Originally Posted by VivaLFuego (Post 2595702)

^ re: the Crain's op-ed

The Circle Line plan includes potential transfers to every Metra Line where it intersects with the Circle. If these facilities are built right and there's a successful marketing effort through the Chicago area about the new transit possibilities, the line could be an incredible success, boosting transit ridership not just in the heart of Chicago, but throughout the metro area.

Originally Posted by the urban politician (Post 2594168)

You gotta love how Crains keeps riding Daley's ass on this issue. Sort of makes up for the eerie silence coming from Chicago's other two newspapers:
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-b...ticle_id=27177
January 27, 2007:
Mayor Daley, fix our rapid transit system
Chicago's rapid transit system is rolling toward a disastrous tipping point.
So far, riders have stuck with the elevated train system as service has gotten worse and worse. As Greg Hinz reported last week, delays, slow zones and derailments are crippling this crucial cog in the city's infrastructure. Derailments, delays and equipment malfunctions make every morning's commute a crapshoot. Meetings are missed, work goes undone and precious hours are wasted as workers sit on stalled trains.

At some point, ridership will plummet as commuters abandon the trains for more reliable transportation and businesses depart downtown for more accessible locations. The effect on the city's economy will be devastating.

Only Mayor Richard M. Daley can save the train system. So far, he's mostly ignored the deterioration of service as trains swell with downtown office workers commuting from the gentrifying neighborhoods of the North and Northwest sides — a predictable side effect of the middle-class renaissance he worked so hard to foster.

Now he must make the el his top priority. He must personally take the lead in pressing Springfield and Washington for the billions needed to fix the system. And he must make clear to CTA management that maintenance and repair should take precedence over glitzy projects like the Circle Line and the downtown super-station.

If the mayor needs personal incentive to get involved, he should consider two things: Without a functioning rapid transit system to move spectators around the city, Chicago can forget about landing the 2016 Olympics; and anger over lousy train service on the South Side contributed to Mayor Jane Byrne's defeat by Harold Washington in 1983.
He'll need to be both creative and flexible. For example, he should be willing to cede oversight of CTA capital spending to a broader transit agency like the Regional Transportation Authority. And he should look for new ways to finance repairs and upgrades, perhaps by privatizing operations such as the CTA's garages.

It won't be easy or glamorous. But securing reliable, efficient rapid transit for future generations of Chicagoans would make a fine mayoral legacy.

Originally Posted by Chicago2020 (Post 2595505)

On another note, did anyone come up with a figure as to how much it would cost to get the CTA back on track???

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 2596061)

Guys, a big part of why our L tracks have such a short life is because 90% of the system is above ground, on century-old viaducts, in Chicago's harsh winter climate. In other cities, like New York, DC, Paris, London, etc. where a greater amount of the system is underground, the track life is much longer because it isn't exposed to weather.

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego (Post 2595702)

2) Not sure why so many people are down on the Circle Line. Aside from the obvious of improving interconnectivity in the Chicago central area and speeding up cross-town trips, it provides the potentially huuuuge benefit of the linkup to all the Metra lines.
...
The Circle Line would serve ... North/Clybourn.

Originally Posted by nomarandlee (Post 2596567)

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2...rail29.article

New track, platform debut today at Fullerton L stop

January 29, 2007
BY MONIFA THOMAS Transportation Reporter
Northbound Brown and Purple Line Express trains will begin using a new track and station platform at Fullerton today.
The new track was built in preparation for this spring, when the CTA takes one of its four tracks at Fullerton and Belmont out of service for the next two years as part of the agency's Brown Line expansion project.

At worst, travel times on the Red, Brown and Purple Lines could double once three-tracking begins, the CTA has said.

Elsewhere on the Brown Line, there will be a temporary entrance for the Sedgwick stop at Hudson Avenue, about one block west from the existing one.

Belmont, Fullerton and Sedgwick are among 18 Brown Line stations being rebuilt, so they can accommodate riders with disabilities and longer trains.

mjmjthomas@suntimes.com

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago (Post 2599590)

^ I saw that last night on the way home. Kinda caught me (and everyone else) off guard a little. It's funny when a Brown and Red get into that station at the same time because everyone runs for those little walkways and pretty much has a head on collision with the other group.

I also noticed how SMOOTH the new track was. It's only about a block long, but it was much quieter and smoother than the rest of the elevated. It really made me wish replacing the track was part of this new revamp as well. At least on the main line section.

I assume they'll extend the new platform out towards where the old northbound brown line tracks are. The stairs come up RIGHT at the edge of the new platform, clearly a northbound red line couldn't open it's doors right there when the platform is in full use.

Does anyone know how that's going to work?

Move the brown line to the east and start service on the new platform (already done)

Extend the new platform to the west over the old northbound brown line tracks.

Finish new tracks for northbound red line service

Tear down the old platform

Do the whole thing over again for the southbound platform/s\

?

Originally Posted by Busy Bee (Post 2602582)

They should hire Optima to build a cluster of sleek condo and apartment towers in the plan.

Originally Posted by Busy Bee (Post 2602582)

I'd like to be more hopeful of Schaumburg's plans, but I'm envisioning Streets of Woodfield II with a train station. http://images.skyscraperpage.com/ima...ilies/yuck.gif
I hope I'm wrong.

Originally Posted by nergie (Post 2590236)

The Manhattan charge is for the tunnels and bridges and is all day long. ERP would vary at the peak hours maybe $8 dollars. It is not perfect, but if the cost is high enough and if the trains provide an attractive alternative why pay a high $$$ amount. But I agree with you we are a society that will never be comfortable with giving up our little personnel space on 4-wheels.

...

Originally Posted by nergie (Post 2590236)

...

Here is an idea, let's make cars expensive like Singapore. They have a COE that is priced per the engine size. Cars are also like $20-30K more expensive that the States. For example a Honda Accord it will cost $80K Singapore Dollars to buy it and another $24K Singapore Dollars for the 10-year COE. That is roughly $67K USD, and after 10 years if you have to buy a new COE. Most people in Singapore buy a new car after the 10 years and take the scrap value the gov't pays for the car.

Ah an urbanist's dream.

Originally Posted by kalmia (Post 2603727)

Or just stop subsidizing highway construction. Railroads have to pay to maintain their own tracks, but car and truck drivers don't pay except on a few toll roads.

Originally Posted by kalmia (Post 2603727)

If those tunnels and bridges were opperated privately for profit with no imposed price controls, they would likely charge more for peek usage. This, of course, would be call 'price gouging' and 'taking advantage of those who have to travel at certain times'. Gas stations change their prices at different times of day and on different days. I've heard of stations raising prices during high traffic times and lowering prices the rest of the day.





Or just stop subsidizing highway construction. Railroads have to pay to maintain their own tracks, but car and truck drivers don't pay except on a few toll roads.

Compare long haul trucking to freight trains. One pays for its right of way, and the other has the government pay for it. This makes the more innefficient trucking industry over used.

End all subsidies, and the most efficient will win out. This will mean an end to the Department of Transportation. States will no longer be able to maintain and build the limited access highways, so they will have to sell them off. This could be used to pay off a lot of government debt. Many more rail lines would likely be built to run for profit all over the city and surounding areas. The existing rail lines would likely run much better and without tax money.

Who would buy this stuff? Foreigners who have lots of $US from all the stuff they have been exporting to the US. What else can they do with all those dollars? Some already have been buying (or trying to buy) major assets in the US. The city of Chicago already received $1.83 billion for a 99 year lease on the Skyway (part of I-90). Maybe some of the other major expressways could be sold off some day.