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Standpoor Sep 6, 2012 10:49 PM

^
If that was what they based their decision on and were consistent then it would be one thing but the routes chosen and the message delivered is just wonky. CTA concedes that they did not truncate 11 because of ridership but because it paralleled the Brown Line.

Quote:

“We have pretty good ridership on this route,” said Tammy Chase, CTA spokersperson, citing statistics that show an average of 5,800 riders per weekday. “It’s not a ridership issue.”
link

And the new version of 11 and the new route south of Fullerton play that out. If it was about ridership, then surely 11 shouldn't go all the way to Howard. Are people taking the 11 out to the Lincoln motels or Home Depot where they have to walk through large parking lots? No. In the end they are only cutting out less than 3.5 miles of the route but it is 3.5 miles of a decent and growing commercial district. Sure it helps operationally and if that were the main reason they CTA should have explained it better. In the end, 11 is being truncated because it runs parallel to the Brown line even though routes that run parallel to other L lines are being kept. Routes with less ridership are being kept. The plan calls for inconsistent changes and if CTA cannot effectively communicate why the inconsistencies exist, then they will face a public backlash.

On a completely separate note, there was a ground breaking ceremony for the Ravenswood Metra stop. (Which will have bus service on Lawrence but no longer on Wilson if CTAs plan is implemented). I will see if I can get over there to see the new temp. platform north of Lawrence and once they start doing actual construction work to get some pics but it is getting harder to do it with the sun going down earlier. Coverage at Center Square Journal, Metra Breaks Ground For New Lawrence Ave Station. Highlights from the article:
Quote:

Local elected officials gathered yesterday morning near the site for a long-delayed new Union Pacific North Line Ravenswood Metra station at Lawrence and Ravenswood Avenues, an $18.3 million project that promises to provide shelter from the elements for waiting riders, make the station accessible to the disabled and eliminate a long-time public transit eyesore.

The new outbound station is scheduled to be completed in fall 2013, while the new inbound station will not likely be completed until 2015, according to Metra plans.
Edit:Sorry about the tense. I realize that none of these changes have been approved.

M II A II R II K Sep 7, 2012 3:26 AM

Chicago unveils 1st pedestrian safety plan


September 6, 2012

By Bridget Doyle

Read More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,2929678.story

Quote:

Newly installed ladderlike crosswalks that popped up this summer are part of the city's first pedestrian plan, a long-term safety effort that officially went into effect Wednesday. The Chicago Department of Transportation's pedestrian plan has more than 250 recommendations for long-term and short-term improvements, some of which were installed during this year's road construction season.

The priorities, as defined by CDOT with input from the public, include improving safety for children and seniors around schools and parks, improving access to transit, safer crossings at intersections and increasing space for pedestrians. The hundreds of recommendations include better-marked crosswalks, the establishment of pedestrian islands in the middle of multilane streets, better signals and beacons, and pedestrian countdown timers at crossings. Other long-term improvements discussed in the plan include staggered midblock bump-outs on residential streets to slow traffic.

Continental-style crosswalks were among the first changes, CDOT Commissioner Gabe Klein said, largely because the department began to weave in the new pedestrian plan in time for already-scheduled construction projects. The crosswalks have big rungs across the walkway for higher visibility and are made of a reflective material, Klein said. More than 100 such crosswalks were installed in 2012, Klein said.

Pavement markings — on crosswalks and stop lines for vehicles — are faded across Chicago, and Klein said millions would be spent this year repainting such markings so they are visible to drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. "Our goal is to bake these new standards into everything that's being done in public right of way," he said. The plan also establishes what the agency's announced "Zero in Ten" goal: reducing pedestrian fatalities in Chicago to zero in the next 10 years.

.....



http://www.trbimg.com/img-5048339d/t...120906-001/600

ardecila Sep 8, 2012 7:10 PM

The Trib is reporting that construction on Clark/Division is imminent. Work should run until mid-2015.

