Pedestrian Scramble is in on Jackson and State. Singals are installed but not yet functional and it looks like signs need to be installed yet. The wet paint got a bit messed up from today's rains, but still looks good from what i can see.

Also there's buffered bike lanes going towards Chicago along Milwaukee from the existing Kinzie cycle track. This was accomplished by slightly narrowing travel lanes.

Also if you are over by Clark and Lasalle check out the new subway station mezzanine going in. The walls are going up and you can get a rough feel for the layout.

^ I didn't know they were already working on pedestrian scrambles. Do you know if any other pedestrian scrambles are planned, and where?

Personally, I think Michigan and Randolph makes sense as one, as well as perhaps one near Water Tower Place on the Mag Mile.

The Jackson/State is a CDOT pilot program. I think they're going to evaluate the effects on traffic.

These things always seemed like a novelty to me; they really only make sense at huge intersections. Michigan/Randolph is really the only great candidate I can think of in the downtown area, or Michigan/Chicago. Most other intersections are small enough and the cycles short enough that the diagonal crossing doesn't save much time. Not to mention that traffic patterns usually allow for easy jaywalking.

I think they make sense at other intersections. I would especially like to see these at intersections with more than 4 corners. Those intersections are confusing to many pedestrians and the wait already takes forever. For example, the intersections of Clark, Halsted, and Barry and Milwaukee, North, and Damen.

Gabe Klein mentioned in an interview that the signaling would become too confusing to introduce a scramble phase into a six-way intersection. He suggested that they might prohibit turns at these intersections as a way to increase pedestrian friendliness, however. Many of them could also get large curb extensions after turns are outlawed, making them feel more plaza-like. In some cases, it may make sense to reroute one of the three streets, as CDOT did many years ago in Lincoln Square.

For some reason, CTA felt it had to reroute the 130 and 151 to avoid Jackson & State now—even though the biggest delay was always the 151 waiting for peds to clear the north leg of the intersection, which now should be much less of a problem.

Final go-ahead for the Elgin-O'Hare tollway was given today. Hopefully there will be a ROW for future Blue Line extensions included:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,1080991.story

Good god I hope not. Nothing needed less then for the CTA to keep over extending itself to areas that are long past the point of implementing TOD that could possibly warrant the investment. If the Blue Line moved west of O'Hare we are starting to talk about +1 hour long trips on cumbersome CTA trains deep into Sprawlesville.

Money and focus much better served to upgrading the consolidating the network already in place.

Taking the Blue Line out to O'Hare is miserable enough. But I never take it for granted considering I don't own a car. I don't recall seeing accommodation in the drawings for median ROW for rail. But I believe it will accommodate express buses in some manner. Possibly extra-wide shoulders.

There will be a reservation in the median, which could accommodate either rail or bus in the future. Initially, the new tollway will operate with express buses using shoulders, as Hayward mentioned.

CTA can't legally operate in DuPage County or west of York Rd., though of course all sorts of joint agreements are possible.

Taking the Blue Line to O'Hare is a joyride compared to trying to drive there during rush hour so you can have the privilege of paying $25 a day to keep your car there. Unless it is late night or between 11:00 and 2:00, driving to O'Hare is miserable. I hate doing it and avoid it at all costs. It's not even so much the traffic taking longer (because it is usually about equal in travel time with the Blue Line), it's about the horrendous stop/go nature of traffic on 90. You'll be cursing along at 50 MPH and come around a corner and have to slam on your brakes. It's awful and way worse than traffic elsewhere in Chicago's freeway system. At least on the Dan Ryan or Eisenhower you can expect that once you hit traffic you'll be crawling along at 10-25 MPH until you get onto the Kennedy where the nutty start/stop shit begins.

Also, the Jane Addams Tollway is being planned with in-line bus stations, each direction on opposite sides of the tollway and parking lots with connections to local Pace/private shuttles. The Barrington Road interchange is being designed as a prototype for other stations on the bus route.

You can see the exclusive bus lanes in dark red. The cyan is a pedestrian bridge spanning the highway.

http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6261/addams.jpg

I have to admit I have no idea how that's supposed to work based on that diagram. It certainly doesn't look like something I'd want to have to navigate on foot.

