It's weird, I eat pork and know how these animals are killed, but I find them dying in an accident like this to be somewhat sad?

Yeah, because its not part of the plan ;)

I don't know this for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if they still get sent to the slaughterhouse to salvage the loss. The meat's still good right? It's not like they were laying dead in the blazing heat for 8 hours.


Are we seriously discussing this in the Chicago Transit thread?! http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/images/smilies/haha.gif

^^^ Yes, its sad that 23 pigs worth of bacon will go to waste... :(

^^^ Haha I was seriously going to write that in my last post but wasn't sure if it would be "kosher" ;)

Yeah - that is the only highway ramp I've ever driven on and actually felt unsafe. Every time I drove over it on the way back from the East Coast, I wondered how long it would take before something catastrophic happened.

I can't believe that design was acceptable, even for the 1950s. It's not like they were short on space to build a ramp with a wider radius...

Chicago South Suburbs Awarded $2.3 Million to Use Rail Infrastructure to Revitalize Region


October 20, 2010

Read More: http://www.cnt.org/news/2010/10/20/c...talize-region/

^All around fantastic news! First truly uplifting news I've had in the past 2 days!!!

Rode the red line for the 1st time in 5 years today
 

It hauled ass!

First of all, I am WAY impressed with the Belmont stop. Whatever they did with the Brown Line station expansion seems to be well worth it, IMO.

But that's a side note. My wife, myself, and my 15 month old toddler rode the Red Line to State/Clark today (BIG mistake--failed to notice that there are no elevators at that station--a big problem if you're traveling with a little one). The train was packed, the trip was quick, and the train ran at a very good speed.

On top of that, the station attendant at Belmont was very friendly. He really went out of his way to answer my questions and help me out. This stereotype of the rude, lazy CTA employee does not necessarily apply to all.

Couldn't have asked for a better mass transit experience.

The Brown Line project was definitely an upgrade. After that, the only stations older than 50 years have either been replaced, majorly renovated, or lie on the Red Line north of Addison (with the exception of a few Loop stations).

So, if the City ever actually builds the West Loop Transportation Center and the associated Clinton Street subway from somewhere near North/Clyborn to somewhere near Chinatown, do you think they'd ever consider, instead of meeting up with the Red Line just north of Chinatown, moving over along the freight rails along Canal, with a transfer at the Orange Line at Archer, then stations at 31st, 35th, Pershing, 47th, and 51st then moving over to the existing Red Line for a transfer station only at 55th/Garfield, then run south along the access roads the four blocks to 59th to the existing western Green Line tracks, terminating at Ashland/63rd?

That would potentially allow the conversion of the Red Line from 63rd north into Express service (maybe keep Chinatown or 35th, but not both) that would improve downtown access speeds to people living along the new Red Line extension. It would also double the frequency of Green Line trains to 63rd/Cottage Grove, maybe providing impetus to re-extend to Jackson Park.

It seems like there would be relatively few "losers" with changes like that, and while not cheap, the relative return on the investment seems like it would be as high or higher than other extensions being considered. With some negotiation the ROW wouldn't be out-of-the-question hard to aquire - worst case it could be an "L" over Canal, which probaly wouldn't be too objectionable since it's so close to existing freight and commuter rail anyway.

It might need a super-station at 18th Street so that express riders could still get to the West Loop, but I think these changes would really enhance service to a big chunk of the South Side.

Changes like those would also create additional justification and operations support for better South Side routes for a Circle Line (one that went through Bridgeport, for example).

I rode the Pink Line for the first time last weekend to go to a race down in Pilsen. AMAZING views of the city.

But are they at all considering a station near United Center? Seems like there would be a huge demand for it.

Is there a need for express service to the South Side? The Red Line is already pretty fast to 95th.

There would currently only be a huge demand for it during sporting event nights, and even then the demand might not be quite as high as you'd think.

It makes sense for their to be a station there, but I don't think there would actually be a huge demand for one until/unless the City got serious about consolidating the masses of United Center parking into a couple well-designed garages so that the parking lots could be redeveloped into something useful that might actually drive transit demand on a more regular basis.

My primary suggestion was adding service along about Canal. The express service idea was more to avoid having to remove the tracks than out of a strict need per se, because if you added good service to Canal and rall all red lines there, that would definitely slow things down for someone coming from south of 95th.

But you could, definitely, just move the red line to Canal and add lanes to teh Dan Ryan.

^ Huh? I'm not following you.

What's wrong with the existing Red Line that it needs a new alignment, less than 5 years after a major overhaul and station rebuilding? Obviously, it runs in a expressway median, which has drawbacks. But it's far better-patronized than the Green Line, which isn't in a expressway median and serves the same corridor.

As far as I know, the Norfolk Southern ROW along Canal is heavily-used by freight trains. That's part of the reason that Metra wants to redirect SouthWest Service trains into LaSalle Street Station, to avoid that particular line. And, once the Grand Crossing project is built, numerous Amtrak trains will be using that line to access Union Station. I'm not sure there's any excess space for a rapid transit line.

This interchange should be demolished entirely and replaced. Or even possibly a no-replacement solution with exits to a surface street and new ramps. The whole configuration is inefficient and unsafe. I don't know why this interchange has continued to remain in operation with all the other improvements done nearby. I've used this ramp plenty of times and seen many "fail situations." The emergency pull off area was dangerous to re-entering traffic. In fact, people at times would walk onto the ramp to stop traffic to allow a vehicle to enter. The railings on the overpasses were almost entirely destroyed and never seemed to be repaired. They would be of no use if a car were to slip on ice and hit the edge.

Illinois, other states happy to take rail money
By Associated Press
Posted today at 9:33 a.m.


High-speed rail projects in Wisconsin and Ohio appear close to derailment, with Wisconsin’s outgoing governor saying Monday he’ll leave the future of his state’s project to his Republican successor, who has vowed to kill it, and Ohio’s incoming governor saying again he plans scrap his state’s project.

Jim Doyle, Wisconsin’s outgoing Democratic governor, told The Associated Press that although he thinks a high-speed rail line to connect Milwaukee with Madison is a good idea, he feels obligated to leave the project’s future up to Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker.

http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2...l-project.html

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...t-for-bid.html
This has the potential to become a cluster-f*ck of epic proportions. Lets just take this to its logical conclusion...the "City of Chicago, presented by Office Depot"

Much like our politics - sold to the corporation with the most cash for your campaign. Truly sickening.

I remember hearing a quote about a culture that surrenders to advertising, essentially loses their culture. I think that is what we are inching towards. A corporate sponsored public is no longer public. A corporate sponsored nation is no longer a nation.

Well said, and its why I've always advocated for these private deals staying out of the public realm. Its a very slippery slope. Also, theres practical reasons why this is a terrible idea as well. There was a great comment on the Trib comments which addressed this, so Ill just re-post:

"1) It will confuse tourists/visitors ("Where is the McDonalds CTA station??!", "Oh, just take the Starbucks bus to the Cubs line, then take it north" "What?!?!")

2) It increases the amount of corporate advertising in a city that is already littered with public space advertising. This makes residents want to move and it detracts new people from moving to Chicago. Advertising is ugly -- period!

3) Even after the naming rights are in place, the CTA's budget problems will continue so long as automobile infrastructure continues to receive higher priority in funding than mass transit

4) It increases the CTA's dependence on private funding. If the private sponsors lower their prices later, or decide not to renew contracts (two possibilities due to the on-going economic depression), the CTA will be forced to make budget/service cuts.

5) With all of the advertising space already available in this city, the CTA will not get top dollar for it's property."