I'm hoping the street entrances they use are something modern, in line with the modern design of the new mezzanine. If CTA's committed to using a prototype, the ones created for Clark/Lake are pretty cool and seem to fit with the "wave" motif in the Clark/Division design.

http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/im...ke.wells01.jpg

Mr Downtown Sep 9, 2012 1:18 AM

I always really liked the Wells-Lake canopy (designed by Teng & Assoc.), but modernism didn't fare well under Daley's watch. Now I fear the die is cast (somewhat literally) for a standardized Victorian Revival canopy, as we've seen on Dearborn, at State & Polk, and in the last year at Congress & LaSalle and at Grand & State.

Monday's Tribune story confirms it.

untitledreality Sep 12, 2012 2:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 5822949)
Chicago unveils 1st pedestrian safety plan

The plan can be found here for download: http://chicagopedestrianplan.org/pedestrian-plan/

Among the interesting tidbits [and there are some interesting ones (changes to six point intersections, changes to highway overpasses, road diets)] is a small little blurb that can be found on page 69:

Quote:

4. Improve pedestrian connectivity to transit

ACTIONS

Long Term:
1. Investigate the feasibility of new zoning requirements around transit
stations. These could include a new zoning designation for Transit Streets,
similar to Pedestrian Streets, and the feasibility of parking maximums,
instead of minimums, for new developments located within 1/8 mile of a
transit station. Amend the Zoning Code to include any new ordinances.

2. Identify transit stations and stops that need improved pedestrian
infrastructure and implement improvements.

MILESTONES
Begin to investigate new zoning requirements by 2013.
Develop access to transit guidelines by 2014.
Implement infrastructure solutions at five transit stations or stops in 2014,
ten in 2016.

M II A II R II K Sep 12, 2012 3:38 PM

Chicago ready to buy land near Union Station for bus rapid transit center


September 12, 2012

By FRAN SPIELMAN

Read More: http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhal...it-center.html

Quote:

Chicago would acquire a surface parking lot near Union Station to build an “intermodal transportation center” needed to bring bus rapid transit to the Loop, under an ordinance to be introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

- The mayor’s plan would authorize the $5.9 million acquisition of a surface parking lot south of Jackson between Canal and Clinton for construction of a $7.3 million transportation center. Federal funding would cover 80 percent of the cost. The rest would come from funding generated by the local tax-increment-financing district. Sheltered staging area for CTA buses would include a vertical connection to an existing Amtrak underground passageway. That would allow commuters to access the Union Station concourse crossing Canal and Jackson at street level.

- Emanuel has talked about using revenue from the $2-a-day “congestion fee” imposed last year on downtown parkers to finance express bus lanes linking commuter rail stations to Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier. The transportation center is viewed as a key component of that downtown system. The first test of bus rapid transit will come this fall, when the city installs 16 miles of express bus lanes on Jeffery Boulevard that should give South Side CTA bus riders a faster commute to work.

.....



http://www.suntimes.com/csp/cms/site...YPE=image/jpeg

M II A II R II K Sep 12, 2012 3:41 PM

Open Streets, closed coffers: City Hall takes a pass on Chicago’s ciclovia.


September 11, 2012

By John Greenfield

Read More: http://gridchicago.com/2012/open-str...rid+Chicago%29

Quote:

.....

All the ciclovias Active Trans has organized so far have been fabulous, with thousands of Chicagoans of all stripes coming out to stroll, jog, pedal, play, dance and relax on car-free streets. And I’m confident that this year’s events – Open Streets in the Loop this Saturday and Open Streets Wicker Park/Bucktown on Sunday, September 16 – will be the best ones yet. But with only two ciclovias being held on roughly 1.5-mile routes, we’ve fallen behind other great cities.

- What’s the difference between these cities and ours? Political will. While they’ve had mayors who have championed their ciclovias and spearhearded planning and funding efforts, Chicago has not. “We’re way behind other cities in the ciclovia movement,” concedes Julia Kim, Active Trans’ Open Streets director. “But I’m confident that once we get Mayor Emanuel’s full backing we can grow to be a leader in the movement.”