Sorry, it's a detailed image. Buses will travel in general purpose lanes except when it get congested, and then they can use shoulders. At interchanges, buses take the exit ramps on the right as if they were exiting the highway, but then quickly veer left into a special buses-only lane (in dark red) that parallels the highway and goes beneath the crossing street. There's a platform on this lane for the bus to stop and pick up passengers; the platform has a stair/elevator up to a pedestrian bridge that links to the opposing direction's platform, park and ride lots, and terminals for local buses, taxis, and shuttles. The platforms for each direction are on opposite sides of the highway.

Is that any clearer?

The SPUI design doesn't prioritize pedestrians, but it does have fairly wide sidewalks/trails and safe crossings. Pedestrians will also have the option of crossing I-90 via the station bridge. AFAIK, Hoffman Estates and the other municipalities have not yet considered any kind of TOD.

^ Wow, that's impressive. I look forward to seeing it whence it's completed

Yes, thank you.

I should also mention that these improvements are not funded yet. The Tollway is doing preliminary design so that it can leave space for the stations during the upcoming Addams rebuild; this will keep costs down when Pace applies for funding later on.

I'm not sure what to think, honestly. It's very clever, and it seems like it might be more pleasant than a median station, but the devil is in the details. Hopefully the platforms and bridge will be enclosed, and the local municipalities encourage TOD at underutilized parcels next to the stations. On a bigger picture, this bus line will only take travelers to Rosemont, where they can transfer to the Blue Line. Inter-suburban journeys are possible but without TOD around stations, nobody will be able to walk anywhere after they get off the buses.

Metra grapples with contract to revamp fare collection
 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...tation-systems

Officials concerned about consultant's low cost


By Richard Wronski Chicago Tribune reporter

June 8, 2013

Metra is considering hiring a firm for $825,000 to figure out how to revamp its
fare payment structure and integrate it with the CTA's new Ventra system, but — in a switch — officials are worried that the consultant might be charging too little.

Some Metra board members balked at awarding the contract until several concerns were addressed, including whether the proposed consultant had the expertise necessary for the job.

The contract with the firm recommended by Metra's staff, LTK Engineering
Services, based in Ambler, Pa., was so far below the $2.4 million proposal from CH2M HILL, of Englewood, Colo., that board members were alarmed.

"It is disturbing to me that I see this price differential," said Norman
Carlson, a railroad consultant by profession. "I am concerned they underbid it."

He feared the company would come back to Metra after winning the contract with additional charges.

The officials decided to postpone a decision on the contract for two weeks until other board members could weigh in.

Whichever consultant Metra hires, it will play a crucial role in bringing
Metra's fare payment system into the 21st century, and putting the commuter rail agency in sync with its sister agencies, the CTA and Pace.

State law requires that the transit agencies implement a "regional" fare payment system by Jan. 1, 2015.

"The system must allow consumers to use contactless credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards to pay for all fixed-route public transportation services," according to the statute.

Metra staffers recommended LTK from six firms to help transition from the
agency's paper-based ticketing system.

Metra CEO Alex Clifford said the consultant Metra hires will provide "a
comprehensive look at getting cash off the trains and a way to accept credit
cards in the future, and if there are smartphones (for ticketing) in our future,
too."

The CTA is scheduled to roll out its Ventra fare-collection system this summer.

The contactless card will replace the popular Chicago Card
and Chicago Card Plus for CTA and Pace riders next year.

Ventra will have a debit card option offering customers an opportunity
to pay bills online and to use the debit account for direct deposits
and other cashless transactions, the CTA says.

But Ventra has come under strong criticism after the Tribune
revealed a host of hidden fees associated with the cards.

The CTA awarded a $454 million contract to Cubic Transportation Systems in
November 2011 to create the open fare system, and Pace joined the contract last year.

According to the CTA, Metra was offered the opportunity to participate
in the Ventra program, but the commuter railroad declined.

That's not the same version Clifford offered Friday. While Metra may ultimately participate in the Ventra system, the agency was "an afterthought" during the CTA's planning with Cubic, he said.

"The CTA went on its journey without Metra aboard," Clifford said.

rwronski@...

Twitter @richwronski


Mike Payne

Anyone know why CDOT is so far behind in their Divvy installations? It's absurdly behind considering they're supposed to be launching on Friday.