Probably right, but a feeder system where people drive a couple miles on local arterials to the nearest station must have a negligible air-quality/congestion impact relative to everyone driving all the way downtown.

Not true, many auto pollutants are emitted most when the engine is warming up and cooling down, i.e. any auto trip has a significant baseline level of air pollution. These 'baseline' pollutants are hydrocarbons, primarily released because 1) Catalytic converters aren't functioning until they reach a high temperature (takes a few minutes) and 2) evaporation from the fuel system. This is being released regardless of how short the trip is. Hydrocarbons, of course, are responsible for regional issues like smog.

Of course, if electric cars were used, the air quality issue disappears.

Certainly the congestion impact is reduced by shorter auto trips, but vehicle-miles are still vehicle-miles, requiring road maintenance and fuel consumption. But at least it reduces the requirement for expressways. Just imagine: electric cars, recharged by plentiful and clean nuclear power, shuttling suburbanites to commuter rail for their job downtown...

I think viva summed up my point really well.

The park 'n ride does work great in some circumstances. But the problems associated with the system are only going to get worse as suburban population growth continues to outpace the number of new stations. The local arteries are usually some of the most clogged up roads out there arleady so a lot of Metra commuters end up spending 30-40 minutes a day just getting to and from a park'n ride lot. So a lot of the benefits of commuter rail, like money saved on gas, are lost.

I'm certainly not saying we should do away with roads. I'm just trying to point out that in many cases laying 40 miles of tracks may be cheaper than laying 30 miles of tracks and 10 miles of roads.

But yeah as far as the parking shortage goes, build a freakin garage. If office parks can do it, a city can to.

I said relative to driving to downtown, I didn't say that starting your car doesn't pollute.

Not true considering most of our electricity still comes from fossil fuels.

I agree, but arterial roads are absolutely here to stay so I just don't see a point in discussing their maintenance as if there is some alternative. An efficient, well maintained local arterial system is a GOOD thing. And as you say, vehicle miles are vehicle miles, yes, and there is absolutely no doubt that the metra park-n-ride system reduces them, no?

double post

crap, triple post

Isn't Illinois all nuclear with the exception of the Fisk and Crawford stations in Chicago?

http://illinois.sierraclub.org/conse.../exisiting.htm
http://wilbsnodgrassiii.smugmug.com/...52995450-L.jpg

We do still have a lot of coal power plants in Illinois. However, it is worth pointing out that of the 31 states with nuclear power generation capabilities, Illinois ranks first in output with about half of our power coming from coal and the other half from nuclear.

Read all about it:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear.../statesil.html

Taft

Thanks...I suppose Taft's nugget had stuck out to give me that misconception. Guess we have a long way to go, but the enviros will fight against any expansion of nuclear power.

Yeah...I was thinking the same thing when I bought my lawn mower this year...like..if I get gas it pollutes the air...if I get electric...it pollutes air or makes radioctive material.

FYI - coal power plants pollute the air and make radioactive material. The difference between coal and nuclear is that a coal power plant spews the radioactive material straight into the atmosphere.

On the bright side, Chicago gets more than 90% of its electricity from nuclear, so go ahead and get that electric lawnmower.

Not necessarily. The newest coal scrubbers are 95% efficient (according to Wikipedia) but expensive.

New Train service in Illinois proposed
 

State eyes train route to Rockford

By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune transportation reporter
Published May 16, 2007, 3:16 PM CDT
The state today selected a rail corridor owned by the Canadian National Railway as the best and fastest route to restore passenger service between Chicago, Rockford and Dubuque, Iowa.

The 182-mile route, which would include a stop in Galena, is the most direct of four options studied by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

It also would be the least expensive to upgrade for passenger service, $32 million, and it offers the highest ridership potential, according to a feasibility analysis conducted by Amtrak and IDOT.

Amtrak or Metra would operate the service. A separate study is underway to possibly extend Metra service to Rockford from Elgin on the Metra Milwaukee District West Line.

Federal and state funding still must be secured to pay for capital improvements needed to begin daily service to Rockford and through northwest Illinois to Dubuque.

Local communities would also be tapped to help pay for construction of new stations, and an agreement would need to be reached with the Canadian National, which owns the tracks.

The annual operating cost to the state is estimated at up to $5 million, based on one round-trip operating daily. Estimated annual ridership is 77,500.

IDOT officials said public meetings held in recent months yielded strong support for restoring Chicago-to-Rockford service, which was eliminated more than 25 years ago. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) are pushing the plan in Washington.

