I'm seriously being sarcastic and cynical ;)

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.a...554&TM=544.452

A Green Line station at Morgan
Would serve new residents and longtime businesses

By MICAH MAIDENBERG

A new el station will be built on the Green Line at Morgan Street in order to serve an increased population in the northern part of the West Loop. The station, expected to cost between $35 million and $40 million in tax increment financing dollars, will be built despite a feasibility study that found more potential riders for a Western Avenue stop on the Green Line.

Steele said construction on the station will begin in 2009, with an opening expected in late 2010 or in the early part of 2011.
http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/3003/6554aux8.jpg

It's not bad. I was hoping that CTA would buy the little auto shop with the large parking lot and build a permanent station house there, but they decided to build completely within the envelope of the street.

^ It's also only a "conceptual" rendering.

How badly is an L stop really needed there?

If I recall, there really isn't much immediately around that station.

What I don't get is how the CTA/City missed the opportunity to negotiate an upzoning of land around the proposed site in return for granting the community this multi-million dollar station.

One more blown opportunity to make better use of transit infrastructure (pulls out thick notepad, flips several pages, and adds another checkmark..)

Tons of restaurants (even have their own taste) tons of new Condos....just people...and people who like to go there and use public transportation only. It will be so nice coming down from the northside and switching to the greenline. Will also make it easier for people going to and from Oak Park to meet there....it is on the way.

I just heard about this yesterday when my wife saw it on the news. I have to say, I'm torn. $6 an hour, 24 hours a day for a parking meter is insane. There are times when we go clubbing from 10pm to 3am. So now I'm out 30 bucks for parking in a low denisty neighborhood? Screw that.

I just see those prices as being completely out of whack. I understand a $30 rate for the loop where there is very high density and congestion and easy transit options. The loop has transit access from all EL and Metra lines, so I don't have to drive.

But let's take this past weekend as an example. We went down to the Musicbox for a show and hit a bar beforehand. That helps the Chicago economy. And the harder the city makes it to get to places like that, the less people like me are going to go.

I live in Palatine, so what are my options to get from A to B? I can't take Metra cause the last train out is 12:30am. No help if I'm seeing a midnight show. So I have to drive most of the way anyway. I can park at Kimball and take the Brown, but that's so damn silly to drive 90% of the way, then park and take the EL for 4 stops because street parking has been made insanely expensive. It's going to keep people away. What we're going to have is empty parking spaces and empty businesses.

Or look at an evening like this. We come in from Palatine and meet some friends in Bucktown for a drink. Then we go to a club on Halstead and finally end up at a house in Lincoln Square. Mass transit sucks for an evening like that.


If all this new money collected was going to go to improving and expanding mass transit, such that I could do that evening without a car, then I would be much more supportive. But we all know that's not going to happen. This money is going to be pissed away in a general fund and transit options are going to remain just as crappy as they are today.

Like I said, I'm torn. I would love to be able to get around Chicago as quickly and cheaply as I can with a car, without the car. But this isn't Manhattan with a subway station every 4 blocks.

^ Your numbers are off. Parking will only be 1$/hr in most neighborhoods. Those high prices are only downtown.

Anyhow, punishing driving should be coupled with improving transit--my only issue with this parking lease.

Seriously, what the hell happened with that BRT plan? That was Federal money! Daley seems to have just swept that one under the rug.

We finally have something we agree on. This money...should be going to transporation issues. Making driving more efficiant and publictransporation alternatives. Am so tired of us making money off of one thing and not using that money to make what is being taxed even better.

^ Well, phase II of the deal was supposed to be getting implemented soon but.....SILENCE!! It's not enough to get 1.1 billion bucks in this deal on top of 153 million bucks from the Feds, Daley still can't find enough will in his soul to do something, anything, even the slightest morsel for transit in his city. :shrug:

Have I been deluded all along? Maybe Daley truly is the crony those commentators at the Tribune have been grumbling about this whole time. Perhaps it's a good thing that Uptown residents are suing the city for abusing tax money for subsidizing the Wilson Yards project, because the way I see it Daley is really beginning to run amuck with himself.

