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-   -   CHICAGO: Transit Developments (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101657)

Tom Servo Jul 10, 2015 9:55 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 7075838)
I don't normally post video game videos in the transit threads....but how realistic is Omsi 2 Chicago?

• Video Link
Oh wow. I just watched that entire video. Most entertain hour I've spent all year. What a cool game. I'm gonna buy this game. I can't wait to play this game. It looks like such an awesomely fun time. I just hope playing this game is as much fun as watching this British dude play it. :yes:

Hahaha, wow. A fucking bus simulator. That's pretty funny. Because flying simulators are lame enough... haha

In any event. How realistic? Idk, pretty damn close actually.

the urban politician Jul 10, 2015 3:04 PM
^ Everybody in Chicago is white!

emathias Jul 10, 2015 3:35 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 7075838)
I don't normally post video game videos in the transit threads....but how realistic is Omsi 2 Chicago?

,,,
Pretty realistic. About 25 minutes into it, it goes right by the office building i work in. There are small details that are incorrect, but nothing major. I think if you watched it, you'd definitely recognize the real places in person.

jpIllInoIs Jul 12, 2015 4:00 PM
Metra begins work on Mayfair platforms
 
Metra

Upgrades on a tight budget. It is notable that most of Metra's recent major station projects have been in the city limits with the Lou Jones Station at 35th and the new Ravenswood station. And now a pretty significant revamp of Mayfair. Also Metra recently completely revamped the Cicero station.

Project calls for new and extended platforms, new lights and new shelters

(July 9, 2015) – Metra this week began a project at the Mayfair Station on the Milwaukee North Line to replace and extend the platforms, replace the lighting and add two new shelters.

The $500,000 job is expected to take about three months to complete.

The platforms at Mayfair can now fit just three cars, which complicates and slows the boarding and exiting processes and makes it more difficult to make sure trains stopping at Mayfair do not block the nearby intersection with the UP Northwest Line. The new, extended platforms will be able to accommodate seven cars.

The extension of the platforms on both sides are being built first, and while that work is underway, trains will continue to stop at the existing platforms. When the extensions are done, trains will stop at the extensions while the old platforms are replaced. Train service will not be affected.

The work will also include new lighting and two new shelters.

The Mayfair Station is used by about 350 riders each weekday.

ardecila Jul 12, 2015 9:03 PM
Good! Metra needs to extend platforms at more of the Chicago stations. I know it can often be complicated by viaducts but it really harms the viability of these stations if riders can't even exit at these stations without changing cars. Mayfair is a good one to do, because it sits so close to Mayfair Junction and has (kind of) a Blue Line transfer.

Also, the project budget is reasonable. Metra could get more bang for their buck by developing a distinctive prototype shelter to drop in at these smaller stations.

Hopefully they can do Grayland next... Good transfer to the Addison bus for Cubs games.

CTA Gray Line Jul 13, 2015 11:56 AM
10 DC Metro passengers watch rider get stabbed to death; what would you do?
 
http://www.chicagonow.com/cta-tattle...-would-you-do/

By Kevin O'Neil, Sunday at 12:44 pm

A 25-year-old man was robbed, beaten, kicked and stabbed to death 30 or 40 times by a teenager, as about 10 passengers on the Washington, D.C., Metro train watched in terror and horror.

After the 18-year-old finished stomping and stabbing the life out of Kevin Joseph Sutherland, he began demanding money and wallets from some of the other passengers. He then got off at the next stop.......

Nexis4Jersey Jul 13, 2015 4:31 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Servo (Post 7090576)
Oh wow. I just watched that entire video. Most entertain hour I've spent all year. What a cool game. I'm gonna buy this game. I can't wait to play this game. It looks like such an awesomely fun time. I just hope playing this game is as much fun as watching this British dude play it. :yes:

Hahaha, wow. A fucking bus simulator. That's pretty funny. Because flying simulators are lame enough... haha

In any event. How realistic? Idk, pretty damn close actually.
This is the their first American DLC pack and it only includes 2 routes for now. More will come along with a Graphics upgrade down the road. If you have a Steering Wheel and Pedals its more "fun". Simulator games are a mix between Fun and work... I find them to be very relaxing and brain stimulating. Train Simulator might do a few METRA lines next year for a Chicago DLC.

Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician (Post 7090795)
^ Everybody in Chicago is white!
I think there is only 1 black pedestrian in the game...they need to make more...

Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias (Post 7090827)
Pretty realistic. About 25 minutes into it, it goes right by the office building i work in. There are small details that are incorrect, but nothing major. I think if you watched it, you'd definitely recognize the real places in person.
I think this run he did is even more realistic considering he missed a few stops , became bogged down in City Traffic and was fighting with cabbies...


