9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | Wolf Point Ballroom

Speakers:

• Daniel La Spata, 1st Ward Alderman, City of Chicago

• Pamela Maass, President & CEO, Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce

• Amanda Kezios, Founder & Managing Partner, Mojo Spa

• David Smith, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Project Development, CDOT

• Pete Lauer (moderator), Independent mobility consultant

Meet Me on Milwaukee (MMoM) is a pedestrianization event that closed a stretch of Milwaukee Avenue to cars for three Sundays in Fall 2025, drawing thousands of shoppers to the area. This roundtable brings together the practitioners behind MMoM, including the 1st Ward Alderman, the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, a local business owner, and the Chicago Department of Transportation to discuss implementation, permitting, and the business case for car-free street activations. With three more Sundays planned for 2026, the panel will explore what it takes to replicate this model in other commercial corridors across Chicago.

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | LaSalle Ballroom

Speakers:

• Kelly Wenger, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD)

• Kristen Lucken

In the wake of completion of two of the largest federally funded capital improvement projects the South Shore Line has seen NICTD work to update an 11-year-old 20-Year Strategic plan. Factoring in new service improvements while balancing an ever-changing post-pandemic passenger ridership was a challenge nobody expected. This session aims to share NICTD’s experiences and lessons learned throughout the update process.

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | Steamboat Hotel

Speakers:

• Dimitris Nioras, Senior Manager, Service Planning, CTA

• Amanda Madrigal, Service Planner III – Bus, CTA

• Trevor Preddy, Service Planner II – Bus, CTA

• Amy Conrad, Senior Manager, Bus Scheduling Design and Development, CTA

• Quentin Shipley-Mellon, Traffic Planner III, CTA

• Eric Munn, Director, Marketing, CTA

In 2025, CTA implemented a series of service improvements to Chicago’s bus service, including the launch of the Frequent Network, the realignment of the Pulaski corridor, the extension of routes #75 74th/75th and #93 California/Dodge, and expanded hours of service on three more routes. These service changes were a joint interdepartmental effort which included the Service Planning, Traffic Planning, Scheduling, and Marketing teams. In this presentation, representatives from these departments will discuss the planning and implementation process for these projects, the primary challenges faced, and the marketing strategies used to promote them to the public. Finally, they will provide a performance summary, highlighting the successes achieved and compromises made in the process.

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | Western Stage House

Speakers:

• Victoria Barrett, Program Lead for Safe Systems, CMAP

• Mayor Kelly Burke, City of Evergreen Park

• Eric Mueller, Planner, Epstein

• Elizabeth Rocks, Planner, Epstein

• Scott Hennings, Assistant Director, McHenry County Department of Transportation

A safe, efficient, and healthy transportation network for the region requires that we address many issues simultaneously. Transportation planners must solve mobility gaps, mitigate crash risks, and support healthy and climate-friendly travel options. This session will provide an overview of the recently adopted Safe Travel for All plan, a partnership between the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and six counties in northeastern Illinois: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. It will also share recent advances in active transportation planning from across the region to highlight how demonstration projects and creative solutions can help communities overcome barriers to bicycle and pedestrian safety, mobility, and even economic development challenges in rural and suburban areas.