deep by the time rescuers reached her, she was gone. I’m old, but every April 8 I think of her.

Virginia Dare McGraw, Naperville