OMSI 2 - Chicago Rain - Route 124 From Navy Pier

• Video Link

CTA Gray Line Jul 21, 2015 9:54 PM
Metra's ticket app leaves behind low-income and elderly riders, cri
 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...720-story.html

By Richard Wronski

July 20, 2015, 7:05pm

Metra plans to roll out a smartphone app this fall that makes the phone a virtual ticket for customers, but some Chicagoans and legislators are concerned that certain riders will get left behind by technology.

Questions are also being raised about whether the new app fulfills the intent of a state law that called for implementation of a single "universal fare card" that transit riders can use interchangeably on the CTA, Pace and Metra.....

aaron38 Jul 23, 2015 1:08 PM
Maybe this was already discussed. But I was browsing Curbed Chicago and came across this, about converting Argyle in Uptown to a "shared" street.
http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...red-street.php

I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. The Viet Hoa grocery store there on the right has a parking lot just to the right of that right side foreground landscape planter. (the lot is full in Google Streetview). Is that lot being closed? How are cars supposed to get to it if not? Further down the street a huge dump truck is coming out of an alley. Those nice brick pavers won't last long under punishment like that.

And no curbs? How do you keep pedestrians out of slush/puddles after big snows/rains?

This shared street concept just looks like a mess that is going to make everyone unhappy, and a big waste of $3.6 million.

k1052 Jul 23, 2015 2:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaron38 (Post 7104756)
Maybe this was already discussed. But I was browsing Curbed Chicago and came across this, about converting Argyle in Uptown to a "shared" street.
http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...red-street.php

I'm not sure how this is supposed to work. The Viet Hoa grocery store there on the right has a parking lot just to the right of that right side foreground landscape planter. (the lot is full in Google Streetview). Is that lot being closed? How are cars supposed to get to it if not? Further down the street a huge dump truck is coming out of an alley. Those nice brick pavers won't last long under punishment like that.

And no curbs? How do you keep pedestrians out of slush/puddles after big snows/rains?

This shared street concept just looks like a mess that is going to make everyone unhappy, and a big waste of $3.6 million.
CAB has a embed of a WTTW interview with the alderman and CDOT commish that I think explains it fairly well.

http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2...ctive-streets/

These exist elsewhere and don't seem to be a disaster so let's give it the benefit of the doubt. Appropriate stone pavers will also probably hold up better than our asphalt does.

paytonc Jul 23, 2015 6:30 PM
All your shared space questions answered:
http://chi.streetsblog.org/tag/argyle-shared-street/
http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/07/0...ilton-baillie/

As a commenter on the latter noted, most parking lots in the USA are effectively "shared space." People walk around, people drive slowly, everyone survives.

Puddles will happen regardless, but there should be fewer since the permeable surface will increase. Strangely, that also cuts pothole formation. If you're worried about trucks ruining things, just remember that they won't be running into curbs, either.

emathias Jul 26, 2015 3:14 AM
How did I miss this? I accidentally happened upon these new lanes on Clybourn today - they're not done, but I think they'll be really great. Clybourn isn't bad for cycling, but the part between North and Division has always been travelled by speeding cars and more than a little dangerous for cyclists - I have taken Division to Halsted instead of Clybourn at times just because it felt safer, but these will make Clybourn more attractive.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/7...-starts-monday

Quote:
The project will involve building a raised concrete median to separate bike traffic from vehicular traffic along Clybourn between North Avenue and Division and along Division between Clybourn and Orleans Street, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Transportation.


The first phase of the project will involve construction on the east side of Clybourn and the south side of Division, IDOT said. The second phase will add the protected lanes to the west side of Clybourn and the north side of Division.
Chicago Sun-Times

ardecila Jul 26, 2015 4:21 AM
^ Yep, these are the first cycle tracks in the city with this design. There's also the new "raised"/on-sidewalk bike lanes along Roosevelt at Michigan.

Hopefully some of the city's busy bike corridors can be converted to this design. Milwaukee in particular would really benefit, but they'd have to figure out arrangements for parking, loading, taxis, etc.

emathias Jul 28, 2015 10:34 PM
This is discussed a little in other Chicago forums, but this seems like the more natural place for it:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...ent-2162043290

Growth near transit means more people—and revenue—for city's neighborhoods
Quote:
While Chicago's Loop and select neighborhoods are growing, most of the city, from Englewood to Lincoln Park, has lost population since 2000. Not coincidentally, for several decades our region has grown away from its transit system. Reversing these related trends is critically important: More people will mean more home sales, local purchases and revenue to support retail, city services and infrastructure—and more people living near transit is the most efficient way to accommodate that growth.

How can Chicago create incentives to harness some of the global demand for urban living near transit? Zoning, the city's rules for what and where developers can build, is an important part of the answer.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed strengthening the city's Transit-Oriented Development Ordinance, which was passed in 2013, by applying it to more land near transit and offering more incentives for developers.

