Published by: Harrington, Kelker and De Leuw Publishing date: 1937 Plan Summary: By 1937, there had been substantial changes in transit prospects. The registration of passenger cars had grown at a rate which could not be ignored. Whereas there were 35,000 passenger motor vehicles registered in Chicago in 1915, the number had in creased to 335,000 by 1927 and to 501,000 by 1937. By 1962, nearly 900,000 passenger cars were registered in the city. Both the depression and the rise of the automobile influenced a plan and report prepared in 1937 by Harrington, Kelker and De Leuw. The Chicago Area Transportation Study's first regional Chicago transportation plan, published in 1962, described the 1937 plan this way: In the letter of transmittal that accompanied their report, the engineers stated that the objective of their study was "to paint the way to prompt relief from the unsatisfactory and progressively declining character of transit service which the city is now enduring; to stress... the important role which the private automobile has assumed as a utilitarian transit vehicle" and to stress the need for "extensive modernization of both surface and rapid transit facilities -- all to be operated with out competition as a unified system." The engineers did propose a unified transit system operation, but their plan was far different from those of their predecessors. The effect of much greater ownership of private automobiles, together with the more pessimistic outlook engendered by seven years of depression, must have been major factors in fixing the proposals arising from this study. The elevated system proposed actually is smaller than the one in existence at that time. The report suggested tearing down part of the Loop elevated structure and proposed a north-south subway in State Street as a replacement. The real reduction in elevated railroad service, however, came from extensive proposals to convert certain elevated structures to elevated highways. The Douglas Park, Lake Street, and possibly the Logan Square elevated structures were earmarked for paving, with conversion of service to express bus. Additional and extensive proposals were made for more express and surface bus lines Why this plan differs from the others will immediately be apparent from a glance at Figure 34 which was taken from that report and brought up-to-date. This figure shows the level of transit activity from 1901 through 1937. It also illustrates the significantly different traffic outlook of 1937. While the Harrington report was optimistic, it took a far different view of future transit travel than did any of its predecessors. It is clear that the estimates of potential future traffic play a most significant part in setting the scale of planned improvements. This figure is history. It may be questioned whether the execution of earlier plans might not have had an effect on transit usage. These values would undoubtedly have been affected by the level of transit services. Yet it is clear also that these facilities alone would not have prevented what is perhaps the most important cause of the structural shift in travel habits, the purchase and use of automobiles.     This Chicago-L.org article is a stub. It will be expanded in the future as resources allow.

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