The current intersection is a cluster. This will make it much better.

Red Line Public Meeting Announcement
 

You're invited to a Public Hearing on the
Red Line Extension Project
Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation Available for Public Review

CTA and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are proposing to extend the Red Line 5.3 miles from 95th Street to 130th Street. Click here to learn more about the project.
http://www.transitchicago.com/redeis/default.aspx

Tuesday, November 1, 2016
5:30 to 7:30 PM
St. John Missionary Baptist Church
211 E. 115th Street, Chicago, IL 60628
This location is served by:
CTA Bus #34, #115, #119, and Metra Electric Kensington Station

This facility is accessible to people with disabilities.
This meeting will be conducted in an open house format.


CTA and FTA have prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) based on the technical analysis of impacts of the proposed project. The Draft EIS documents the benefits and impacts of the alternatives being considered, which include impacts to parks and wetlands. Click here to review the Draft EIS on the RLE Project website. Hard copies of the Draft EIS also are available for review through November 30, 2016. Click here to learn more about reviewing the Draft EIS.

Comments on the Draft EIS are being accepted until November 30, 2016 at 4:30 PM. Comments on the Draft EIS may be made verbally to a court reporter or in writing during the hearing. You also can submit comments via e-mail to RedExtension@transitchicago.com or by mail to Chicago Transit Authority, Strategic Planning, 10th Floor, Attn: Red Line Extension Project, 567 W. Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60661.

Do you require assistance?
If you require an interpreter, including sign language services, or other accommodations at this public hearing, contact Gerald Nichols, CTA Government and Community Relations, at least 5 days before the public hearing at 312-681-2710 or GNichols@transitchicago.com.

Para más informacion en Español, llame al 312-681-2710
Customer Information: 1-888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282)

Thank you for your continued interest.

RLE Project Team
Chicago Transit Authority
E-Mail received from CTA 10/06/2016

Yeah, back in the day when this was all empty or falling down you could have just run those ramps from Cermak straight up straddling the red line tracks, over the St Charles Air Line, follow up near Wells and connect them right into Wacker/Frankin at Harrison as a 4-lane street. The only messy part is they would have to straddle right around the Chinatown Red Line. Unless maybe they had at least pushed the lanes all to the east of the station as opposed to the west would have helped a bit.

Is $2 Billion Red Line Extension Best Way to Provide Transit in Far South Side
 

http://chi.streetsblog.org/2016/10/0...ar-south-side/

Thursday, October 6, 2016

"The Chicago Transit Authority released a major study today, he next step in the developing project to extend the Red Line southward from the 95th Street terminal to 130th Street......."

CTA Special Moves This Weekend, 10/15, 10/16.
 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...f/P1140986.jpg

Saturday, 10/15, the Cincinnati Cars, #4271-4272 will be used to transport guests to a closed Open House at Skokie Shops. No public access aboard trains. Photography from public areas.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...f/P1060753.jpg

Sunday, 10/16, Midway 3200 series cars will run on a charter through subways on Red and Blue lines between 10:30 and 14:00. Rare mileage for these cars.

DH

^^ Metro train running on road level ROW, right?

Yes. "Metro"...used throughout Europe. Old term..."heavy transit"....elevated, el, in Chicago, Illinois "L". Chicago has many miles of surface running, Brown, Purple, Yellow, and Pink lines.
DH

There's been interesting structural work being done on the Wabash el at Madison for several weeks now. One big change is that the section spanning Madison has been replaced and now has a thinner profile, which should look pretty cool from a distance (I wonder if the increased road clearance was a motivating factor or just a useful result). Also, lots of vertical supports up and down Wabash have been sawed off and replaced. I wonder if ultimately there will be fewer of them in the middle of the pavement at intersections; the Van Buren style of shoving the supports out to the curbs would be useful at intersections.

Anyway, I'm surprised there haven't been lots of photos and info here about this.

wish they would build concrete supports to cut down on the noise.

Probably they intended to increase clearance, or they wouldn't have replaced the steel. Usually they just strip/repaint it or sometimes replace the welds or rivets to ensure strength.

Update...Washington-Wabash "L" station under construction
 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...f/P1150125.jpg

View northbound from a private charter 10/16/2016. Elevator towers are up.
DH

A "private charter" excuse me?

I think it was a special event held by the CTA this past Oct. 15th and 16th.

Also, did anyone see this? From the CTA Facebook page:

http://www.trbimg.com/img-58054926/t...17/650/650x366

http://www.trbimg.com/img-58054926/t...17/650/650x366

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...-obama-library

October 25, 2016
The $100 million dream: MacArthur may fund better Loop, Obama library transit

Greg Hinz on Politics

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/apps/...20161025113129


https://www.scribd.com/document/3287...ion#from_embed

CTA will charter a train to individual or groups. http://www.transitchicago.com/chartertrain/

Kippis.....This was not the CTA Skokie Shop Open House 10/15. That was public with reservation required.....sold out. 10/16 was a private charter featuring the Initial Subway tour.

DH

Here's the proposed routing of the plan. This adaptation may have some legs to it (at least the frequent MED Line part of it) since Rahm is interested in it.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cvn108TW8AEYhbv.jpg
Source: http://ccac.org/wp-content/uploads/2...nector-PDF.pdf

Chicago Transit Redevelopment Trust Proposal Video
 

Not sure I like this proposal. The closest analogue I can think of is the Miami Metromover, although this proposal would be about three times as large (14 miles, vs 4.4 miles for Metromover.) Metromover is moderately successful but I think more could be gained from revising Chicago's rail network to be more RER-like.

A particular nitpick: the two east/west lines on Roosevelt and Cermak seem like an awkward and unnecessary bifurcation of service. The obvious solution is to use the St Charles Air Line, but for whatever reason, they didn't even consider it as a possibility.

Probably because a) it's supposedly still in (very occasional) use, b) it's been earmarked for future HSR routing and c) it'd be very difficult to create a transfer to the Wabash elevated lines at 16th street.

The white paper (mostly Ed Zotti) very explictly compares it to Docklands Light Rail in London, which I think is a somewhat better comparison than Metromover.

DLR actually serves as the main form of rail transit for a huge swath of East London and is actually well-used by commuters and residents and well-integrated with a large transit system. It's hard to dismiss DLR as a one-off gimmick like the Detroit or Miami systems, and it was used to solve a similar dilemma in London - how to extend frequent transit to a vast, developing area under the severe fiscal constraints of the Thatcher era.

What's totally unclear to me is how the study authors plan to squeeze a light metro system along much of the alignment. Carroll Street makes sense, but are they proposing to dig a tunnel under Clinton St? Or put some ugly aerial structure? DLR is mostly elevated and terribly ugly, but it was built through totally vacant areas in advance of development. The northern and southern extensions raise similar questions about alignment.