Mitigating Regressive Impact
High transportation costs and lengthy commute times have a “disproportionately
regressive impact” on low-income households. 21 Public transit enables lower-income
households to reduce the need to own a car, thereby realizing a cost savings benefit.
Connecting residents of lower density areas, such as northwestern Lake County, to jobs
and services was a focus of the Transportation Market Analysis. (For this analysis,
consultants for the Lake County Division of Transportation convened a focus group from
the northwestern corner of the county: the villages of Antioch, Lake Villa, and
Lindenhurst.) The group reported that transportation to medical services is extremely
challenging. For example, Antioch residents lack public transit options, and the focus
group expressed the importance and need for access to the new Lindenhurst Medical
Center as well as connections to the College of Lake County, Gurnee Mills Mall, and
other medical facilities in the Round Lake area.
“Also cited were the lack of transportation options for senior citizens and young teens
that often lack access to private vehicles, as well as … low-income Section 8 housing
residents who are transplanted from relatively transit-rich environments.”22 The analysis
concluded, “A broadly defined market from the northwestern part of Lake County to the
North Central Lake-Cook Road (area) shows potential for transit services. The
population growth projected in the Greater Round Lake Area and the projected level of
economic activity in the Lake-Cook Road area are likely to produce travel flows
concentrated along corridors linking these areas.”23
Mobility Challenges
In a suburban area such as Lake County, mobility can be especially challenging for
seniors and people with disabilities due to inconsistent sidewalks and lack of mobility
features in the developed areas. In some cases, the building code may lack sidewalk
requirements and mobility features. Fixed-route buses operated by Pace are reported to
be accessible in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
although many suburban bus stops cannot be navigated by wheelchair (due to lack of
sidewalk, curb ramps, and/or accessible gradient).
The ADA requires paratransit service to be provided to people whose disability or health
condition prevents them from using fixed-route services for some or all of their travel. In
Lake County, Pace provides paratransit service within three-quarters of a mile of a fixed
bus service and during the same hours of operation as the fixed-route bus service.
Riders must be certified by the Regional Transportation Authority in order to use
paratransit services.
21
Lukehart, John, Tom Luce, and Jason Reece, “The Segregation of Opportunities: The Structure of
Advantage and Disadvantage in the Chicago Region,” May 2005.
22
Transportation Market Analysis Executive Summary, p. 4-3.
23
Transportation Market Analysis Final Report p. 7-4.
77
APPLIED REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS, INC.
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS