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I really think the politicians in DC, especially Durbin and Hastert had a chance when the transportation bill passed. Instead of support some god-dam prairie pkwy why not allocate money to overhaul and improve the region's mass transit. Chicago is a world class city and deserves a transportation system befitting of that status. I also believe that more lines need to be built out to the burbs. I think this would encourge Density related development as has occurred in many suburbs on the Metra lines. A top notch system that is clean, efficient and safe will encourage people to use it. I believe the large upfront capital necessary for this type of system will pay itself off in a relatively short time as ridership will increase. I am ready to pay for a system like this and I am sure there are other people feeling the same way. Just a bit negative after the State of The Union last night, I am sick of politicians and the crap that comes out of their mouths. Most of the time this stuff is worse that what comes out their ass. |
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The MRT has lead to high density residential/commercial development. Without the MRT Singapore would be choked with traffic. The system has to be very comprehensive extending into suburbs and outer areas. Actually it would be ideal if there were intersuburban lines that like expressways can be used to go from suburb to suburb or feed the city center. The other thing I really like is the Electronic Road Pricing or ERP. It is what London's congestion charge is based on. Essentially if you wish to drive into the city center during peak hours you will pay upto 3 dollars each time you pass under a ERP gantry. Chicago and NY could use a system like this which charges people as you enter the Kennedy, Edens, Ike, LSD and other main highways and thoroughfares that are choked with traffic. Meanwhile traffic passing through such as trucks and cars most likely would stay on the Kingery down south. Make the Kingery a 16-20 lane highway with no tolls and truck/car/bus dedicated lanes and this combined with the hope that more people will take the trains should help reduce congestion on the major arteries of Chicago. |
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Someone should really send this to the local papers as this really needs to be reported. If people knew how pathetic our funding was in comparison to other mass transit agencies, some real pressure might actually be put on our legislatures and local governments. Again, thanks a million! Taft |
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Oh, and NY does have such a toll. With very few exceptions, one cannot enter Manhattan by car without paying a $6 toll. |
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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. |
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Unfortunately, telling voters that "PROPERTY TAXES ARE TEH SUXXOR AND R TOO HIGH !!" is a good way to buy votes. People and demagogic politicians just say that taxes are bad, rather than looking at potential returns of what that tax money could be spent on. To a large extent, it's not a question of if taxes are "too high", but rather if the citizenry are getting their money's worth out of the taxes they pay. Bless Wikipedia, it has some very good information on the above taxing district I mentioned: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago...ation_District Also interesting to see just how far along the they had gotten in the planning and design stages of a downtown distributor and subway system... |
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-When we mention Asian mass transit, we should keep in mind also that it's closely tied to property development... in most Asian cities, you invest in the line, you get areas around the stations for residential and retail, 5,000 units per station or something like that, and the profits from that pay for the subway construction, while providing future users. The Hong Kong MTR has a deal like this now in Shenzhen, and there are many others.
The only area where I could potentially see this work in Chicago would be the south lakefront, with a lot of eminent domain issues, or deciding to develop the land between LSD and the Metra tracks. The olympic parcel could be a part of that. |
So from those number posted earlier, CTA revenue collected covers a larger portion of operating expenses than those that New York's RTA collects for it Subways? I think not.....
I saw figures a year or two ago that had New York covering roughly 60-65% of operating expenses through fares. That was the highest in the U.S. Chicago was 2nd at around 50%, if that high.... |
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/m...searchType=all
Transit funding fix? Not from the RTA The Regional Transportation Authority is taking a pass on recommending any specific ways to boost funding for public transit here. The RTA is slated to release its strategic plan next week, and while some had hoped the agency would throw its weight behind specific new fees or taxes, sources say the RTA will present only a menu of options, leaving tough decisions to Gov. Blagojevich and lawmakers. Without more subsidies, the local transit operators have warned of sharp cuts in service. [Greg Hinz] |
^Ugh, here we go again. Another round of political chicken.
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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. |
Does anyone think Daley has a chance to get re elected this year? I mean whats the overall consensus on the Daley administration in Chicago? Before I moved to Phoenix in 2001 :yuck: , Daley was very popular. Now nearly all the labor unions do not want to endorse him in this years election.
On another note, did anyone come up with a figure as to how much it would cost to get the CTA back on track??? |
^As it is right now, I have no doubt that he will win easily.
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^ re: the Crain's op-ed
1) it's great that the business community is starting to get vocal about the city's transit woes, hopefully legislators will start listening and act to effect change/progress 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. By this I mean, it could go a long way towards solving Chicago's age-old problem of a lack of rapid transit hookup to commuter rail. The Circle Line would serve the Mag Mile, River North, North/Clybourn, Wicker Park, United Center, Medical Center, Chinatown, Soldier Field, and the Loop, all of which are potential destinations for visiting suburbanites who could get off Metra, hop on the Circle straight to their destination. 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. |
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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. |
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New track, platform debut today at Fullerton L stop
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 |
I don't know that putting a lot of the elevated sections of track underground would be politically smart considering the el is something many in the city have an attachment to, but then again, a lot of people don't like the noisiness of it either. Many of the outer elevated sections of track don't get the train traffic to warrant putting them underground anyway.