- After Emanuel took office last year, Active Trans decided to wait until 2012 to ask the new administration for help staging Open Streets. But last year the Chicago Loop Alliance, the downtown chamber of commerce, expressed interest in partnering with the advocacy group to stage a ciclovía on State. With only a half-mile route, from Lake Street to Van Buren Street, much less traffic control was required and the event’s price tag dropped to $125,000, with the chamber contributing $50,000 and helping recruit corporate sponsors. Open Streets on State Street was a huge hit, with an estimated 20,000 participants packing the iconic thoroughfare.

.....



http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8442/...36c5fd77ae.jpg




http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8307/...a05dc0c311.jpg




http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8460/...eb7e3ae3b8.jpg




http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8305/...daec24a80c.jpg

emathias Sep 12, 2012 6:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 5828687)
Open Streets, closed coffers: City Hall takes a pass on Chicago’s ciclovia.
September 11, 2012

By John Greenfield

Read More: http://gridchicago.com/2012/open-str...rid+Chicago%29
...

Is the author (and are the organizers) aware of what "ciclovia" means? What they're talking about and what a ciclovia are seems like radically different things.

Mr Downtown Sep 12, 2012 6:24 PM

CTA board OKs decrowding plan Tribune story here.

Nexis4Jersey Sep 13, 2012 1:50 AM

Are they replacing the Catenary along the South Shore & Metra Electric lines...?

ardecila Sep 13, 2012 2:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown (Post 5825046)
I always really liked the Wells-Lake canopy (designed by Teng & Assoc.), but modernism didn't fare well under Daley's watch. Now I fear the die is cast (somewhat literally) for a standardized Victorian Revival canopy, as we've seen on Dearborn, at State & Polk, and in the last year at Congress & LaSalle and at Grand & State.

Monday's Tribune story confirms it.

It does say cast-iron.

Fortunately, the (open) staircases used at Grand are fairly simple and acceptable. The ornate stuff they installed at LaSalle is cartoonish, oversized and totally inappropriate for Clark/Division with its tiny sidewalks, so I hope we don't get that. Do all the subway entrances need to be covered?

emathias Sep 13, 2012 5:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 5829586)
...
Do all the subway entrances need to be covered?

No, but tell me what it's like walking down the stairs after a January or February snowstorm and tell me what you think about covers then. :/

ardecila Sep 13, 2012 3:43 PM

Sucks if you're in a rush, but grab the handrails and you should be fine.

It's also possible to include heating elements beneath the stair treads, and obviously there's a trench drain at the bottom.

electricron Sep 13, 2012 5:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 5830085)
Sucks if you're in a rush, but grab the handrails and you should be fine.

It's also possible to include heating elements beneath the stair treads, and obviously there's a trench drain at the bottom.

Which would be cheaper to do, heaters on each stair or a simple roof over the entrance? I think the roof would be cheaper, not only immediately but also over a long time.

ardecila Sep 13, 2012 9:11 PM

In terms of first cost? It's probably a wash. Each of those fancy entrances with roof costs several hundred thousand dollars (link).

I'm not sure about lifecycle costs. Underground heating systems don't have the best reputation, but it depends on what kind of system you use and how the stairs are built.

Standpoor Sep 13, 2012 9:44 PM

I'd wager dollars for doughnuts that the entrances will be very similar to the entrances at Grand. I think the garish LaSalle St. entrances had more to do with the Congress Parkway improvement then with providing cta riders with covered access. Huge sweeping cast iron banana leaves fits in better with a lush luxurious pedestrian boulevard envisioned in the Congress Parkway renderings but doesn't fit well in the cramped busy sidewalks of Clark/Division.

CTA Gray Line Sep 17, 2012 11:39 AM

Dispute over how to split funds divides RTA board
 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...5,0,3371081.s\
tory


By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune reporter
September 15, 2012

Advocates for the CTA who were just appointed to the Regional Transportation
Authority board by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel helped thwart efforts Friday to
approve 2013 budget goals, effectively putting the RTA in violation of state
law.

