It might be a given that the surrounding Chicago communities are well connected to the city of Chicago because of the multiple methods of public transportation available. Humboldt Park however, is lacking in what I would consider to be two major areas: a CTA train line that’s easily accessible throughout the neighborhood and the Divvy bike share system.

Visiting Humboldt Park for the first time, I couldn’t help but notice the extent of the bike lanes present and how continuous they were throughout the neighborhood. However, I was taken back by the absence of Divvy bike stations seeing as how there seems to be a great amount of support towards bicyclists through the implementation of the said bike lanes. A couple stations are present towards the outskirts, but they’re not within the neighborhood.

The Divvy bike service would be a great alternative for those who don’t feel comfortable investing in a bike but do see the benefits of biking. It is hard to argue that this service has not been a success thus far seeing as how there were about 750,000 rides through this service last year. Those who make the most out of this service would improve their quality of life by being active. They would also reduce their transportation costs by eliminating the need for gas.

As I continued to walk around, I noticed how there’s also an absence of a CTA train line running through the neighborhood. The closest train lines are the Pink and Green, but those are outside of Humboldt Park and a great distance away from the heart/center of the neighborhood.

To get a better understanding of what it’s like to commute from Humboldt Park, I interviewed a community resident. When asked if there’s a lack of transportation options in the neighborhood to commute he stated that the “Western and Division buses are reliable but it would be a lot better if we had better access to trains.” He went on to say that he works ‘downtown and the closest train available to me is the Blue Line stop on Damen, about a 15-20 minute walk from where I live.”

According to the 2008-2012 American Community Survey (ACS) of Humboldt Park, 24% of workers 16 years old and over use public transportation as their means of transportation to get to work while another 2.1% ride a bike. And according to the CTA’s Annual Ridership Report for 2012, the number of rail rides was the highest it had been in over 50 years.

With the implementation of trains throughout the neighborhood, residents can see benefits in different areas. Commute times can be cut down and business owners could see economic gains because the neighborhood would be more connected to the city and people.

As a Pilsen resident, I guess I’ve become accustomed to the relative ease of having multiple train stops throughout my neighborhood, those being of the CTA Pink Line. As a part-time worker downtown, having a train connect me to the city makes commuting simple. There’s also a great amount of Divvy bike stations throughout the neighborhood, some of which are located within a minute walk of a train stop. This is a well strategic plan to encourage people to use these forms of transportation rather than a car.

One can see from the ACS survey that these services would benefit a large portion of the Humboldt Park residents. Call me crazy, but I think these are services that everybody should have access to.