Ashland Avenue is a north-south street in Chicago, in whose grid system it is 1600W. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) west of State Street, the city's north-south baseline. It is one of the major streets on the city's west side.
Ashland Avenue is primarily served by two bus routes: 9 Ashland and X9 Ashland Express. CTA bus route 9 runs from Ravenswood station on Metra's Union Pacific North Line to a bus turnaround just south of 95th Street. Some weekday buses continue south via Beverly Boulevard toward 104th Street at Vincennes Avenue near a Rock Island DistrictMetra station.[2] Bus route X9, however, operates as an express service, running from Irving Park Road at Sheridan Road near a Red Linestation toward the same bus turnaround at 95th Street.[3][1]
History
In the late 19th century, a streetcar ran on Ashland Avenue from 22nd Street up to Roosevelt Street, where it turned west to run north from Paulina Avenue to avoid running on a boulevard,[4] returning to Ashland Avenue via Lake Street.[5] This was extended south to Archer Avenue in 1896, and on September 4, 1908, was extended to connect with another route south to 70th Street. Simultaneous with the 70th Street extension was a northward one to Southport Street via Clybourn Avenue, which was further extended to Clark Street on October 16, 1912. Further extensions, including the absorption of a shuttle route, created a crosstown through-route from Clark Street down to 87th Street starting November 1, 1916.[6] This became known as "Through Route 9" (TR 9) in 1924.[5] By the early- to mid-20th century, Ashland was one of the "Big Five" streetcar lines, which had the highest ridership, got the most amentities and had the shortest wait times.[7] As of 1928, TR 9 had owl service between 1 and 4:45 a.m., wherein streetcars ran every fifteen minutes;[8] during the day, streetcar lines in Chicago typically had intervals of between eight and fifteen minutes per car.[7] Buses replaced streetcars on weekends starting May 11, 1952, and altogether on February 13, 1954.[6]
In 2013, the CTA proposed a bus rapid transit line along Ashland Avenue from 95th Street to Irving Park Road. However, opposition led to the proposal being stalled.[9][10] In 2015, the X9 express bus route along Ashland Avenue was restored after the said route was discontinued five years prior in 2010.[11][12] On September 3, 2024, the northern terminus of bus route 9 was relocated from Clark Street at the Graceland Cemetery to Metra's Ravenswood station.[13][14][15]
References
^ ab"RTA System Map"(PDF). Regional Transportation Authority. February 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
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