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City pilot and CTA bus cameras to enforce bus lanes and bike lanes; committee voices ADA pickup-zone concerns
Summary
CTA staff and City partners told the ADA advisory committee that a downtown Smart Streets pilot will allow camera‑based enforcement of bus lanes, bus stops and bike lanes; CDOT reported early enforcement captured thousands of violations and CTA signed a contract with Hayden AI to pilot bus‑mounted cameras.
John Cherwinski, CTA director of service planning and traffic engineering, briefed the committee on the Smart Streets pilot — a City of Chicago program passed by City Council that permits automated camera enforcement of bus lanes, bus stops and protected bike lanes within a defined downtown pilot area.
Cherwinski explained the pilot area is roughly bounded by North Avenue, Ashland, Roosevelt and the lakefront and said CDOT has already deployed Department of Finance vehicles to gather enforcement evidence. City staff reported that between the pilot’s warning period and the early enforcement window (December–February), CDOT captured 6,286 violations; the Department of Finance issued 5,504 warnings, 596 bus‑lane tickets and 186 bike‑lane tickets during the period Cherwinski cited.
CTA has executed a contract with vendor Hayden AI for an automated bus‑mounted enforcement system with an initial pilot on six CTA buses and an option to expand to 100 buses. The Hayden AI system uses two windshield cameras plus an onboard processor to identify potential violations, collect photographic evidence and an automated license‑plate read, and then upload an evidence package to a vendor server for additional review. If the evidence meets requirements, the data transfers to the Department of Finance for ticket issuance; CTA will follow a calibration and testing period once cameras are mounted. Cherwinski said cameras should be installed on CTA buses by mid‑June, with at least two months of calibration and testing and the first CTA‑captured warnings and tickets occurring in the third quarter of 2025.
Committee members raised concerns about the pilot’s impact on people with disabilities and pickup zones. Members reported that protected bike lanes and newly designated bus lanes have removed curbside pickup areas in some blocks, pushing pickup activity into the roadway and making access difficult for people using canes, walkers or mobility vans. One committee member cited Wabash Street near the 800 block as an example where ADA‑friendly curb access and ramp locations are insufficient for riders who must traverse a painted or protected lane to reach a vehicle.
Cherwinski and CDOT staff said coordination on curb ramps, designated ADA loading areas and block‑by‑block treatments is part of broader city planning; Cherwinski said CDOT is experimenting with end‑of‑block ADA parking and other measures to preserve accessible pickup locations. The pilot runs for two years from the date of the first issued ticket; CDOT and the Department of Finance must report to City Council 120 days before the pilot’s end so council can consider next steps.
