formerly citizens' greener Evanston
Evanston now has 25 years to achieve its carbon neutrality and zero waste goals as outlined in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP), and Sustainability and Resilience Manager Cara Pratt has said the city has already accomplished the “low-hanging fruit” in pursuing these targets.
What climate goals and policies would you prioritize in the coming term? How should the city pursue reduction of building emissions?
Do you support phasing out natural gas use in new construction, and requiring existing buildings work toward carbon neutrality over the next 25 years?
I would prioritize reducing our building footprint. Consolidation of library and civic center functions is an example.
The city should incentivize retrofitting older buildings with energy-efficient systems and promote electrification, supported by grant funding and technical assistance. However, I feel like our Healthy Building Ordinance approach is inverted. Passing an ordinance and then passing rules is inverted.
Yes, I support phasing out natural gas in new construction and creating a clear, equitable path for existing buildings to achieve carbon neutrality. The concerns being expressed by building owners are valid as they relate to clarity and equity.
Nearly 2/3rds of all households in Evanston own one or no cars, and a majority of residents do not commute via car. Each year, more Evanstonians of all ages are walking, rolling, and using bus or train service for convenience, physical fitness, cost-savings, and environmental benefits.
How do you incorporate walking, biking and public transit into your everyday life?
As a lifelong Evanston resident and someone raising 4 kids here, I know firsthand how important it is to have options for getting around. While my family and I mainly drive, we also take advantage of walking when it’s practical—whether it’s to the park, school or running errands nearby. Evanston’s public transit options, including buses and the train, are valuable, but don’t help with James Park, Quad, Robert Crown, etc., often making driving the most practical option. Still, I believe in creating a community where people can easily walk, bike, or use transit if they choose to do so. The geographic reality of the ward I represent is that it is largely car dependent. Hillside is a prime example. Cut off by several busy streets. I worked hard on getting an improved crossing on Crawford and we need another on the east side of Lovelace Park. That’s the main route for Hillside kids getting to Willard and Haven. There are still elevation issues at the west edge of Lovelace as well. We’ve got several areas where park paths are defacto sidewalks (Cartwright, Lovelace, Quinlan) and those routes need to be categorized, improved and maintained as pedestrian infrastructure level sidewalks, not park paths.
Academic research and case studies from cities like Paris, Amsterdam, and New York show that reducing car traffic and building protected bike lanes are necessary to meet climate and mobility goals. Plans such as the Chicago Ave Multimodal Project provide an example of how this can be implemented in Evanston.
Where would you want infrastructure improvements, such as traffic calming, pedestrianization/ street closures, and protected bike lanes, to encourage more walking and cycling?
I believe that making our streets safer and more accessible for everyone—whether they walk, bike, or drive—is critical. In my ward, there are opportunities to improve infrastructure, like adding more protected bike lanes and calming traffic around schools.We worked to improve pick-up/drop-off traffic flow at the elementary schools. The one-way hours on Hurd and Central Park have improved flow and were accomplished with minimal resident disruption. Areas near schools and parks, like Central Street, could benefit from improvements that make walking and biking safer and more appealing. The north side pretty much has a carriage walk west of Central Park and there’s nothing on the east side of Central Park near Willard. It’s a funding and space challenge. We should look at ways to create more pedestrian-friendly spaces, especially around busy intersections, while also ensuring that we don't disrupt the flow of traffic for those who rely on driving. City wide we have too many sidewalk spots with more than 3” lifts. It is an ongoing issue. The city relies on residents to report these. We need to be doing proactive inspections. Too often, an injury is the city’s first notice.
Public transit has seen a major change in ridership trends, with 9-to-5 commuter services falling short of pre-COVID milestones while off-peak and weekend demand climbs despite infrequent and often unreliable schedules. CTA, PACE, and Metra are facing a ‘fiscal cliff’, as federal dollars to keep transit service operating run out by 2026.
While not in the position to solve this problem on its own, what can the City of Evanston do to support existing bus and train service, and how would you want to see public transportation expanded in our city in the future?
Evanston has great public transit options, but we also know that there are challenges, especially when it comes to reliability and frequency. While we can't solve the broader fiscal challenges faced by CTA, Pace, and Metra, the city can play an important role by advocating for better service, especially during off-peak hours and weekends. Expanding bus routes or offering more frequent service can help make public transit more reliable for families like mine who occasionally rely on it. Looking ahead, I would love to see more connections between Evanston and other areas, especially with transit lines that can make it easier for us to access job centers and regional hubs without needing a car.
With parallels to Envision Evanston 2045, Minneapolis has modified its zoning code in the past decade to eliminate minimum parking requirements, encourage transit-oriented development, and allow the construction of more “missing middle” housing city-wide. Together, these reforms lead to a stabilization of rent prices, a drop in homelessness, reduced displacement, and increased racial diversity. Environmental benefits were also realized, as more dense and mixed-use developments encourage lower rates of car ownership and generate less embodied carbon from construction.
What changes to Evanston’s zoning code, such as the ones listed above, would you support in response to the housing and climate crises?
I support efforts to adjust our zoning laws to encourage more housing options while also promoting sustainability. Removing minimum parking requirements and allowing for more mixed-use development could help create affordable housing and reduce car dependence. Allowing for more housing options, like duplexes or triplexes, could increase the availability of affordable homes, which is crucial in today’s housing market. Additionally, updating our zoning codes to support transit-oriented development aligns with our environmental goals, as it would help reduce emissions by making it easier for residents to use public transit and walk more. I’m happy to talk through this with anyone, but this is way more complicated and nuanced than it is being presented. Envision 2045 needs a lot more work before it’s ready to go.