Seriously, like after the BRT plan was announced it's been utter silence. What ever happened to this:

04/29/08

City’s plan includes Bus Rapid Transit Service and “Peak Period Pricing” for Downtown Parking
Mayor Richard M. Daley and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters today announced the city will receive $153.1 million in federal grant funds to be used for the purpose of reducing traffic congestion.

The city will use the money for an innovative program that combines building the first 10 miles of a proposed dedicated Bus Rapid Transit system of more than 100 miles with a parking pricing strategy aimed at encouraging motorists to come to the Central Business District outside the normal peak hours.

“As we all know, a modern public transportation system is essential to the future of our state, our region and our city. It is vital to our economic security and to our ability to recruit new businesses and create new jobs. It provides an alternative to cars and to the traffic congestion and air pollution they bring with them,” Daley said at a news conference with Secretary Peters. Senator Durbin participated in the event by teleconference from Washington, D.C.

“We believe this program represents a unique approach to reducing traffic congestion that combines Bus Rapid Transit with a parking pricing strategy. We believe it will be a model for other cities, “he said.

The money for the project comes from federal funds available for congestion reduction demonstration programs. The city expects to complete the project by 2010. It must be approved by the City Council and the CTA Board.

With the grant, the city will implement these projects:

10.2 miles of dedicated Bus Rapid Transit Service in key corridors
“Peak Period Pricing”, which would apply parking surcharges to peak period users of on-street metered parking and loading zones, and also off-street parking facilities in the Central Business District.
Establishing a fee system to help manage on-street loading zones downtown.
The on-street peak period pricing will be implemented through a long-term concession agreement with an experienced private sector parking manager, Daley said.

“As I have said several times in the past few weeks, the CTA needs to continue its commitment to focusing on improving the quality of service it provides to riders day by day,” Daley said.

The mayor said the two components are complementary.

“The parking pricing encourages drivers to come downtown outside the peak hours or take public transit. The Bus Rapid Transit service will give commuters a more modern and faster alternative to driving as well as better connections with rail lines. The result is less congestion and less pollution.

“We’ve always tried to lead by example. Our willingness to implement a new concept such as peak period pricing is what convinced Secretary Peters to make this grant,” Daley said.

“It’s a way to provide the speed and reliability closer to rail service without the costly infrastructure. Both Los Angeles and Vancouver have seen bus ridership increase after they introduced BRT,” he said.

And, the Bus Rapid Transit service will use the new articulated hybrid buses the CTA is buying, reducing air pollution, he said.

“Secretary Peters and I have met many times in Washington during the past two years to discuss ways we can help expand and strengthen the CTA,” Senator Durbin said.

“With Chicagoans spending nearly an hour and half commuting to and from work, we talked about the need for federal funding to lay the groundwork for modernizing and improving public transportation in Chicago. “Today’s announcement will do just that, with newer buses, more connections to rail, quicker travel times and less congestion on Chicago’s roads,” Durbin said.

“We have the second largest transit system in the country. A million people a day ride the CTA buses, and too many of them are stuck in traffic,” Mayor Daley said.

The first 10.2 miles of the Bus Rapid Transit will be established in key corridors to be determined.

In addition to fewer stops, features of BRT include dedicated lanes, next-bus arrival information and rear door and prepaid boarding.

Traffic Signal Prioritization will extend a green traffic light or shorten a red traffic light by several seconds when it senses a bus approaching an intersection. This will help improve BRT speed of service.

Ultimately, a BRT network of more than 100 miles will connect with key destination points such as employment centers, shopping destinations, rail stations, and significant CTA transfer points.