The proposal would eliminate parking requirements if bike parking or sharing and car sharing are provided, and allow the development to house more people if it includes affordable units. A Metropolitan Planning Council analysis shows the changes could attract up to 70,000 new housing units and 100,000 new residents within a half-mile of transit stations, generating $450 million more each year in sales at neighborhood shops and restaurants and some $200 million in revenue to support essential public services.
From Crains

k1052 Aug 18, 2015 2:34 PM
Express CTA bus service to be offered on Ashland, Western routes

http://abc7chicago.com/traffic/expre...routes/942703/

NIMBYs have killed the Ashland BRT.

k1052 Aug 18, 2015 2:37 PM
Metra finally discovers electricity, mobile devices, and the internet in the same year:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150...-could-be-next

Still ultra weak but it's a start.

ardecila Aug 19, 2015 4:48 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 7133027)
Express CTA bus service to be offered on Ashland, Western routes

http://abc7chicago.com/traffic/expre...routes/942703/

NIMBYs have killed the Ashland BRT.
Ugh. Typical Emanuel bait and switch. Just like when he sank hundreds of millions into a new terminal at 95th to avoid sinking billions into a Red Line Extension.

The old express buses had numerous issues that really prevented them from being effective. They sat in the same traffic as everybody else, and came so infrequently that it was often faster for riders to board a local bus and get moving than to sit around waiting for the express.

If Emanuel's program was done in good faith, as a Chicago version of LA's MetroRapid, I'd be on board... but this is a poor substitute for the real McCoy of BRT.

ardecila Aug 19, 2015 5:02 AM
Just remembered this post from a year ago... maybe the new express buses are in fact just a first step towards BRT.

The only problem is, BRT is supposed to be quick and cheap on its own.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Downtown (Post 6691513)
Well, apparently there's a dispute between RTA and CTA about the signal priority money. CTA wants to use some of the money to update old Chicago traffic signals so they can be prioritized; RTA says that's beyond the scope of the federal grant.

CTA efforts to reverse declining bus ridership are not being helped by the Regional Transportation Authority, which is holding back money related to the installation of special traffic signals that give buses green-light priority over other vehicles, CTA president Forrest Claypool said Wednesday.

In 2012, the RTA received a $36 million federal grant and $4 million in local money to implement traffic signal prioritization in Chicago and the suburbs to increase CTA and Pace bus speeds and help bus routes operate more efficiently.

So far, the CTA has received only about $2 million from the RTA, even though the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning released all the federal money to the RTA for distribution two years ago, Claypool said.

This year, the CTA received $1.6 million for final engineering on South Ashland, from 95th Street to Cermak Road; and on Western, from Howard to 79th streets, the CTA said. Those areas already have modern traffic signals that are able to communicate with the controller boxes for traffic signal prioritization as well as with modems on buses.

But the majority of traffic signals on Chicago’s street grid operate using older technology that is not compatible with traffic signal prioritization.

CTA officials have asked the RTA to allow some of the $40 million to be used to update traffic signals in order to speed up the rollout of traffic signal prioritization and free buses from the congestion knot that frequently occurs at busy intersections, CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase said.

RTA officials said the federal grant can be used only for equipment directly involving traffic signal prioritization, not the replacement of old traffic signals.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...813-story.html

k1052 Aug 19, 2015 2:26 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 7134366)
Ugh. Typical Emanuel bait and switch. Just like when he sank hundreds of millions into a new terminal at 95th to avoid sinking billions into a Red Line Extension.

The old express buses had numerous issues that really prevented them from being effective. They sat in the same traffic as everybody else, and came so infrequently that it was often faster for riders to board a local bus and get moving than to sit around waiting for the express.

If Emanuel's program was done in good faith, as a Chicago version of LA's MetroRapid, I'd be on board... but this is a poor substitute for the real McCoy of BRT.
I think he's decided it isn't worth the political capital required since so many forces are arrayed against it now. The Red line extension was never going to happen in the first place unless the feds came through with a surprise load of cash.

Ch.G, Ch.G Aug 19, 2015 2:37 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 7134366)
Ugh. Typical Emanuel bait and switch. Just like when he sank hundreds of millions into a new terminal at 95th to avoid sinking billions into a Red Line Extension.

The old express buses had numerous issues that really prevented them from being effective. They sat in the same traffic as everybody else, and came so infrequently that it was often faster for riders to board a local bus and get moving than to sit around waiting for the express.

If Emanuel's program was done in good faith, as a Chicago version of LA's MetroRapid, I'd be on board... but this is a poor substitute for the real McCoy of BRT.
I am really getting sick of Emanuel's bullshit.


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