Red bus-only lane coming to northbound Michigan Avenue through the South Loop and the Loop

The city is painting a red, bus-only lane on about 1.5 miles of northbound Michigan Avenue, from Roosevelt Road to Wacker Drive, the Chicago Department of Transportation and the CTA announced on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. CDOT crews started putting down pavement markings and signs this week, working overnight, and the city expects the job to take seven to 10 days if the weather holds, WTTW reported.

The lane runs along the curb on the east side of the avenue, past Grant Park and Millennium Park, from the South Loop to Wacker Drive on the eastern edge of the Loop, Streetsblog Chicago reported. City officials describe the stretch as one of the busiest in the CTA bus system. Roughly 1,490 buses on 21 routes use at least part of it each day, and about 22,000 riders pass through it every weekday, according to figures from the city cited by CBS News Chicago and WTTW.

“We put red paint down to speed up those buses,” David Powe, an assistant CDOT commissioner, told NBC Chicago.

Here is what the city and the CTA have confirmed so far.

• The lane covers northbound Michigan Avenue only, between Roosevelt Road and Wacker Drive.
• About 1,490 buses on 21 CTA routes use at least part of the corridor each day.
• During the morning rush, buses carry an estimated 35% of all trips on the avenue while making up 3% of its vehicles.
• The lane sits inside the enforcement area of the city’s Smart Streets camera pilot.
• CDOT and the CTA will study the corridor for six months after the paint and signs are finished.

Why the city chose this stretch

Four of the 21 routes on the corridor, the #4 Cottage Grove, the #J14 Jeffery Jump, the #20 Madison and the #60 Blue Island/26th, belong to the CTA’s Frequent Network, which aims for a bus every 10 minutes or better from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The #4 alone joins Michigan Avenue at 31st Street and stays on it north to Randolph Street, according to Fox 32.

Joseph Schwieterman, a DePaul University transportation professor, told Fox 32 the avenue has become a major transit corridor, with buses following one another nearly nonstop. Some continue north onto North Michigan Avenue, he said, while others turn and head back through State Street.

Mayor Brandon Johnson pitched the lane as a way to cut delays and improve service for residents who count on buses to get to work, school and other daily needs, according to his statement as quoted by CBS News Chicago and NBC Chicago. CTA acting president Nora Leerhsen said in the city’s statement that faster trips on Michigan Avenue would help riders across the rest of the CTA network, according to WTTW.

Why only the northbound side

Michigan Avenue falls under the Illinois Department of Transportation’s jurisdiction, and CDOT worked with IDOT to develop the lane and get it approved, WTTW reported, citing the city’s news release. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority, the region’s new transit oversight body, also took part in the announcement.

The west side of the avenue was left out for now. CDOT spokesperson Erica Schroder told the Chicago Tribune that the west curb has more curb cuts, loading zones and other competing uses, and that a bus lane there would need more design work, Streetsblog Chicago reported. The east side, along the parks, has far less retail, hotel and residential frontage, so buses there should face fewer conflicts with delivery, taxi and ride-hail drivers, Streetsblog noted.

Schwieterman acknowledged that a lane on one side of a street is unusual. Many buses move through downtown in a counterclockwise pattern, he told Fox 32, which puts more bus traffic on the northbound side, especially near the north end of the new lane. He expects the lane to have “outsized benefits, even though it’s a one-sided project.”

How camera enforcement works

The lane will be policed mainly by cameras through Smart Streets, a pilot the City Council approved in March 2023 under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, WBEZ reported. Cameras mounted on city vehicles and CTA buses are used to ticket drivers who park or stand in bus lanes, bike lanes and bus stops, according to WTTW.

The program started on November 4, 2024, with 30 days of warning notices only, WBEZ reported. Since December 5, 2024, a driver’s first violation has brought a warning, and later violations bring fines. Powe described the same warning-first approach to NBC Chicago. Six CTA buses have carried enforcement cameras since October 2025, CBS News Chicago reported, and the city planned to equip more than 50 more by the end of September, WTTW reported on September 15.

Drivers caught blocking bus and bike lanes had run up nearly $4.5 million in fines since the pilot began, according to city data cited by WTTW. Leerhsen said more than 80% of drivers ticketed for blocking a bus lane did not get a second ticket, according to the Sun-Times, and CTA data published by Streetsblog Chicago in January put the share of warned drivers who were not ticketed again at 87%.

The cameras have limits. They can ticket drivers who stop or park in the lane, but citing someone simply for driving in it would take new state legislation, Streetsblog reported. The pilot is set to expire in December 2026, according to the city’s Department of Finance. Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, and Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) introduced a proposal this week to expand Smart Streets citywide, CBS News Chicago reported.

What changes for drivers

Drivers heading north on Michigan Avenue should expect a few changes once the work wraps up.

• The red curb lane is limited to buses and to vehicles making turns, according to NBC Chicago.
• Parking or standing in a bus lane carries a $90 fine under Smart Streets after a first-offense warning.
• Parking or standing at a bus stop carries a $100 fine, and blocking a bike lane carries a $250 fine.
• Published coverage of the announcement did not list the lane’s hours or any exceptions for deliveries, taxis or ride-hail pickups, so the new signs are the place to check.

What changes for riders

For riders, the lane is about speed and predictability rather than new service.

• Buses on the corridor keep their current routes, since the CTA told Streetsblog the lane will support existing regular service.
• The lane will not get the raised concrete bus platforms used on Loop Link, NBC Chicago reported.
• Time savings can vary with foot traffic and congestion, Leerhsen said, according to the Sun-Times.

Leerhsen pointed to Loop Link, where she said bus speeds rose by close to 30% depending on the trip. “You’ll see commute times come down for sure,” she said, according to the Sun-Times.

What happens during the six-month review

CDOT and the CTA have laid out a basic plan for the first six months after installation, according to the city’s statement as quoted by Streetsblog Chicago, with any adjustments to follow, NBC Chicago reported.

• Staff will watch the corridor in person and collect data.
• The agencies will measure bus travel times and how well buses keep to their schedules.
• They will also track traffic flow and safety along the avenue.
• The city and the CTA will then decide what changes, if any, the lane needs.

That review window extends past December 2026, when the Smart Streets pilot is currently set to expire.

Other bus lanes in Chicago

The Michigan Avenue design borrows from Loop Link, the downtown bus corridor with dedicated lanes on Washington, Madison, Clinton and Canal. Loop Link opened on December 20, 2015, at a cost of $41 million, CBS News Chicago reported at the time. About 1,000 buses on six routes use the corridor every weekday, according to CDOT’s Loop Link page.

In May 2024, CDOT and the CTA announced red bus-only lanes on Chicago Avenue between Sangamon and Larrabee streets, plus bus priority lanes between Grand and Campbell avenues, for a nearly continuous 3.9-mile bus lane in effect 24 hours a day, according to the CTA’s announcement. The #66 Chicago bus carried roughly 17,000 rides on an average weekday at the time, the CTA said.

The CTA has said it wants many more. At a recent CTA board meeting, chief innovation officer Molly Poppe called for 100 to 150 miles of dedicated bus lanes in the region, Streetsblog Chicago reported on September 24. Chicago has about 15 bus lanes now, according to the same report. Audrey Wennink of the Metropolitan Planning Council called the Michigan Avenue plan “a strong step forward” toward a network of dedicated bus lanes across the city, Streetsblog reported.

Have a tip about this story or another one we should cover? Send it to the editors.