Officials said it would take two or three years to make the track improvements necessary for travel times of about two hours between Chicago and Rockford, and about five hours between Chicago and Dubuque. Officials said those travel times would be competitive with automobile driving, helping to reduce traffic congestion on the Northwest Tollway (Interstate Highway 90).

Separately, Amtrak and IDOT are studying possible service from Chicago to the Quad Cities, including Rock Island and Moline, and to Peoria. Both areas lost passenger rail service in 1978 when the Rock Island Railroad discontinued operations.

jhilkevitch@tribune.com


5 hours to Dubuque from Chicago??? Me thinks not! If it takes longer than three you must be driving in a blizzard along Highway 20. No way a train ride should take longer than 3 1/2 tops for that distance....

^ Yeah, 5 hours to Dubuque seems a bit on the long side, and 2 hours to Rockford isn't bad for leisure commuting, but its not stellar if Rockford really wants to be part of the Chicago metro area (such as with the airport). I'm also not sure what Rockford or Dubuque's local bus transit service is like, since integration between that and Amtrak will be key for ridership growth (hence success in places like Champaign, Springfield, and St. Louis, which all have good integration between intercity and local transit service).

A disadvantage of using the MD-W is that its only 2 tracks; I know that the UP-NW is 3 tracks, which would have been advantageous for running high-speed express service and shortening the travel time. But clearly they think there's more ridership potential using the MD-W route, and I'll trust that assessment; it's just too bad the project wouldn't also include upgrades to allow it to operate at 95mph instead of 79mph (at 95 you can still have grade crossings, but would probably also trim that travel time down considerably (~20 minutes from Rockford)

The more interesting nugget that I wasn't aware of is that IDOT is studying the corridor through Peoria and/or Quad Cities, another stretch with good ridership potential that currently has no service. Despite Rockford technically being bigger, Peoria always struck me as Illinois' '2nd city' (albeit a little one, but still); it actually feels like a city with a skyline, a somewhat active downtown, nice riverfront, great setting in the hills, etc. Sort of a mini-Cincinnati minus most of the great 19ths century architecture.

Daley stumps in Springfield
 

Since most of the article doesn't have to do with mass transit I will just take out the snippets.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...l=chi-news-hed

Daley stumps in Springfield
Mayor makes pitch to boost funding for schools, mass transit

The lighthearted banter in Jones' Capitol office belied the seriousness of the mayor's pitch to pump up funding for city schools and mass transit as part of a Chicago agenda that included reinstating a 7 percent cap on property tax assessments and his long-stated quest to pass tougher gun-control laws......

In a meeting with Chicago-area lawmakers, Daley asked them to help with transportation, promote school construction and embrace longer school days as well as school accountability, according to lawmakers in the meeting.

Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) said the mayor urged lawmakers to close corporate tax loopholes and "consider other revenue options."










http://www.suntimes.com/news/politic...aley17.article

Daley suggests state tax hike, city casino
SPRINGFIELD SPLIT | 'Everything should be on the table'

May 17, 2007
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

Mayor Daley urged Gov. Blagojevich and feuding Democratic legislative leaders Wednesday to check their egos at the door and unite on an education and transit funding compromise that includes a state income tax increase and, possibly, a land-based, government-owned Chicago casino.Without it, Daley said, CTA riders face higher fares and service cuts. The Chicago Public Schools will be forced to raise property taxes, make classroom cuts and confront a "crisis in September."

The mayor never mentioned a teachers strike, but the implication was clear.

"If you don't get the revenue for education, you're going to be back in the same situation: 'Dire Need.' 'Crisis in September.' I can read the headlines. You're going to have layoffs. You're going to have cutbacks," Daley said before traveling to Springfield for a round of one-on-one lobbying.

'Increase the income tax'

Pressed on whether he favors a hike in the state income tax, the mayor said, "This is the first time ever in the history of Illinois that the business community has ever come together and said, 'We'd like to increase the income tax.' So listen to their voice. They want a better education system."
Daley said "everything should be on the table," including his on-again-off-again quest for a Chicago casino. But there's a caveat: It should be government-owned.

"I really believe -- and I've said this repeatedly -- that the taxpayers of Illinois should get the benefit of all the casinos. They do that in Canada very, very successful. ... A bid goes out for the management, maybe 10 or 15 percent. Then, 85 percent of the profits go back into government," Daley said.

"Maybe you can dedicate [new gambling revenues] to the growth factor of education, capital improvements, things like that you could do. Whatever you want."

