ADA-compliant bus – After a local neighborhood group installed homemade benches to help bus riders, the city stepped in to replace them with official ADA-compliant seating.
When the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance placed two homemade benches at Damen Avenue and Thomas Street and at Division Street and Oakley Boulevard last month. they were looking for a simple solution to a persistent problem: residents waiting for the bus had nowhere to sit. Painted in the bright blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. the makeshift seats drew immediate attention from the community and. eventually. from city officials.
On Monday, the city removed the handmade structures and replaced them with official, ADA-compliant benches. For 25-year-old Sam Kovnar, the founder of the local neighborhood group, the transformation was a victory.
“This was the best outcome that we could have hoped for,” Kovnar said.
He noted that the original benches were built to provide necessary relief for children. older adults. and riders navigating mobility issues. The Chicago Transit Authority currently operates nearly 11. 000 bus stops across the city. though many remain without seating as part of a long-standing municipal strategy intended to deter loitering.
Alderman Daniel La Spata of the 1st Ward previously described the neighborhood initiative as “inspiring. ” signaling an intent to push for more seating options throughout the area. A spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Transportation confirmed that the city coordinates with ward offices to install either advertising benches or standard seating funded through aldermanic menu allocations.
Following the city’s intervention. the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance moved their remaining homemade benches to new locations at Division and Leavitt streets. as well as Damen Avenue and Augusta Boulevard. The group remains committed to their mission. with plans to build and install additional benches across Ukrainian Village and Humboldt Park.
Kovnar expressed hope that the city would continue this momentum. either by allowing their grassroots installations to remain or by proactively replacing them with official transit infrastructure. The transportation department stated it would continue to work with local ward offices to add benches “where feasible” to improve comfort and accessibility for transit riders.
Chicago Ukrainian Village CTA bus stops public transit ADA-compliant urban planning Northwest Neighborhood Alliance