Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times have new stories that might be more accessible. The theme of all the stories and press releases is no one knows what the President-elect will do about transit in Chicago. Truth is, locally, the downtown area is still using facilities planned as 1890's elevated technology and subways laid out in the 1939....and this is 2016. Read it...http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...110-story.html
DH

^ I'm not worried about the Council passing the TIF, although they should have passed I t back in September. Good leaders act quickly and decisively when there is a pressing public need and public support.

I am concerned that the USDOT officials won't be able to get this done at the same time that they're frantically packing their things... hopefully Obama pushes them.

The CTA shattered its previous rail ridership record on the day of the Cubs victory parade!

It was the second-highest day ever for total transit ridership, but the absolute highest for rail ridership with 25% more riders than the second-highest rail ridership day! The average weekday over the past 12 months has had 769,201 'L' riders. Last Friday there were 1,146,349 'L' riders, so very nearly 50% more ridership compared to a normal weekday! Metra commuter rail probably also broke its record. All in all, local public transit combined very nearly carried the equivalent of the entire population of Chicago last Friday!

Also worth noting - the second-highest 'L' ridership day was Game 3 of the World Series, the first Cubs World Series home game since 1945. Third and fourth highest were the Blackhawks victory parades in 2013 and 2015 and the fifth-highest was a Cubs playoff game in 2015.

Further ridership trivia: The five highest-ridership Saturdays for 'L' ridership are all St. Patrick's Day! For Sundays, the top two are for Independence Day fireworks in 2009 and 2015, then for the Gay Pride Parade in 2015 after the Supreme Court ruled that marriage is a civil right, then the Pride Parade in 2009 after Illinois granted same-sex Civil Unions with identical rights to marriage. 5th and 6th highest-ridership Sundays are for the Chicago Marathons in 2015 and 2014. In fact 18 of the top 20 ridership Sundays are one of those three things - Independence Day fireworks, Chicago Marathon, or the Pride Parade! The two others in the top 20 are Lollapalooza dates!

So enough about highest ridership dates - what days are the *LOWEST* for the 'L'? The 22 lowest dates for 'L' ridership are all either Christmas Day, New Years Day, or Thanksgiving Day. The absolute lowest since 2001 was Christmas Day, 2004, when only 87,992 people rode the 'L' - that's right, last Friday the 'L' carried over 13 times as many people as its lowest-ever date!

Hopefully this marks the deserved end of the RLE, and the Flyover.....

That would indicate a major decline in L boardings. The 2015 avg weekday Boardings were 767,730.
I'll ignore the fact that boarding numbers indicate riders x 2.

I thought that seemed low. I went back and I'd referenced a cell wrong. Thanks for pointing that out!

No sweat.
I had just looked up the numbers to estimate additional riders for a Reddit discussion.

It indicated about 160,000 additional L riders and 35,000 fewer bus riders, Another commentor pointed out that school was out which (if you compare to summer averages), would just about explain the lower bus numbers.

In the past, Trump has had surprising sympathy and admiration for Chicago, far more than the Manhattan media elite and NY businesspeople generally have. And Rahm is an opportunist and understands business and DC dealmaking, so I don't think petty stuff like the street sign will come between them. Trump probably understands Rahm is pandering to city Hispanics and blacks to repair his Laquan damage in time for the next election. The sanctuary city thing could be a big issue, but even that could be overcome by clever dealmaking between the two of them. After all, to the extent Trump pays any attention to who Chicago's mayor is, he'd probably prefer Rahm to a Chuy or Preckwinkle by a mile, so that's incentive to help Rahm out. (On the other hand, flipping Illinois red for his re election bid would not be realistic, so in the end we're likely a low priority..)

MegaBus downsizing in Chicago
 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...110-story.html

Robert ChannickContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
Megabus, the discount interstate bus carrier, is downsizing operations in Chicago.

Facing decreased demand, the New Jersey-based company announced Thursday it will reduce its schedule, eliminate some routes and lay off about 100 employees in Chicago effective Jan. 10.

Some of the slack — and potentially the displaced employees — may be picked up by Megabus hubs in Wisconsin and Ohio, but the oversized, double-decker buses will be fewer and farther between in Chicago, with the daily schedule cut from 26 to 16 departures.

The buses, which seat 81 passengers, have had plenty of space as of late, as low gas prices entice more travelers to do the driving themselves, according to Megabus spokesman Sean Hughes.

"Customer demand has been going down," Hughes said.

I cant say im too sorry to see them falling on their faces. Many complaints of late buses with no announcements, wifi was crap as it was shared by 81 other people. And a free loader mind set that denied tax payer funded transit depots any docking revenue.

I don't have a problem with this. Where would Megabus go in Chicago, the Greyhound station? That's further away from the Metra stations than the current curbside location, which is virtually on top of the Union Station platforms. Also, the Greyhound depot has a bit of an unsavory reputation, so I don't blame them for avoiding it.

Chicago never really had commuter buses from the suburbs like some other cities do (NY, DC, Minneapolis, Houston, etc). The few that we do have usually circulate downtown and make several stops, so they don't need a dedicated terminal, and the city never built one.