Last week, Daley urged Blagojevich to give up his controversial gross receipts tax and drop his threat to veto the most viable alternative: an increase in the state's income or sales tax.

Since then, House Speaker Michael J. Madigan sent the governor a message loud and clear -- by engineering a 107-0 vote against the governor's tax plan. Still, Blagojevich is digging in his heels.

Think they need to worry about transit funding and not bother with anymore extentions.

Why bother with Rockford anyway? It's not part of the Chicago area.

Short-distance services like this can actually turn a profit. Obviously, demand has been predicted or Illinois would not want to build this.

Also, money for new construction often is largely funded on the federal level. Money for operation of Chicago's transit comes solely from a Chicago-area sales tax and the state.

Yeah, there's always money for "downstate" pork-barrel projects like this ("downstate" being anywhere in any given state not in the main city), but never money for vital city infrastructure projects.

Also witness in Illinois, the Prairie Parkway. WTF?

Blago, Blago, oh how you SUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!
 

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=25036
May 17, 2007
By Brandon Glenn
CTA chief: Fares up, service down if no bailout


(Crain’s) — Chicago Transit Authority President Ron Huberman for the first time publicly pledged to raise fares and cut service if Springfield legislators don’t provide a funding bailout to the struggling agency.

“The reality of the situation” dictates that the CTA will have no choice but to raise fares and cut service without a $110-million infusion of operating capital from the General Assembly, Mr. Huberman said at the CTA board meeting Thursday.

He said it was too early to provide further details.

Previously, Mr. Huberman and other transit officials had repeated the mantra that “all options are on the table” if legislators didn’t provide money by July 1.

On Thursday, Mr. Huberman took his first step toward describing which of those options he’ll choose. Other possibilities, in addition to higher fares and service cuts, include layoffs and diverting capital funds to cover operating costs. Last week, the CTA announced it was cutting 49 administrative positions, only 18 of which were occupied.

For months a host of local groups and officials including Mayor Richard M. Daley have been lobbying Springfield for more transit dollars, but have little to show for their efforts, mainly because other issues including education, health care and taxes have been higher priorities for Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the General Assembly.

Still, Mr. Huberman and CTA Chairman Carole Brown insist they’re optimistic that relief is on the way for their cash-strapped agency.

In other developments, the CTA announced that it has added seven additional Brown Line trains during rush hours — three in the morning and four in the evening. In early April, the CTA cut back service on the Brown, Purple and Red lines to accommodate construction for the $530-million Brown Line expansion project, scheduled to be completed at the end of 2009.

^ Ya really think Daley's been that instrumental?

I don't know, in my opinion he's been about as hands off as one can get. If anything, I'd like to see a mayor with a bit more passion about transit than this guy. LA's mayor comes to mind..

I was at the ULI spring council meeting where da mayor spoke, he was pretty passionate about infrastructure. He was incredibly critical of Bush essentially ignoring infrastructure funding. (although he didn't use his name, he simply said the federal government) (hmm... wasn't there like 300 billion dollars sunk into the war?). I think daley has been fighting for transit as much as he is able to. I don't think that chicagoans going down to springfield comes off very well. Since a lot of the state stupidly resents chicago. Heck there are even a lot of outer suburbs that generally pooh-pooh the city.

Unfortunately i have a feeling it is going to take a crisis in order for the rest of illinois to realize that without a good, efficient chicago this state has absolutely nothing going for it.

That generally goes for all of italy's cities. Except a few small coastal towns.

The trains sucked today! Something happened with a crane at one of the construction sites downtown which caused the east & north loop to be entirely closed, which in turn meant only Red line and Green line trains could operate on the elevated tracks in downtown. I boarded the brown line around 4pm this afternoon at Armitage and an hour later I got off at the Chicago stop. So I spent 1 hour traveling 1 mile. The train was moving *maybe* 2 mph the entire time. The backup was made even worse by the fact the CTA had shut down the red line subway this weekend, forcing all red line trains onto the brown line tracks to the loop. I got fed up with it and just decided to walk all the way down to Symphony Hall from the Chicago brown line stop. My feet are killing me now considering I had worn flimsy flip flops that I wouldn't have had I known I'd be doing so much walking. I know it wasn't the CTA's fault that something happened to a crane downtown, but boy was it a frustrating situation.

(btw, someone needs to work with the train operators on enunciation. My train's conductor made an announcement twice about the situation and both times I couldn't understand much more than 30% of what he said... so I never really had any grasp on what was going on and why we were stuck)

Well, elevated trains are more susceptible to what happens around them. When that stuff happens to include large-scale construction, expect problems once in awhile. We've also had the Loop shut down because trucks have gotten stuck underneath it, we've had it shut down for building fires, etc.

