EXPERIENCE PULSE

With fewer stops and upgraded amenities, Pulse will offer a more enjoyable commute. Pulse will complement existing Pace service by providing faster, more frequent service to the most popular destinations.

New buses will feature Wi-Fi service, USB charging ports, and digital information signs with audio/visual stop announcements to help passengers reach their destinations. All Pulse buses have bicycle racks, so bring your bike to explore Chicagoland.

Cont’d on page 2

FAST: Limited stop service gets you to your destination quick and easy.

FREQUENT: Catch Pulse every 10-15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes during late evenings.

EASY TO USE: Up-to-the-minute travel information at modern new stations. CONVENIENT CONNECTIONS: Connects to major destinations and other transit routes.

A BETTER commute

PaceBus.com/Pulse | PAGE 1

What makes PULSE

DIFFERENT?

Pace envisions a Chicago region that is well-connected

and offers a variety of travel options. As part of Pace’s

Vision 2020 plan to modernize public transportation, Pace

is developing Pulse, an innovative rapid transit network.

WINTER/SPRING 2017

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DEMPSTER LINEgaining momentum

Pace is coordinating with local municipalities and other stakeholders to develop the Dempster Line in a way that meets the needs of those served by the route and the communities it passes through.

Making Pulse accessible to everyone is important to Pace. Pulse will be fully compliant with the Amer-icans with Disabilities Act. The innovative new sta-tions will have large displays providing audio and vi-sual trip planning information to make it easy to get to your destination. The stations will also have raised platforms that will make buses faster, easier, and more convenient to board.

Pulse will not include a dedicated bus lane. Instead, innovative technology, such as Transit Signal Priority (TSP), will keep the buses on schedule. TSP enables Pace buses to communicate with the traffic signal system without any action

taken by the bus driver. If a bus is running behind schedule, the system allows the bus to send a request to the traffic signal network to either shorten a red light or extend a green light. TSP does not interfere with signal preemption systems used by emergency response vehicles, and will only grant priority to Pace buses when it would not have a negative impact on overall traffic conditions.

GET THERE ON TIME

part of this process, Pace will evaluate the project’s anticipated impact on air quality, noise, vibration, and ecological, archaeological, and historic resources. Your input will be an important factor to determine the final station locations and features.

Though the schedule for the Dempster Line is pending grant funding and is subject to change, construction is currently anticipated to take place in 2018-2019 with service launching in 2019.

Pace initiated the planning phase in late 2015 and created the Corridor Advisory Group (CAG) consisting of local municipalities, transportation agencies, chambers of commerce, and local interest groups to seek their input on initial design concepts and preliminary station locations. The CAG provided valuable input and emphasized the need for consideration of Complete Streets design as well as connections to Evanston’s Divvy stations, local pedestrian/bicycle trails, and CTA and Metra lines. A Project Definition Report was completed in 2016, which outlines proposed station locations, ser-vice and operating plans, estimated project costs, and projected ridership.

In 2017 and 2018, Pace will conduct a federally mandated review of the potential environmental impacts of the Dempster Line. As

CONVENIENT and ACCESSIBLE

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Community input and public participation have been crucial to the development of the Milwaukee Line. Extensive coordination took place with local municipalities, transportation agencies, businesses, schools, and interest groups to determine the best locations for Pulse stations. Pace conducted an environmental analysis to evaluate potential impacts and presented the results at two public meetings in 2015. Meeting attendees provided valuable input on the project, which allowed the team to select the final station locations that best meet the needs of the local communities and Pace’s customers.

Throughout 2016, Pace focused on final design, agency reviews and coordination, and project agreements. The Pulse vehicle designs were finalized and the new buses have been ordered. Construction is planned for summer 2017 and the Milwaukee Line will begin service by the end of 2017.

Ride the Pulse MILWAUKEE LINE in 2017

Cont’d from page 1New, modern Pulse stations will have a variety of passenger amenities including shelters with interior lighting, seating, and overhead heating for passenger comfort during winter months. State-of-the-art electronic signage at each station will provide up-to-the-minute digital real-time bus arrival information as well as transit and neighborhood maps. Most Pulse stations will also have bicycle racks.

We’re working closely with local communities to help people reach their desti-nations. Station locations are chosen based on an analysis of Pace ridership patterns, site constraints, and safety conditions as well as community and public input.

Pulse will CONNECT to a

variety of local amenities such

as other transit services, local

bicycle and walking trails,

Divvy stations, and more.

The Milwaukee Line will be the first Pulse line to be implemented. It will run along Milwaukee Avenue between the

Golf Mill Shopping Center in Niles and the Jefferson Park Transit Center in Chicago, where passengers can connect

with CTA Blue Line trains, Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest Line trains, and numerous Pace and CTA bus routes.

CONSTRUCTIONPace will begin the bidding process for construction

in early 2017. The Milwaukee Line will be built in

stages to minimize impacts on local traffic and will

include the installation of new stations about ¼ mile

apart. Certain Pace bus stops may be temporarily

relocated due to construction, or permanently

relocated to a nearby Pulse station. Sign up for

Milwaukee Line updates at PaceBus.com/Pulse.

Communities were invited to customize local Pulse

stations with artistic shelter and railing panels, unique

platform paving and landscaping, and more. With the

Milwaukee Line coming in 2017, municipalities along this

corridor were the first to submit their customized designs. Pace

will fund most of the community expression elements, as long as the

cost is comparable to current design. As the Dempster Line enters the

design phase next year, communities along that corridor will also have

an opportunity to customize their Pulse stations.

EXPRESSYOURSELF

Pace is planning a network of Pulse lines throughout the Chicago region. The next

Pulse lines to be implemented include 95th Street, Halsted Street, Harlem Avenue,

Cermak Road, and Roosevelt Road.

PAGE 4 | PaceBus.com/Pulse

It’s your Pulse. Share your thoughts! Public participation is an important part of making

Pulse a success. Send us your thoughts and

suggestions and sign up for public meeting

announcements at PaceBus.com/Pulse.

Facebook.com/PacePulse

Twitter.com/PacePulse

Customized shelter in

Chicago

Customized shelter in Niles

WHAT’S NEXT?