7 Months Later, Business Owners Reflect on No. 11 Bus Cut

Seven months after the controversial cancelation of a significant portion of the Lincoln Avenue Bus route, business owner Katherine McHenry says little has changed.

“Honestly, I don’t think (we’ve seen a decrease), at least not for our customers,” she said, referring to her Building Blocks Toy Store in Lake View. “The idea of losing any type of resource—it’s human nature to want to keep a resource we already have.”

The Chicago Transit Authority's September decision to nix the route between Western and Fullerton avenues left politicians, residents and business owners clamoring. Several local business owners spoke out, saying they relied on the line to bring them customers. They disagreed with the CTA's argument that the bus was a duplicate of the Brown Line.

Even more residents opposed the cancellation, calling it their lifeline to complete simple tasks like grocery shopping. Despite public outcry, the bus line was eliminated from the CTA's 2013 budget, ending service on Dec. 16.

But after checking in with numerous Lincoln Avenue businesses this past week, one tune replayed—there’s been no negative impact on customer vibrancy. Officials at Trader Joe’s at 3745 N. Lincoln Ave. actually said just the opposite.

“A decrease in customers? Not at all,” said store manager Ashley Miklasz. “We do a customer count on a weekly basis here, and we’re actually up from before.”

The bus served around 5,500 riders each week—2,500 of whom were directly affected by the cut. And when eliminated, route ridership was up since 2010. Just three months in the past two years showed a decrease in riders.

Studies also showed that, unlike the Brown Line, riders were using the No. 11 bus to travel shorter distances within North Side neighborhoods like Northcenter, Lincoln Park and Lake View. Still, other Lincoln Avenue small business owners agreed with Trader Joe's.

Chris Arneson, longtime manager for Waxman Candles, 3044 N. Lincoln Ave., said while a few neighboring rug shops closed nearby, new tenants are already moving in.

“We’ve been pretty steady,” he said. “We’ve always wanted to be seen as a destination verses a store in a shopping district, so I think that prepared us for it. But I don’t know if we could have done any better.”

Regardless of the steady customer base, Heritage Bicycles General Store owner Michael Salvatore—who just announced that he's opening a related Lincoln Avenue venture—says he still think canceling the No. 11 bus was a mistake. He was among business owners who helped fight the CTA ruling.

“For us it was never about customers. Our customers travel here by bike or walking,” he said. “I was more concerned about the growth of Lincoln Avenue in general. Businesses who wanted to come here are turned off by the idea that there’s no central public transportation. So it did really stint the growth, I think.”

Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce spokesman Padraic Swanton echoed similar sentiments but noted that he hasn't heard any gripes from business owners since the cut initially took effect.

"A lot of it is based on those people riding the bus … it's like free marketing for (businesses)," he said. "The effect overall is kind of hard to quantify."

A manager at Swirlz Cupcakes, 705 W. Belden Ave., said she hasn't noticed any change, saying, "we are definitely not slower." The pastry shop is located directly off Lincoln Avenue and can be seen from the corridor. An employee at Elliot Consignment, located just around the corner, said she didn't even know a bus ever cruised through the area.