As far as I know, the subways are only shut down for maintenance work or for train accidents/derailments. (The Great Loop Flood notwithstanding)

I wonder what happened, sounds kind of major....but they do always air on the side of safety, if there is any shred of doubt whatsoever they shut down sections of track. Where I think this could be improved is in communication, i.e. if there's a known delay, to very quickly broadcast it out to stations and to train operators so that announcements can be made, i.e. if you were aware of particularly long travel times leaving Armitage you could have at least considered other options Things seemed to be flowing fine when I rode the Red a few minutes ago, so I guess it's resolved (the #22 was a nightmare earlier, but in a good way: I'm delighted to see 3 consecutive crush loaded buses on the weekend)

Here
SSDD

I was probably on the same train or one slightly before or after it. The best part about the whole deal was they didn't tell us at armitage or Sedgewick, when they told us about a minute after we left sedgewick, and then we sat about 5 feet away from the stop at Chicago for 15-20 minutes. I mean I understand you can't control a situation like that, but you can make your best effort to stop people from being stuck on a train for an hour+.

LOL, you're ordeal sounds exactly like mine. We had just departed Armitage and suddenly we slowed to a crawl. I swear I saw a turtle pass us below. :haha:

I guess the hold up was occuring because they couldn't let brown line trains onto the loop, so they were having to turn them back at Merchandise Mart which meant both brown and red lines got backed up. I wouldn't have hopped on the El and headed downtown had I known I was going to be stuck on it for about an hour. They definitely should have been informing riders on the southbound platforms. Oh well. It was an experience nonetheless. :)

BTW, I happened to have my camera while I was stuck on the El. So here are a few photos I took. (actually I took about 55 photos, but most of them are of the skyline) :)

My car was pretty empty as you can see. Also if you notice, I'm actually on the red line. I hopped on the brown at Armitage, but upon hearing that the brown wouldn't be going down to the loop I switched at Sedgwick to the red line which was directly behind.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/215/5...c0c94fec_o.jpg

Looking ahead you can see two other trains waiting to make the stop at Chicago:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/5...b3fab069_o.jpg

Finally I'm next in line for the Chicago stop:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/5...f1dc3dfa_o.jpg

And looking behind there is another train waiting (and no doubt several more further back out of my view):
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/214/5...37bc0677_o.jpg

'3-track nightmare' really no big deal
CTA | Agency's scare tactics are off track -- so far -- as L travel times change little during Brown Line overhaul

May 21, 2007
BY MONIFA THOMAS Transportation Reporter mjthomas@suntimes.com

The CTA said it would be "hell," and L riders were warned their travel times might double.

But a month after the CTA closed one of four tracks at the Belmont and Fullerton L stations, riding the Red, Brown, Blue and Purple Express lines takes about as much time as before. The track work is part of the expansion of the Brown Line.

In some cases, riding the rails is even speedier.

That's what Sun-Times reporters found when they rode trains at rush hour, right before and one month after train service on the CTA's busiest rail corridor was cut dramatically April 2.

Read more at Chicago Sun-Times

Maybe cutting a few trains per hour in exchange for speedier commutes while on those trains should become permanent.

^perhaps if the CTA went down to just one track, all our problems would be solved. so far, less tracks = speedier and more reliable commutes.

CTA seeks to decrease workers' benefits
By Jon Hilkevitch
May 22, 2007

CTA officials uncorked proposals Monday to save an estimated $32 million a year by requiring transit agency employees and retirees to pay more toward pensions and health insurance.

The reforms, contained in legislation that will be distributed to state lawmakers Tuesday in Springfield, rely on approval to issue more than $1.5 billion in bonds to help pay for pension and health-care funding shortfalls, Chicago Transit Authority officials told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board.

"Our current retirement and health-care benefits are too rich for what we can afford," CTA Chairwoman Carole Brown said.

The reforms, combined with bonding authority and state approval of $110 million in additional operating subsidies, would solve the transit agency's immediate problems, officials said. But the agency needs almost $6 billion in capital-improvement funds to bring the transit system up to a state of good repair, they said.

The effort to rein in CTA employee benefits is the latest overture to show state lawmakers that the transit agency deserves more funding.

Brown and new CTA President Ron Huberman are expected to release a contingency plan Thursday containing fare increases and service cuts that would be implemented as early as July if lawmakers deny its request for $110 million.

