Our Youth Stranded in Little Village

By: Ashmar Mandou

More than just a mode of transportation, buses and trains serve as the link between cultures and communities.  Residents as well as tourists experience the cultural amenities Chicago has to offer by traveling to neighborhoods such as, Wicker Park, Pilsen, Greektown, and Humboldt Park, to name a few.  And while these neighborhoods prosper from the inundation of people and accessible transportation, communities like Little Village suffer the backlash by not having a viable traveling route.  “We believe should have high quality, affordable, accessible transit in all communities, and that’s not currently the case in Little Village,” said Michael Pitula, community organizer for the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO).  “We believe by having a bus route put on 31st street, the community can have access to more resources.”

What started out as a miniscule campaign among community members 11 years ago, LVEJO and its supporters have tirelessly vied for a safer and speedier way of transportation.  They have pushed for 31st street bus route that would connect to the Little Village Lawndale High School as well as the Museum Campus and 31st Street Beach.  The bus route will add service to Bridgeport, Brighton Park, Bronzeville, Cicero, Douglas, and McKinley Park.  LVEJO has also pushed for a Red, Orange, and Yellow line extension.  “This is not just about a bus,” said Pitula.  “This really has become a civil rights issues for many in the community.”

According to a 2009 publication by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), it calculated that $1billion dollars of investment in public transportation could generate 30,000 new jobs.  In March, 633,000 jobs were cut across the country.  The Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT), another project spearheaded by Michael Pitula, explains that a $10million investment in transit operations will produce a $30million increase in business sales.

Recently, LVEJO held a rally outside the CTA headquarters with hopes to resolve the issue experienced by community members.  Carolina Macias, 16, a resident of the Little Village community, is just one in the sea of residents who experience the toll commuting takes in her daily life.  “I grew up in a single-parent home.  We didn’t have a car.  So growing up I didn’t have a chance to experience all that Chicago had to offer,” said Macias.  “I would see the lakefront on TV and all the people who were there and I would ask my mother to go, but she always said no because it was too far away.  It took my brother, who came from Nebraska, to get me to see a museum for the first time and visit the downtown area,” said Macias.  “After being in downtown I began to link the access to the lakefront and the museums to people’s mental and emotional health because when I went to the lakefront, just by seeing the water and having that concept with the environment, I was so happy.  I began to think, not many people in Little Village have access to do this.”

Among those who suffer tremendous losses are the students in the Little Village community.  The Little Village Lawndale High School is the only CPS school unable to offer bus routes to and from school.  If a solid resolution is not presented swiftly students may begin to rethink their education and view inaccessible commuting routes as one of the contributing factors to dropping out.  “I have talked to folks in the Little Village Lawndale High School and they have a partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago and we have discovered that they are having a hard time maintaining the program because of the transportation in both directions,” said Pitula.

Armando Medina, 19, is another resident in the Little Village community who believes his neighborhood is isolated from the rest of the city due to poor transportation routes.  “It takes me an hour to get to my class.  And although I arrive on time, I know that if Little Village had adequate transportation routes, my commute would be much easier,” said Medina.  Medina believes by extending the CTA routes students in the Little Village community not only will have better access to resources, but also experience various cultural groups and neighborhoods.  “This is really important for us to have in our community.  We need this to grow as a community and to give other students a chance to experience a world outside Little Village.”
For more information about the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, visit www.lvejo.org.

From: http://www.lawndalenews.com/local.html

Tags: 31st Street, 31st Street Bus, buses, chicago, CTA, Daley, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, LVEJO, Public Transit, transit, Transportation