Thanks for the info!! since i was not alive back then and not the transportation expert...I did not know that! Something new i need to go look into now.

The appearance of the race card took longer than expected in this discussion....but it was inevitable. It must be easy to feel you've won arguments when you've staked out the moral high ground for yourself.

Wanting your tax money to be spent locally = RACISM.
NOT wanting your tax money to be wasted on stupid pet projects = RACISM.
Wanting to live in a peaceful area with a little space to breathe = RACISM.
NOT wanting to live in an area infested with gangs and drugs = RACISM.
NOT wanting your children to attend schools that do a lousy job educating them = RACISM.

Living in the suburbs = RACISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait until my many non-white neighbors find out about this!

Lot's of luck with all your pipe-dreams ever getting funded when you insult the majority of people in the region.

Let me fix this for you:

Amalgamation would be almost impossible to achieve, but let's set that aside for a moment. The result would be the same thing, just with different names.

A MetroChicago government would have to have (for constitutional reasons) geographic districts of equal population. So immediately you have the same thing: six city councillors representing the former suburbs and three representing the old city of Chicago. Only now they're on completely equal footing, making the same arguments as a current alderman: why does Lincoln Park-Edgewater get 18 different bus routes when Carol Stream-Bloomingdale only has one? And when will that rail line connecting Bolingbrook and Plainfield finally be built? Let's abandon a couple of the little-used Old South Side lines and put that money to better use . . . .

I'm sorry to report that your "social envy-injustice disease" is terminal. :(

^^^ Lol, I'm about as libertarian/right wing as they get on these boards and even I can see the problems. Why is it that you cant?

I see problems in the world, but I do not see racism as the reason for all of them. I'm never going to be made to believe that most people choose to live in the suburbs...and want them to be nice places to live...because they hate blacks. As a right wing SSP forum member, I find the "Transit as Social Justice" meme, which is very common here, to be offensive and off-putting. It's never going to be a winning argument with people whose tax dollars already fund the majority of transit systems in the area, and from whom you want more.

Does anyone have any insight into why CTA bus ridership is plummeting? Rail ridership is growing quite nicely still.

Two words: Divvy and Ventra. Bus drivers often waive people with problem cards past the farebox, I assume there is some ridership data leakage there. Meanwhile Divvy has racked up some 2 million rides in 14.5 months of operations.

Ventra. It's no longer possible for poor people to transfer from one bus line to another, which of course used to count as two boardings.

Ok, all that combined very likely accounts for the decline. Thanks, I hadn't thought about those things.

It does seem like the kinks in Ventra have been worked out now though. But Divvy is absolutely stealing ridership. I can't believe how popular it is.

http://www.transitchicago.com/news/d...ArticleId=3345

New 95th
 

Can we all just agree the new 95th terminal is probably the consolation prize since the extension probably will never happen?;)

^ Not so sure about that - I actually think that it's probably much more likely to come to fruition than I did a year or two ago (when I was certainly no more than 50/50 on the odds and maybe as little as 1/3 chance in the next 10 years).......

A mayoral election is coming up. I put the chances of vague promises about it at 100%.

Rahm can point to the 95th St terminal under construction when he campaigns on the South Side. Even assuming a full court press by the mayor and congressional delegation, the Red Line Extension is several years from starting. New Starts projects just don't move that quickly unless you decide to pass on Federal funding.

:yuck: I am so sick of seeing that man on TV taking credit for stuff......

Tribune article has updated details about some of the transit improvements coming, including the Union Station bus station and lane alterations.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-dow...htmlstory.html

http://photodesk.chicagotribune.com....RT-map-gfc.jpg

http://photodesk.chicagotribune.com....low-render.jpg

^- The bus/taxi/car situation on Canal at Union Station is such a disaster, I didn't know there was any plan in place to improve it. The divided lane and designated space for coach busses should help the situation a lot. Hopefully it extends to the block south of Jackson where many Megabuses stop.

The article mentioned that the Megabuses will be moved south to Congress outside the Clinton Blue Line station.

This should make for an easier transfer to CTA and a sheltered place for people to wait under the expressway. It would be great to kill one of those parking lots and put in a secure waiting area with benches like DC has at Union Station.

Unfortunately the new rendering in the Trib makes it seem like the signature (and competition-winning) design has now been totally killed in favor of something cartoonish and ugly.

Cermak/McCormick Place Station
9/28/14

http://i58.tinypic.com/15fhjrq.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/2qicwft.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2hncsi9.jpg

I prefer Rahm doing it rather than Karen Lewis, union pig or Fioretti, moron.

Let's face it, if one of them were in charge there wouldn't be much for them to take credit of. I'm most afraid of Lewis somehow winning and tanking the Lucas museum.

Back on topic, is there an estimated completion date for Cermak and for the start of demolition of Madison/Wabash?

Cermak needs to be finished this calendar year, I think, because the TIF district is expiring.

:shrug: well I guess he is the best of 3 evils.

