CTA to extend Ashland Avenue bus route about a mile farther north

CHICAGO (CBS) — The Chicago Transit Authority on Tuesday announced Tuesday that it is extending the northern terminal point of the the No. 9 Ashland bus nearly a mile farther north.
Currently, the Ashland Avenue bus terminates at Clark Street and Belle Plaine Avenue, a city block north of Irving Park Road.
Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 3, it will begin running north to the Ravenswood Metra station on the Union Pacific North Line, at Lawrence and Ravenswood avenues.
“The #9 is among our best-utilized routes, transporting an average of more than 16,000 riders every weekday,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a news release. “This extension comes as we move closer to resuming pre-pandemic schedules and provides an opportunity not just for ridership recovery— but for long-term growth.”
The CTA said the extension will reach another 21,000 residents and 15,000 jobs, and will allow for connections to the No. 78 Montrose and No. 81 Lawrence buses.
The extension includes nine new bus stops every two blocks.
“I am proud to help expand access to public transit for thousands of residents,” Ald. Matt Martin (47th) said in a news release. “We have already heard from neighbors – including parents of young children and people with disabilities – celebrating their increased access to work, friends, school, and local businesses. We will continue to push for access to high-quality transit in the 47th Ward and around Chicago.”
The No. 9 Ashland Avenue bus runs as far south as 104th Street and Vincennes Avenue in East Beverly from 6 a.m. to 9:10 p.m. and 2:35 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. weekdays, and as far south as 95th Street and Ashland Avenue the rest of the time—except for overnight hours.
Overnight service also runs along North Avenue between Ashland Avenue and Clark Street, and 95th Street between Ashland Avenue and the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Ashland Avenue runs well to the north of the point where its bus line terminates. The No. 50 Damen bus runs on a short stretch of Ashland Avenue farther north from Foster Avenue to Edgewater Avenue.
Ashland Avenue merges with Clark Street and disappears for about 0.75 mile between Rosehill Drive in Edgewater and Devon Avenue at the Edgewater-Rogers Park line. This area, like the rest of Clark Street, is served by the No. 22 bus.
North of Devon Avenue through Rogers Park, Ashland Avenue resumes as a two-lane residential street—which jogs at several intersections, and is interrupted at Willie B. Whyte Park north of Howard Street before finally terminating at Juneway Terrace. There is no bus on this stretch of Ashland Avenue.
There is also no bus on Ashland Avenue below 95th Street, except a half-mile northbound turnaround route for the No. 111 111th/King Drive bus between 115th and 119th streets.