Labor employee benefit costs represent more than 70 percent of the CTA's operating budget, officials said. Unless those costs are lowered, the transit agency must raise fares and cut service.

Rest of the story @ the Trib

CTA President warns of fare hikes
 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transpo...052407.article

CTA President warns of fare hikes

May 24, 2007
BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter/mjthomas@suntimes.com

The CTA would end the Yellow Line and Purple Line Express routes and hike fares to as high as $3.25 unless Springfield comes up with $110 million by July 1, CTA President Ron Huberman warned today.

The Chicago Transit Authority’s latest gloom-and-doom threats come amid an ongoing budget crisis at the agency. Huberman made the announcement during a morning news conference, saying the changes would go into effect in September without the bailout.

Without the Legislature’s help, Huberman warned, the CTA will also be forced to slash 840 jobs and cut 63 bus routes — including routes now offered as alternatives to avoid delays on the North Side because of track work.
The fare increases would include a new, tiered pricing structure that would cost riders more during the morning and afternoon commutes.

Cash fares now are $2 per ride. Under the new proposal, rail fares would jump to $3.25 for rush-hour rides and $2.50 for off-peak rides. Bus fares would jump to $2.75 during peak hours and $2.25 for off-peak.

“None of these are ideal scenarios,” Huberman said. “We hope that we don’t have to make any of these cuts.”

The CTA board will meet next week to approve Huberman's recommendations. A series of public meetings will be held in June. Huberman said the cuts would likely cost the CTA 260,000 weekday bus and rail rides.

The Yellow Line, or Skokie Swift, travels from Howard to Dempster. The Purple Line Express runs from Howard to the Loop during the weekday rush. The bus routes on the chopping block are the current routes without Sunday service.

“Of all the options available to us, this plan puts the least direct burden on our riders,” he said.





------------------------------------------------

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/4...-cta25.article


Giving fare warning
CTA BUDGET WOES | New chief's dire scenario: $3.25 rides and cuts in L, bus service

May 25, 2007
BY MONIFA THOMAS Transportation Reporter mjthomas@suntimes.com

The CTA will end the Yellow Line and Purple Line Express routes and increase fares to as much as $3.25 by mid-September unless there is new funding to balance its budget, CTA President Ron Huberman warned Thursday.


More than 63 bus routes and 840 jobs also would be cut under the plan, which was requested by the Regional Transportation Authority in case state lawmakers don't come through with $110 million in extra funding to plug the CTA's budget shortfall by July 1.


The CTA's latest doomsday threats came hours before the RTA unveiled a plan to raise $452 million a year in operating funds for the CTA, Metra and Pace with a quarter-percent sales tax hike for Cook and the collar counties, and a 0.3 percent increase in Chicago's real estate transfer tax.
Without additional funding, the CTA will have to cut bus and rail service by 13 percent, including bus routes now offered as alternatives for North Side L tracks under construction, Huberman said.

Fare increases would range from 25 cents to $1.25 under a new tiered-pricing structure that would cost riders more during rush-hour commutes. Cash fares are now $2 per ride. Chicago Card users pay $1.75.

Under the proposal, rail fares would jump to $3.25 for rush-hour riders paying cash and $2.50 for off-peak rides. Bus fares would increase to $2.75 during peak hours and $2.25 for off-peak.

The CTA would also divert nearly $57 million in capital funds that would have been used for the renovation of buses and trains.

Huberman said all of the proposed changes would generate $97.5 million for the CTA but likely cost the agency 260,000 of its 1.6 million weekday bus and rail rides.

"None of these are ideal scenarios," he said. "We hope we don't have to make any of these cuts."

Charlene Washington -- a rider of the Yellow Line, which stretches between Howard and Dempster -- hopes so, too. "So many people depend on getting from Skokie to downtown," Washington said. "That is ridiculous."

Rider Gary Solovyov, 20, called the threatened fare increase "a bluff."

"It's already at $2. I can't imagine it would increase," Solovyov said.

Roughly 2,000 and 9,000 rides are taken each weekday on the Yellow and Purple lines, respectively. The Purple Line runs from the North Shore to Howard, with express service south from Howard.

Threats of service cuts and fare hikes come from the CTA nearly every year -- and sometimes the threats are hollow. But when the agency followed through in 1997 -- cutting service by 10 percent to save $25 million -- ridership plummeted.

This time around, the CTA is pairing its doomsday scenario with a plan to shore up the agency's dwindling pension reserves by requiring employees to make a larger contribution toward their pension and retiree health care benefits, saving the CTA $32 million a year. But the CTA's bus and rail unions are against the changes because they say it punishes workers for the CTA's failures.

