Seems like a 15th St Red Line would be tricky given that it is on an incline. There is space to excavate a station, but the neighborhood might not be happy with increased foot traffic on 15th.

They should consider putting some money towards a Clinton St subway line, but I can't imagine that even has a chance to get off the ground until there are solid development proposals in the SW Loop (i.e. the dead zone Dan Ryan to the river, south of Congress) and the Riverline project is well underway. Perhaps CTA/City should be looking at protecting a new subway route.

At 15th Street the Red Line tunnel is still east of Clark, which works poorly for what should be a massive development that deserves a station closer to its middle.

On top of that, the initial (and in the long term likely the tallest and largest) developments will probably be on the northern portions of the parcel -- where Red Line Roosevelt is actually a shorter walk.

Is there physical and operational leeway to run an unmanned piston shuttle between this giant development and LaSalle St Station, to essentially make it a virtual extension of the southwest Loop?

Finally, the Union Station tracks are so tantalizingly close to this site; has anyone ever thought of a bridge or tunnel at the northern end of this site to link it to Union Station (and then maybe through-route it up to Finkl or the Metra lines)? There seems to be ample space on both sides of the river for it.

No, the main exit from a Red Line station could easily be on the site:

https://i.imgur.com/U4YeEkD.png?1

Interestingly, this weekend Metra is replacing the diamonds where the Rock Island crosses the St Charles Air Line and the CN Freeport Sub. That's work that might need to be redone if Related succeeds in moving the Metra tracks to run up the middle of their site.

^ So is that 8 diamonds? Sounds like small dollars regardless.

Are we wed to an infill station being precisely at 15th Street (as in that diagram)? Is this because cut-and-cover has already been completed so they need only excavate the lid? Or because further south the tracks are at an incline? Because if Rock Island is relocated, it seems like a station straddling Clark or west of it would be a bit better of a location. Minor matter though, compared to whether and how Rock Island would be relocated.

My map doesn't show a station; it shows the small CTA substation building that's already there.

My assumption is that a new 10-car station would stretch from roughly the north curb of 15th southwest past the current Metra Rock Island tracks. The entrances could be both east and west of Clark, but it's less confusing for us to call the station "15th."

When you say your map ... I'm guessing this probably is really a map you made and manage? (That must be another substation at 14th Place, in the same gray, or an electrical utility yard since it's somewhat large.) So this is how you play god in the South Loop, publishing whatever images will suit your diabolical plans.

I just realized it's not immediately obvious why the expensive Red Line connector tunnel was necessary; Loop subway trains were already capable of connection to the Dan Ryan because Lake - Dan Ryan was a pre 1990s line and the 13th St portal brought those Loop subway trains onto that right of way. Was it just the congestion of switching between inner and outer tracks around 16th and 17th?

Yes, I've drawn many maps of Chicago, including one showing every structure in the central area.

The HoDaR realignment of 1993 was to better balance the heaviest lines. Dan Ryan had far more ridership than Lake, and Howard far more than Jackson Park/Englewood. It was thought that squeezing the new Red Line, the Green Line, and the new Orange Line through 17th Tower and Junction would be too much. A new smoothly curving alignment would save at least 60 seconds over the sharp curves onto and off the 18th Street structure. That structure was itself in danger of failure, supported by emergency cribbing and needing extensive repair.

Wouldn't that result in curving (and possibly sloping) platforms? I guess that's not a deal breaker, CTA already operates curved platforms on the Blue Line at Jeff Park/Addison/Kedzie.

I think a slight curve wouldn't be a dealbreaker; you can put up CCTVs so the operator can observe the rear doors. Lots of examples around the world.

As for the slope, that's a little more problematic with CTA's dynamic brakes—though I think a couple of the Kennedy Expressway stations might not be totally flat. I've speculated that they might be able to increase the slope a wee bit for both approaches in order to have 500 feet of level track at the station. It might be easiest to dig 1000 feet of new cut-and-cover subway just west of the current tunnel with the new station (or at least the west half of it) on a straight, level alignment. Then the current tunnel could be abandoned/turned into the northbound platform. All this gets much easier once the Rock Island is realigned.

Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburg hyperloop?

I hadn't heard of this:
https://hyperloop-one.com/blog/state...sburgh-chicago

^^ yeah, I know certain newer systems like Montreal's have the track slope up slightly on the approach to stations, so gravity can assist with braking and acceleration.

Anyway, the more I think about this, the more it sounds like it will exceed Related's budget. Certainly this should cost more than $100M, especially if prevailing wage is required and costly mitigation is needed for Dearborn Park residents. Maybe CTA should just buy out that whole block of 15th. :shrug:

Would be a prime time to just bulldoze it...I can dream, right? :haha:

Cool program graphically displaying Chicago's entire transit network in a day - Although I think the South Shore line is missing as well as Amtrak's 10 round trips to Milw.

Credit Mapzen: https://mapzen.com/blog/animating-transitland/

https://vimeo.com/230857619

Take note Amazon--all lines lead to [near] OPO.

That is insanely great. Insanely great. Should be part of the weather report every night or something; citizens should always be very aware of how much, or little, transit is available in their city.

I don't know why the pace keeps speeding up and slowing down so randomly though. Just for illustration purposes I suppose.

This isn't transit-related, but it is transportation-related.

Curbed: Navy Pier Flyover project to begin phase two construction this week
BY JAY KOZIARZ OCT 9, 2017, 2:13PM CDT

Finally some movement!

Yeah, I don't really understand the phasing of that project. Usually phased projects have "independent utility", i.e. people can start using each phase once it's built. I would have expected the ramp down to Navy Pier to be in Phase 2 or Phase 3, and the section over DuSable Park to be in Phase 1 so it could immediately start providing benefits.

Anyway, I hope CDOT learned from this project so they can do the Riverview Bridge at Addison more economically.

This looks pretty cool and can be used for buses. It would be really nice if Chicago could convert all the buses that use Michigan Ave into electric buses - air quality would be far better in that corridor then.

• Video Link

I've actual wished for a bus tunnel under Michigan Ave from Oak Street to Grand, at which point buses could cross the river on the lower desk of the Michigan Ave bridge. Somewhat similar to Seattle's downtown bus tunnel (though it was converted for light rail and soon will become exclusively used by light rail). Moving the buses under Michigan Ave would help speed up travel in that very congested corridor. Just a pipe dream though. I know it will never happen.

New 'L' Stop Is Coming To State and Lake
 

THE LOOP — A new "L" stop is coming to State and Lake streets, replacing the 122-year-old station that overlooks the Chicago Theatre.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday that city officials have secured a nearly $57 million federal grant to build a new elevated train station in the heart of the Loop.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017...ing-state-lake

So it's going to be getting the Washington/Wabash treatment?