How do we all feel about the announcement of another 700 bike Divvy expansion that will push into Oak Park and Evanston?

Divvy's pretty great. I know a lot of people who use it, and others who got crazy into biking after trying it out. The only concern with expanding is whether they can scale their recirculating operations (the trucks that move bikes between stations so everything is appropriately stocked) to cover a greater footprint without delays. You'd think that rebalancing and route-finding stuff would be computerized, but an article I read a while ago made it sound like it was a lot of pencil and paper work.

Union pig? Pretty harsh commentary.

Pigs everywhere are offended by this.

Where is the article? Is this in addition to the expansion that was delayed till next year?

I'm all for expanding Divvy. When my bike was stolen in June I joined as a member and I've been using it a lot. At times, it is more convent then if I were using a bike that I owned.

Museum Campus Transportation Plan Open House
 

No Surprise: International Report Says Region’s Transit Not Up to Par
 

http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/10/0...not-up-to-par/

Last month, a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development validated what Chicago researchers, a task force convened by the governor, and millions of customers have all said for years: Transit in Chicagoland is fragmented, inefficient, and far from adequate to serve the region’s transportation needs.....

Lewis would be a complete disaster as Mayor. My guess is with her current health issue, she will not be running.

I'm most afraid of Lewis bankrupting the city.

^ Yes, I agree. She should focus on her health first and foremost, and then getting back to her job - one in which she is well-suited for - as teacher's uniion president. A nice and interesting person, very smart, but not right for mayor....

Aldermen seek O'Hare express train to Union Station, McCormick Place
 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...008-story.html

Five aldermen well-versed in Chicago's transportation issues on Wednesday called for yet another study to examine the feasibility and cost of launching high-quality airport express train service for O'Hare International Airport, Union Station and McCormick Place.......

^ wishfull thinking isn't self funding . Only way is fed money from on high..... which only DC gets limitless. Parochial cities get scraps.....

Does anyone know what is going on with the 18th street Metra station?

It appears as though a temporary bus transfer station is being put together along the McCormick Place busway. My guess was to route the passengers that get picked up and dropped off up onto the bridge to allow them to cross over to Soldier Field without having to do a grade-level crossing of the railroad tracks as they do now.

On the subject of distance to transit, which often comes up in Chicago discussions, apparently in Manhattan the farthest you could possibly live from a subway entrance is .8 miles. And that's a building with $20m penthouses. A 17 minute walk, according to google.

Average Metra fare to jump 68 percent over 10 years under proposal
 

http://breakingnews.suntimes.com/chi...nder-proposal/

The average Metra fare could jump 68 percent over 10 years under a $2.4 billion modernization plan that would bankroll upgrades to virtually Metra’s entire fleet and cover a new federal safety mandate........

Didn't they just jack up Metra rates 1 year or 2 ago. Getting kind of tired of this. But i guess they have other upper management people they need to pay to go away or something.

There are buses that stop on the Busway at 18th?

Maybe intial construction staging, even the first parts (demolition of existing facilities) will require hundreds of workers daily, and tons of heavy equipment.

They might be planning to run shuttles to/from worker parking areas.

For Bears games, sure.

Buses provided by whom, or from what service?

Auburn Park/79th Metra station to break ground on Spring 2015
http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/ne...l#.VDsbTYm9LCQ

If everything goes well, we could have Auburn Park and Peterson/Ridge under construction next spring. The long-promised renovations to Healy are out for bid right now, too.

Plus, the west side of the new Ravenswood station is about to open, after which the work will shift to the east side. I keep waiting for a renovation of Clybourn, which desperately needs work...

Shuttle buses - from various parking lots, I would assume.

I looked out the window this morning and noticed that the southern portion of the platform was being reconstructed with no apparent staircase (like there used to be) down to ground level. More evidence that they are planning to make all bus passengers use the pedestrian bridge, which also gives flexibility to add CTA bus service there - the busway has space at the spot for buses to exit the roadway for drop offs and pick ups.

Well this sounds like a fairly big deal:

More Here: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...billion-revamp

God I hope there is at least SOME conversation about electrification. If precedence is any indication theyre discussing purchasing diesel hauled coaches that may be around for 40+ years. Does anyone else think it sounds crazy to be running diesel commuter trains in 2050? 2060?

No, I really think we need to think about going back to coal fired steam engines.

Metra could start with a pilot program for the Milwaukee district mainline, using dual modes until the funds are in place to complete the entire length of the lines. The Rock Island line also seems an obvious one as there are so many closely placed stops where quick acceleration would prove very beneficial.

No, fixed-plant electrification is an enormous cost for the tiniest of increments in greenhouse gases (that electricity has to be generated somewhere, somehow). In fact, when you consider transmission loss from distant power plants, it's doubtful there's any improvement at all. Lots of other things—natural gas or turbine prime movers, regenerative braking—could be done for a fraction of the cost, if emissions is your worry.

I think it will be an interesting discussion when the time comes—soon—to reconstruct the Metra Electric overhead.