Before the CTA board votes on the proposed doomsday cuts, the CTA will hold a series of public meetings in June.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has said there's no support among House Democrats for raising state sales or income taxes, but he might consider the RTA's proposal to increase sales tax in the six-county region. "It's only a regional tax. So there might be a different result. But I just wouldn't know right now," he said.

Contributing: Shamus Toomey, Cyndi Loza and Whitney Woodward


CHICAGO THREAT AUTHORITY
Past warnings the CTA has made:

* February 1997: CTA threatens elimination of bus routes and an end to late night "owl" service on some buses and trains, including the Green, Purple and Blue lines. The cuts went into effect within 15 months.

* May 1999: CTA boss Frank Kruesi warns "we'll have to shrink our operations" without Gov. George Ryan's proposed transportation funding bill, which later passed.

* August 2002: CTA officials say they can't rule out a 2003 fare hike because of the sluggish economy. The hike was avoided.

* October 2003: Kruesi announces plans for first fare hike since 1991 -- boosting standard fare from $1.50 to $1.75 -- to cover budget shortfall. The increase is approved a month later.

* June 2004: Mayor Daley warns of another fare hike and drastic service cuts without help from Springfield. By October, the threat widens to stopping all overnight trains and axing 30 bus routes and 1,000 jobs. The plan was shelved two months later.

* April 2005: CTA board sets a summer "doomsday" deadline to lay off 2,000 workers and cut service by 40 percent, including ending the Purple Line Express. Cuts avoided with $54 million state bailout in June.

* October 2005: Facing a budget shortfall and rising fuel costs, CTA proposes $2 fares. The hike is approved a month later.

* May 2007: New CTA boss Ron Huberman warns that without Springfield's help, the Yellow Line and Purple Line Express trains will die and fares will be hiked to as high as $3.25 in September.

CTA DOOMSDAY PLAN
The CTA is threatening to make the following changes by mid-September to balance its budget:

* No more Yellow Line and Purple Line Express trains.

* Elimination of the 63 bus routes that currently do not have Sunday service.

* Rush-hour fares would increase to $2.75 for bus riders and $3.25 on the L. Off-peak fares would increase to $2.25 for bus and $2.50 for rail.

* The price of the 30-day pass would increase to $122, from $75.

* The cost of transfers would double from 25 cents to 50 cents.

* Nearly $57 million in capital funds would be diverted to the operating budget, delaying maintenance for buses and rail cars.

* Pay raises for non-union employees would be deferred.

Nice unbiased reporting. :rolleyes:

This isn't a threat. Huberman made it clear that without large cuts, a severe fare hike or additional money, the agency will go bankrupt in short order. This is fact, not an attempt at bullying.

Even after Huberman has made cuts, has worked with Springfield to radically reform the pension system, etc. people still don't get that the CTA is massively underfunded.

Taft

Whoa, $1.25 extra just to ride during rush hour?!?! And actually it would be a $1.50 increase for me (I use the Chicago card). That's too much of a hike. I was thinking it would maybe jump up about 50 cents, which it does for off-peak hours... but $1.25 is a big increase! Guess I'd just try to avoid riding on the trains between approximately 3pm & 7pm on weekdays. :(

Hopefully the asshats down in Springfield won't screw over transit riders in Chicago.

The founding of the State of North Illinois is long overdue. Chicagoland would be MUCH better off without the rest of the state sucking up all the tax revenue.

i've thought about this from time-to-time. i would love to see any data that actually backs this up. we could make a nice capital mall out of unused/abandoned shoreline on the south lakefront (but then the south and north sides would want to secede from one another, heh heh.)

anyways, back on topic. to springfield, run by chicagoans, in the immortal words of howard stern's father, "don't be stupid, you moron[s]."

I like North Illinois. We'd have enough of a rural constituency from all of the farmland north of I-80; this would also include Galena, Rockford, DeKalb, and maybe the Quad Cities (minus Davenport), in addition to Chicagoland.

I'm from the Quad Cities, and let me tell you, we mine as well be our own state. When Iowa's governor came here he said "The QCA is the only place in Iowaq that no one recognizes me.

Anyways, if you want Moline and Rock Island, you can have them. The Iowa side is much nicer, and Davenport is where all you tax producing businesses are anyways. (Investment banks, blue collar jobs, Alcoa) I guess you would get John Deere.

^Or just more funding to begin with.

