I agree. Do you think it was ever discussed to eliminate the ramps altogether and open the two parcels to development? I can't imagine eliminating the ramps would inconvenience too many motorists when all they have to do is hang a few turns to get to/from Congress.

They haven't done away with a Franklin/Wacker connection - it's there, from the Harrison/Franklin intersection (Franklin is 1-way, so there wouldn't be a south-bound one).

Franklin to westbound Congress now is only very lightly used, since Franlin is one-way northbound and only starts one block south at Harrison - doesn't seem like much lost there to me since one block east at Wells you can get on it via a normal light.

Those loops are there primarily to provide the bulk of the traffic to Lower Wacker for people coming from the west and going to Michigan Avenue or Streeterville - for that, they are very well used and quite useful and, I dare say, quite important at times.

About 1993, there was a proposal to develop a building on air rights over the "park" south of Congress. A few months later, a sign suddenly appeared, saying Oscar D'Angelo Park. That's more than a little odd, as Oscar is still living. Maybe he put it up himself . . .

^ He's that infamous shady mafia-ish west loop character, I believe. No surprises there.

Yea... I just googled D'Angelo, and he seems EXACTLY like the kind of person who WOULD put up such a sign, and then call in some favors to prevent the city from taking it down.

On the other hand, it's pretty far from Little Italy. I assume he'd want to be memorialized on his own turf rather than the middle of a highway interchange.

Navy Pier Flyover
 

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/3848/8081.jpg

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/2724/npf121709b.jpg

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/8571/npf121709.jpg

Looks promising. I've lost complete track, but is the Calatrava designed footbridge for the river completely dead? Is this question like 4 years old?

There was discussion, but no money, in the early 90s, when most of that land was still vacant. Unlike the Harrison curve, straightening the North/Halsted curve would have required condemning probably 8 or 10 different parcels.

I don't know that I particularly care for that ped bridge... I don't like what appears to be a blue wall that blocks the view of Lake Michigan (or are those just blue slats that from the angle of the first photo make it appear to be a wall?) and it looks rather narrow for runners, walkers, bikers, and bladers to share. How does the width compare to that of the running/biking path on the Diversey Harbor bridge?

^^^ That's what I thought too. It would be kind of stupid to block the view of the lake.

^I think the problem was that Lake Point Tower was worried that people could step from the new overpass onto their private rooftop garden.

That was indeed the problem. LPT residents were also concerned about receiving some privacy and sound protection on their terrace. Lake Shore Drive traffic has whizzed by for years, and the construction of this flyover finally affords an opportunity to erect a sound wall for little additional cost. On the portions of the flyover that don't butt up to LPT's podium, there needs to be a dense system of slats for safety reasons - every 4" or less, by code. I guess CDOT felt that chainlink wasn't appropriate, so they designed this more substantial block.

http://chicagojournal.com/News/12-16...point_on_trail

$9mm to design the thing? That's friggin absurd.

More than absurd—it's probably criminal.

Sidenote: CDOT awarded a $25.2 million contract to FH Paschen for construction of the Morgan/Lake L station on December 15.

The CTA just launched a bus tracker by text:

http://www.transitchicago.com/riding...ackertext.aspx

Awesome!

Some pictures of the bowling-alley seating in the 5000s.

http://menaceofprivilege.com/wp-cont...52-300x225.jpg
Chuck Metalitz

Lol at that and the comments. "They aren't going to be comfortable wahhhh". Well when the train is as packed as it has gotten as of late, I'd rather get on than be comfortable... Higher capacity is a huge plus...

That new seating configuration is the most pragmatic, especially for the blue line where the first 5000s are going. Anyone who has ever tried to navigate their luggage on the train knows that the current seat configurations just don't work.

Oh, and London's tube is set up the same way...but what the hell do they know about mass transit...

http://www.hpherald.com/lfoindex.html

Tattered 35th Street bridge to be replaced
by Sam Cholke

The Chicago Plan Commission approved the replacement of the 35th Street pedestrian bridge and plans for a harbor at 31st Street at its Dec. 17 meeting.

...Construction of a new $16-million suspension bridge is expected to begin in fall 2010, after federal funding is secured, and take a year to finish.
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http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/7...eetbridge2.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8...eetbridge1.jpg