The dispute — over a comparatively minor sum of discretionary funding for the
three transit agencies the RTA oversees — pitted Chicago representatives on the
agency's 16-member board against suburban directors.

Despite two offers of compromise by the suburban officials, the Chicago
representatives, led by former CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown, dug in their heels
and refused to yield.

"I'm uncomfortable with the erosion of funding for the CTA," Brown said.

Joining Brown were two new members of the board, Anthony Anderson and
Christopher Melvin Jr., whose appointments by Emanuel were announced Thursday.

Approval of the budget measure needed a supermajority vote of the board, 12
votes, but fell short 8-6. Two board members were absent.

As a result, the RTA board failed to approve the budget goals, known technically
as marks, intended to provide guidance for the transit agencies as they
formulate their budgets. Friday was the state-mandated deadline for the RTA to
act.

Officials knew of no repercussions the RTA faces by not approving the goals. But
some suburban board members, including Dwight Magalis, of Libertyville,
expressed frustration at not fulfilling the agency's statutory obligation.

RTA Chairman John Gates Jr., who tried to broker a compromise, cast the lone
vote against adjourning Friday's meeting without a resolution.

At issue was the percentage of discretionary funding that the RTA would allocate
to the three transit agencies in 2013.

The RTA staff proposed reducing the CTA's share from 98.3 percent in 2012 to
95.2 percent in 2013. Metra and Pace would split the remaining 4.8 percent.

The difference reflected about $6 million of more than $1.276 billion in the
combined proposed operating budgets of the CTA, Metra and Pace for next year.

But Brown and the other CTA advocates rejected this move, saying the transit
agency was entitled to the "lion's share" of the RTA's discretionary funds.

Meanwhile on Friday, Gates and Joseph Costello, the RTA's executive director,
unveiled a plan to fund equipment and infrastructure improvements on the transit
systems through a $2.5 billion bond program.

Officials hope to bring the proposal before the General Assembly for approval
next year.

rwronski@...


Mike Payne

CTA Gray Line Sep 17, 2012 11:45 AM

Civic group calls for end to RTA
 
Remember back in August when George Ranney of Metropolitan Strategies said the RTA (and it's Service Boards CTA, Metra, and Pace) should be dissolved and re-organized?

Well here (Post #9617 below - "Dispute over how to split funds divides RTA board") we have a perfect example of how they are A L L much too DAMN C H I L D I S H to be in control of Billions of Transit dollars, and providing competent and appropriate Transit services to the NE Illinois region ("He got a bigger piece of pie, boo-fracking hoo").

Mike Payne



http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ce-civic-group


Civic group calls for end to RTA Transit agency should be merged with regional
planning unit, group says

August 12, 2012|By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune reporter


One of Chicago's most influential civic groups is calling for an end to the
Regional Transportation Authority, saying the nearly 40-year-old agency is
broken and should be merged with another.

The effort by Metropolis Strategies is spearheaded by the group's president and CEO, George Ranney, who said the relationship between the RTA and its
subordinates — the CTA, Metra and Pace — is dysfunctional and ripe for a change.


"In Chicago, we've been content to go along with a transportation system that was once a real champion and now is in real danger of becoming derelict," said Ranney, who is widely credited with being the architect of the RTA when it was created in 1974.

Metropolis Strategies said it believes the agency is no longer the best overseer of the nation's third-largest transit system, which provides more than 2 million rides a day.

A better plan, the civic group proposes, would be to create a new entity by
merging the RTA with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, a low-profile organization responsible for land use and transportation planning in
northeastern Illinois.

The move would integrate regional planning and transit oversight, Metropolis
Strategies said. It also would save at least $10 million a year, or about 20
percent of the agencies' combined budgets, by reducing overhead, administrative costs and duplicate functions, the group said.