^ Funny, I was just talking about this tonight. Whoever made these decisions was an idiot. Imagine how cool Central Station would be today with that station there, something like Dearborn Station is now.

We really owe Harry Weese and others who saved Dearborn our gratitude.

Funny, I have the same story (even down to being in Beverly), but I grew up AFTER '81 when the station was replaced.

Was the old one really Art Deco? I know the building was built prior to the Deco era, and looked a bit like Philly's Reading Terminal from the outside. Was it just the interior that was Deco?

Also, while Central Station may have been a great loss, the sheer skyscraping wall on Roosevelt will make up for it in the coming years. IMO, the bigger loss was Grand Central at Harrison/Wells, with it's 247-foot clocktower and grandiose arched train shed, whose prime site 50 years later still sits empty, forlorn, and forgotten.

http://www.thebluecomet.com/riLaSalleStEntrance.jpg
http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/lasalle_st4.jpg
http://collections.carli.illinois.ed...B=1&DMROTATE=0
http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/LaSalle3.jpg
http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/LaSalle4.jpg
http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/LaSalle1.jpg

Another former Beverly resident here(West Beverly, actually). I can recall riding the Rock into the old LaSalle Street Station as well. Always loved the look of it.

Certainly much better than that glorified bus shelter that serves as LaSalle Street Station these days.

What I meant was that the station should have been kept and the high-rises built around it. Best of both worlds. I don't understand why people always think in "one or the other" terms.

Yes, Grand Central was a catastrophic loss.

well, at least it looks as if any new budget placed before Illinois will include a cash infusion for mass transit. just how much remains to be seen but without a change in the funding formula, we're just beating a dead horse.

now is the time (politicking) where Huberman can shine head and shoulders above Kreusi (RIP).

We'll see if he's the guy who can change the perception of how transit gets funded or if he'll be the guy who 1-4 years down the road has to gut the C.T.A.

Skokie Swift to gain a stop in Evanston?
 

From Todays Trib
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...ck=1&cset=true

By Dan Gibbard
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 31, 2007
South Evanston residents mostly favor a new station on the CTA's Yellow Line but have concerns about noise, traffic and crime, according to study findings unveiled at a public meeting last week.

City officials commissioned the study, which included a resident survey that got 500 responses out of 1,900 mailings, said Ald. Ann Rainey.

"The Yellow Line travels through the entire 8th Ward without even slowing down, and many people thought that was a waste of public transportation," Rainey, the ward's alderman, said last Thursday in front of more than 60 people at the Levy Senior Center.

Project consultants considered adding a station as part of a broader look at North Shore mass transit needs, including the feasibility of extending the Yellow Line to Old Orchard Road.

For now, the Yellow Line, a.k.a. the Skokie Swift, runs non-stop from Howard Street to Dempster Street, but a new station is planned at Oakton Street in Skokie and it could be open within two years.

The line's potential is barely tapped, consultants said. About 2,500 people board the train each day at Dempster Street, and a new Evanston station could boost that by a third, the study said.

The consultants looked at three possible sites for an Evanston station: at Asbury, Ridge and Dodge Avenues. All three had stations along the commuter rail line that ran in the decades before the Yellow Line was established in the early 1960s, and the track in those spots is still straight and level, a necessity for a station, said senior consultant Chris Kopp of Cambridge Systematics.

Going into the study, Kopp said, "We're thinking the best place to put [new stations] is probably where they were before, and it pretty much worked out [that way]."

Officials repeatedly emphasized that for better or worse, no station is coming soon. Darud Akbar, a CTA representative, said five to 10 years seemed a likely time frame if funding is found.

Late in the meeting a resident noted that the CTA had announced possible service cuts on the Purple and Yellow Lines.

Akbar, though, said that was merely a "contingency plan" the CTA had to submit to the Regional Transportation Authority.

"We're hoping this doesn't happen," he said.

In their site survey, consultants looked at a whole roster of factors: population density, how much land could be developed in a "transit-friendly" way, how many shopping centers or other points of interest were nearby, the potential for parking, and how many jobs there were.

Results were mixed. Ridge Avenue, for example, had the most people within a half-mile, considered the benchmark for how far people will walk to get to a mass-transit station.

On the other hand, Dodge Avenue led in several categories, including parking potential and nearby shopping centers.

Results from the survey, which asked residents for their preference, gave a slight edge to Asbury with 40.6 percent followed by Ridge with 35.8 percent and Dodge with 34.1. Some residents voted for more than one.