In New York there is Port Authority, but there's no capacity there for Megabus even if they wanted in.

DC has a rather nice off-street facility for Megabus in the Union Station parking garage. Kind of a neat low-cost design.

Pretty sure this is new - Metra Clybourn Station has been refitted with new LED (or metal halide or something else very bright white) light towers, which cover the parking/dropoff area pretty well, as well as the platforms. Big improvement for an otherwise dingy, crappy facility. There'll probably be plenty of people who regularly drive past on Armitage who will realize a station is there for the first time.

CTA Announces End Of Public Comment of Red Line Extension
 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation

Public Comment Period Ends
November 30
Red Line Extension Project
Draft ECTA and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are proposing to extend the Red Line 5.3 miles from 95th Street to 130th Street. Click here to learn more about the project.

CTA and FTA have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) based on the technical analysis of impacts of the proposed project. The Draft EIS documents the benefits and impacts of the alternatives being considered, which include impacts to parks and wetlands. Click here to review the Draft EIS on the RLE Project website. Hard copies of the Draft EIS also are available for review through November 30, 2016. Click here to learn more about reviewing the Draft EIS.

Comments on the Draft EIS are being accepted until November 30, 2016 at 4:30 PM. You may submit comments via e-mail to RedExtension@transitchicago.com or by mail to Chicago Transit Authority, Strategic Planning, 10th Floor, Attn: Red Line Extension Project, 567 W. Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60661.

Do you require assistance?
If you have questions or need assistance, contact Gerald Nichols, CTA Government and Community Relations at 312-681-2710 or GNichols@transitchicago.com.

Para más informacion en Español, llame al 312-681-2710
Customer Information: 1-888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282)

Thank you for your continued interest.

RLE Project Team
Chicago Transit Authority

Received by E-Mail Despite what others have said, the Red Line Extension and the Red-Purple Bypass and Lawrence to Bryn Mawr Modernization areas, are not dead. Both projects have official recognition, public support, methods for raising local funds, and momentum.

DH

^ Yes, but Red Line Extension has no funding. Or more accurately, it has a TIF district enabled by state legislation, but it's low-value South Side property that won't generate much money.

Then there's the fact that the project has to compete at the Federal level for a New Starts grant. Those grants are already highly competitive, Chicago's about to lose its allies in DC, and the Republican-controlled Congress is likely to slash funding for New Starts or even eliminate it entirely. (Trump's infrastructure plan, if he can even make it happen, probably won't do jack for transit systems.)

The RPM project basically has a dedicated Federal funding stream in the form of the Core Capacity program (not New Starts) which was basically Sen. Durbin's way to allow RPM to cut in line.

The "Red Line Extension", like the "Flyover" is CTA channeling Transit Funds intended to improve Communities -- into "Corporate Welfare" for BIG CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS (Walsh, Pepper, etc., etc.....); like buying a $5,000 Hot Dog -- instead of a $2.50 Hot Dog.....(with fries & drink)!

Jane Byrne Flyover
 

I heard whispers from a friend who works with the ISTHA that IDOT is planning to open the new flyover ramp from the inbound Dan Ryan to the outbound Ike this weekend in a limited capacity (i.e. one lane of traffic flow instead of the final two lane configuration), weather permitting.

^ Yup, "whispers"... ;)

More details here. Sounds like a bad idea to drive through the Circle this weekend.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016...change-kennedy

LOL. Well I guess I'm late to the game, then. Funny thing is, aside from that article that you posted, I haven't heard anything else except from my friend spilling the beans about it. You'd think this would be a bigger deal...especially considering the fact that they're obviously intending for some serious lane closures to open this thing up and divert traffic.

Tweeted 4pm Tuesday by the radio copter jockey guy:
https://twitter.com/MikePriesWBBM/st...50306714701827


Speaking of which, is there no way to embed a Tweet into an SSP post? I suppose that's for the best...

^ I saw from the UIC UTC webcam Wednesday morning that they were beginning to stripe the ramp, which prompted my question. Maybe I should pay closer attention to Chopper Dave's Twitter, since he always seems to have the best vantage point. ;)

Here is that link, in case anyone would like to see live imagery of the interchange's progress: https://utc.uic.edu/live-cam-circle-...econstruction/

Wow! What do you have against a good, tasty, hot dog meal? If using Walsh, Pepper, etc, is wrong, who else would you recommend. Right....no one. This is the way its done in Chicago. "If loving Extension and Flyovers is wrong....we don't want to be right." Lyrics from a R&B blues/love song.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...ab-pie-019.jpg


Changing directions...Saturday, 11/26/2016, the CTA fielded two Holiday Trains, the traditional one and a new Elves Workshop 6-car train running right behind the Holiday Train. I photographed on the south side where the trains were running on the Green line. The traditional train was on the Ashland branch at 63rd St. and the new Elves train was at 38th St. The two trains are scheduled to run on Saturday, 12/03/2016 where they combine to serve the Orange and Brown lines. Schedules are available on the CTA website.....http://www.transitchicago.com/holiday/

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...f/P1150496.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...f/P1150432.jpg

DH