A new underground loop (Clinton Street Subway) is an absolute must for the CTA... I think it's even more important than the circle line considering this mile-long subway segment alone would greatly increase capacity and operation flexibility on the current blue line routes and do what the circle line also intends to do: connect easily to Metra lines. |
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This would add about 3/4 mile of additional tunnel, so it would certainly cost more, so maybe that's why, but then again this would open up a couple more neighborhoods to TOD as well and help Metra run more efficiently. Anyway. Just talkin'. |
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http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481414-M.jpg http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481422-M.jpg http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481401-M.jpg http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481397-M.jpg Looking North crossing over to new platform http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481388-M.jpg Platform http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481366-M.jpg http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481359-M.jpg http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/126481354-L.jpg |
^ 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\ ? |
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We are seeing 2/3 of the Plat form. The Remaining 3rd will be created over the track between the two platforms. So the new red line will be approx where the old platform now is. I wish CTA could have had a little forth thought and created a 5th rail at both Belmont and Fullerton so Express trains could be run or when there were emergencies at those two major stations trains could bi-pass them. But I think CTA holding up 10,000's a people in those cases is smarter. |
^ Cool! It's interesting how the auto-oriented suburbia (Schaumburg and Arlington Heights here, much of the LA area, etc.), after 50 years, are now trying to move towards more compact and transit-oriented development.
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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. They should hire Optima to build a cluster of sleek condo and apartment towers in the plan. |
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^Agreed. Times 10. Or More.
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For anyone interested, some preliminary land-use planning: http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/6...aumstarfa1.jpg I go around this area pretty frequently. The development to the SW of the station could actually happen. There's a 3-building office park there right now, but a small street grid could easily be overlaid onto the parking lot and the new blocks filled with buildings. The larger development area to the NE is filled with a ton of low-rent, 2-story 70s apartments. I'm not sure how easy it will be to get those guys to leave. |
^They plan on tearing down the Walden Apts? That seams pretty stupid considering how many units exist there. It would much more sustainable to alter the layout a bit and fill in some of the open green space. It would be nice if they could get the new hotel to rid itself of that massive parking lot, and convert it to garage parking inside a few new high-rises.
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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. |
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The situation for roads is not unique however. The Dept of Trans. subsidizes virtually every form of transportation, whether through federally funded airport construction, amtrak subsidies, light rail, or port oversight. Mobility in generally seen as a public good and subsidies tend to benefit the working class who would otherwise not be able to afford to travel. |
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The government both Federal and States should work with the railroads to improve this infrastructure. One of the big ticket items in the recent transportation bill was trying to debottleneck the Chicago rail network. |
Could someone please post the CRAINS Jan 24th Editorial on CTA! It is so great to have a business coming to the aid of over throwing Krusie and waking Daley up!
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Fullerton & Belmont Stations Design Question
(According to the "official" design featured on the CTA's website) The renderings of the underside entrances of both the Fullerton and Belmont stations show tapered columns, presumably of buffed concrete yet the Ross Barney site shows them being a rather banal utilitarian round column. Has anyone seen more accurate renderings? Does anyone have any inside info? Were the more stylistic columns nixed when the original bids came in so high?
I've been curious about this for awhile. |
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Don't worry, those bases have been covered |
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The Craines January 29, 2007 addition has the CRAINES EDITORIAL verses the story from the week before. Crains is doing a follow thru....and it is impressive. http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/127055575-L.jpg http://wilsnodgrass.smugmug.com/photos/127055578-L.jpg |
^
The hell....that picture looks like a metra train ran into a van and now there's fire raging around the bottom of the locomotive |
^ Yeah, that's no "minor" conflagration
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Another fucking derailment? This is becoming pathetic.
Glad to see Create moving along, despite the slap in the face from our former Republican led congress. |
Once we got to Howard on the red line at 4pm, we were told that no purple or yellow trains were running and we would have to take the shuttle busses. Some of us (but not all) had been warned before we got on the red line. However, the bus drivers lined up outside the station didn't know what routes they were running and displayed false route numbers on their marquees. It took maybe three CTA attendents fifteen minutes to coordinate the drivers - in which time a bus packed full of people who had been told they were Evanston-bound had to trade busses with a bus that was full of people going to Skokie - and they were extremely rude, shouting angrily at the customers who didn't know where to go.
The way the CTA handled this simple coordination of two shuttle routes makes me shudder to think what would happen on a citywide scale during a natural disaster or terrorist attack. |
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politic...aley03.article
Games are impetus for transit line: Daley February 3, 2007 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Mayor Daley said Friday he views the 2016 Summer Olympic Games as the "impetus" to build the north-south mass transit line Chicago has desperately needed since his father's dream of a Crosstown Expressway died. Chicago is stuck with a downtown-centric transit system where the Loop is the hub, the spokes go out to the suburbs and there's nothing west and southwest of Ashland Avenue, the mayor said. CTA Circle Line If Chicago wins the Olympic sweepstakes, federal funding will be pouring in to cover the cost of security and transportation. And that provides a unique opportunity to correct a historic mistake, he said. "A lot of people were against the Crosstown, but [killing it] was the worst thing that ever happened to this city," Daley told the Sun-Times editorial board. "You talk about the Olympics because that's the way you can do things.... The Olympics will give us an impetus [to build] public transportation we don't have. Get on the Dan Ryan and look at how many people are driving north. ... We need a north and south line. ... We're going to propose that anyway, but we think it helps us if we get the Olympics." Daley made it clear that the mass transit system he's talking about is "completely different" from the proposed CTA Circle Line, which would create an outer ring that connects all elevated train and Metra lines in the city. The precise route has not been determined. But the mayor appeared to be describing the so-called Mid City Line his administration has been studying for the past five years as a possible Crosstown replacement. |
^^ Has anyone heard anything about a mid-city line? How far west would it go? Is it supposed to be part of the CTA? A rail line running up and down western has long been a wish of mine, but if the circle line is going to run on ashland anyways, perhaps they should push the mid-city line further out. What would be another good north south arterial street to put this on?
Kedzie seems like it is dense enough to benefit greatly from this. |
You'll find a map on the far right column of this page
http://www.chicago-l.org/plans/2010plan.html |
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