Though officials insisted there was no front-runner, some residents who live near Dodge and Mulford Street, which the Yellow Line roughly follows east to west, noted that Dodge seemed to come out ahead in many of the criteria.

To applause from about a dozen residents at the meeting, Crista Noel, 47, said the CTA has been a "horrible neighbor" already and fears a new station would bring noise, crime and congestion.

The CTA's Akbar said new tracks and station design cut down on noise and promised the agency will listen to complaints at future public meetings.

Other residents said they would like to see the trains stop in Evanston.

"If I could get on it and ride it, the noise wouldn't bother me nearly as much," said Richard Nemanich, 64.

---------

dgibbard@tribune.com

http://movingbeyondcongestion.org/

Strong Bipartisan Support for RTA Reforms, Transit Funding

$452-million proposal approved for transit operations, General Assembly to consider pension reforms, capital investment in overtime session

Springfield, IL – An overwhelming majority of the Illinois House Mass Transit Committee approved a $452-million transit operations funding proposal and a package of reforms to improve coordination and efficiency in the transit system.

“Today’s strong, bi-partisan vote reflects the shared belief in the importance of our transit system and the need to invest in it,” noted Jim Reilly, Chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority. “We are very encouraged that the General Assembly recognizes the vital role transit plays in our region and that funding for the system must be addressed this session.”

The Illinois Mass Transit Committee approved two amendments to Senate Bill 572 that would provide funding for transit operations and reform the roles of the RTA and the Service Boards – CTA, Metra and Pace. The funding proposal would:

Increase the RTA sales tax in the six counties of northeastern Illinois by 0.25%, yielding approximately $280 million;


Impose a new RTA real estate transfer tax in the City of Chicago to raise $42 million;


Extend the standard state 25% match to the proposed sales and transfer tax to provide $80.5 million;


Continue the support of transit service for the disabled and elderly by instituting an additional state match of 5%, raising $50 million

The committee approved the measure 13-4 with strong bipartisan support from both City of Chicago and suburban members.

“Without funding, the millions of people who rely on transit every day will face drastic service cuts and higher fares,” noted RTA Executive Director Steve Schlickman. “Today members of the Mass Transit Committee have loudly voiced their support for additional funding for the system.”

The committee also approved a reform measure by a vote of 20-0, which would implement the recommendations found in the recent report on the transit agencies issues by the Illinois Auditor General, improve coordination and increase accountability in the system. The proposal would require the RTA to adopt a long-term strategic plan, measure the performance of the Service Boards, review capital investment projects and reform budgeting measures.

“We have long-believed that some reform could improve the coordination among the RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace,” said Reilly. “Together we have worked over the last year to improve efficiency and effectiveness and we think the reforms adopted today will help us continue that work.”

The committee acknowledged the need to continue work on mass transit funding and pension reform issues before the General Assembly adjourns for the summer. Several members of the committee called the vote a means to continue discussion on the funding issue, identify funding for needed capital investments and complete work on CTA pension reforms.

“Committee members have worked diligently to ensure that reforms and funding go hand-in-hand,” said Rep. Julie Hamos (D-18, Evanston), chair of the House Mass Transit committee. “We simply cannot put off what business leaders and transit riders and the public understand to be a critical need to ensure the future of mass transit in northeastern Illinois.”

“The amendments passed today reflect a regional solution to a regional problem. The bipartisan support shows how strongly we believe that now is the time to act on mass transit for Illinois,” said Rep. Sid Mathias (R-53, Buffalo Grove), Republican Spokesperson on the committee.

“We know that the funding and reform proposals must be accompanied by CTA pension reform,” said Reilly. “Without addressing the challenges with the pension, it would not be responsible to provide more funding to the CTA.”

The significant capital needs of the transit system remain unfulfilled pending the approval of a state capital investment plan.

“Identifying funding for operations is important to the millions of people who use our transit services, but without capital funding, we will be unable to repair tracks, replace buses or trains or expand the system with new services. It is critical that the General Assembly approve a capital plan to meet these needs,” said Schlickman.

Any experts want to weigh in on the new amendments to Senate Bill 572?

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/full...AID=9&Session=

Supposedly it allows the RTA to levy a $3 per $1000 real estate transfer tax in Chicago. I don't see that in the bill. What I do see is an addition to 70 ILCS 3615/2.01:

...The [RTA] shall ... allocate operating and capital funds made available to support public transportation in the metropolitan region.

If this passes, it looks like the RTA gets to decide for itself how to divide up and spend all the money it gets. Isn't this something they've been begging for?