"It's time to bring some fresh thinking to the transit issue," said Ranney, 72.
"Continuing to ignore the problem as we are now ... is a road to disaster."

RTA Chairman John Gates Jr. disputes Metropolis Strategies' assessment. While describing longtime friend Ranney as thoughtful, Gates defends the RTA
performance and dismisses a merger with CMAP as a "pie-in-the-sky idea."

"I'd love to cure cancer. I'd love to see Middle East peace. But (combining the
agencies) doesn't really work as a practical matter," said Gates, who took over at the RTA in 2010 after a successful business career as co-founder of
CenterPoint Properties Trust.

"Given the scale of what the RTA does, it would swamp what CMAP does, and
probably lessen CMAP's effectiveness," he said.


A scathing critique

Independent experts don't appear to be sure, either. DePaul University
transportation professor Joseph Schwieterman, who has written a book about the history of Chicago's planning efforts, said the RTA proposal raises issues of governmental efficiency, taxing power and political obstacles.

"This landscape is pretty complex," Schwieterman said. "But you could say it's
worthwhile to explore all the options, given our region's problems."


Ranney said his goal is not simply to get rid of the RTA. Rather, he said, the
region needs a new agency that can respond better to the challenge of shrinking transit use in the face of growing population.

Between 1980 and 2010, Metropolis Strategies said, the region's population has grown by 1.2 million, or 17 percent, to 8.3 million. Meanwhile, annual RTA
system ridership has decreased by 20 percent, down 162 million annual rides to 652 million rides.

In 2007, Illinois Auditor General William Holland issued a scathing critique of
the RTA, calling for an overhaul of the agency. The report cited a lack of
leadership and oversight and feuding among the transit agencies, among other
problems.

The Legislature responded in 2008 by enacting a new state law beefing up the
RTA's powers while boosting its funding from sales taxes and Chicago's real
estate property transfer tax.

A serious mismatch remains between what the law directs the RTA to do and its capacity to deliver, said Metropolis Strategies, conceding the agency has played a vital role over the years.

The RTA's Gates said the agency is exercising proper oversight, but acknowledged that integrating the three service boards into a regional system remains a challenge.

"In the DNA of all the service boards, there is a certain amount of mistrust of
the others," he said. "This is something we have to overcome."

At RTA board meetings, directors representing the city and suburbs often split
into factions favoring the CTA, Metra or Pace.

"That's a very good thing," Gates said. "If everybody sat there and sang
'Kumbaya' all the time, they'd probably be wasting a lot of assets and a lot of
time. Now there's a very healthy competition for the scarce resources."


Political hurdles

CMAP is the federally designated metropolitan planning organization for the
region. It is responsible for approving transportation funds, including money
for the RTA's capital programs.

CMAP's chairman, Gerald Bennett, said the agency's directors discussed the
Metropolis proposal at a board meeting in June but took no action.

"We want to know more details on what would be involved," said Bennett, the
mayor of Palos Hills.

ardecila Sep 18, 2012 10:20 PM

Jeffrey Jump

Apparently this is the new branding for the Jeffrey BRT, which will include new bus liveries and signage. I assume it has the potential to be extended to future BRT lines, like LA has MetroRapid or NY has Select. I can't decide if I like it or not. It's got simplicity working for it, though.

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/brt/jumplogo.png

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets...ngshowcase.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/8...d6696607_z.jpg
source

Standpoor Sep 20, 2012 12:19 AM

There has been quite a lull in the UP construction by my house. Most of the work has moved north of Lawrence and south of Montrose even though some bridges, like Montrose, aren't finished. Here are some photos.

Montrose has not been touched in awhile
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/8...7afc2fef_z.jpg
but the other side is ready
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8...f78ef8e5_z.jpg
The north bound temporary platform is under construction. The cranes in the distance are working on Winnemac
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8...a65d6e58_z.jpg
The retaining wall is coming together south of Montrose.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/8...7b756d51_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/8...739b2093_z.jpg


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