Clearly, there is much to do to improve the transportation quality of life for our residents, and this grant gives us the opportunity to put in place a very creative plan, Daley said.

“The problem of traffic congestion in metropolitan areas is severe and worsening, but we don’t believe we have to live in gridlock forever. “The project we’re announcing today will make our city more sustainable, strengthen our public transportation system and reduce traffic congestions.

“It’s a major step forward in creating a transportation system that works for our people,” Daley said.

I typed into google CTA BRT and it took me straight to CTA's webpage.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Pilot Program

In 2009, the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Transit Authority will begin a pilot program to test Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service.

BRT refers to a collection of improvements to infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling, that combine to provide bus service with reduced travel times, increased service predictability, and improved customer amenities compared to local bus service.

BRT will operate along certain high ridership corridors across the city that are not currently served by rail. BRT will connect key destination points such as employment centers, shopping destinations, rail stations, and significant CTA transfer points. The BRT Pilot Program is designed to examine and test BRT technologies and services to determine the best way to implement Bus Rapid Transit service in the CTA service area.

public meetings were held in September, the program starts in 2009.

Oh, that's fine then. I have no problem paying $1/hr for the privilage of driving to the Musicbox when driving is the best option. That's a fair rate.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thaught the Feds money for the BRT piolt program was tied to the city privitizing the meters and having congestin priceing on them as well. It seems to me this is a step in securing the the federal funds.

CTA announced that the Purple Line will resume it's previous clock-wise route around the Loop starting December 29th.

I was just wondering about this!! Thank god the 4 tracks will be open by the end of the month. The 10 minute Sheridan to Belmont is a killer...

Although I'm also pissed at the lack of expansion, I think there's a fundamental disgust for this kind of planning at CTA since Kruesi pushed the Circle Line and the Red-Orange-Yellow extensions while neglecting basic maintenance. Almost all of the plans under Ron Huberman have been improvements to existing transit service - slow zone fixes, new railcars, new buses, Bus Tracker, LCD screens at L stations, bike storage, etc.

Perhaps we'll see more of this in the future, but for the time being, I doubt it. People are still fundamentally disappointed with much of the CTA, which seems incredibly ridiculous after having lived in a city where even bus transit service is an afterthought. However, almost every major city in the country is beginning or in the midst of major transit expansions. NYC has the Second Ave Subway and East Side Access, LA has new light-rail lines and extensions to existing ones, plus planning for much more, SF has the Central Subway, the Caltrain tunnel, and San Jose BART, and even Houston of all places is getting serious about a dense and useful light-rail network.

^ It's annoying, but the news that the BRT program indeed is going forward (my bad, thanks for correcting me guys..) certainly makes one feel better. I visited the CTA website and reviewed the plans for every planned BRT corridor as well as reading the answers the CTA provided for questions about the system (these answers were just released 5 days ago, btw).

If successful and coupled with good land use planning (a point made by the AIA in one of the questions to the CTA), this system could certainly improve the transit situation. I like how Halsted and Chicago Ave's corridors have long distances of BRT-only lanes in the densest areas. Halsted in particular will have its own ROW from the Orange Line stop at Cermak to the south to another L stop on North Ave to the north, serving the entire University Village/UIC/Greektown/Near West & Northwest area.

My only criticism is that there appear to be too many stops. Obviously the CTA knows better than some shmoe like me, but when looking at the routes I felt as if half of those stops could easily be done away with. BRT should be about getting people from point A to point B quickly, after all.

^ On another note (regarding BRT), if I were a driver I would get to know that BRT schedule and route really well. Imagine just driving alongside one of these buses, benefiting from all the lights turning green as you approach :haha:

Halsted is one lane in each direction for a whole lot of that distance. It will be very interesting to see how they manage this--are they going to just ban parking along that entire stretch of Halsted during rush hours to create a dedicated lane? Sounds like the kind of thing that will drive certain Chicagoans into a frenzy. Certainly looking forward to it though.