Streetsblog post about the work being done on Roosevelt

http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/11/0...in-south-loop/

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3953/...0470f3ba_z.jpg

The Museum Campus Transit Study 1st Phase ends
 

The Museum Campus Transit Study "Idea Phase" ends Thursday Nov. 6th -- this is last chance to submit your "Ideas": http://www.civicartworks.com/project...opular&phase=1 The public is invited to use the Civic ArtWorks web
application to provide input, share ideas and consider project proposals.......

And the BGA is holding a Meeting on Wednesday Nov. 12th to discuss details of the new Museum: http://www.bettergov.org/whats_the_f..._lucas_museum/

And of then course (just for those who hadn't seen it yet) there is the new "Museum" itself:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...104-story.html

CTA 'Roller Coaster' Flyover Doesn't Fly With Lakeview Voters
 

http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...iew-voters.php

Yesterday, voters in the 20th, 36th and 38th precincts of the 44th Ward had a chance to make their voices
heard with a non-binding referendum asking if the CTA has justified the proposed Red-Purple Bypass project.......

Interesting news byte today: former Federal Railroad Administration head (and Chicagoan) Joe Szabo is coming back to Chicago to work for CMAP. This gives CMAP a direct line into Washington that may help us secure funding for CREATE projects and other important rail stuff.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...GS02/141109856

Of course, we can only secure grants if the Republicans set aside money for rail to begin with - odds are they will not only pull all high speed rail and most transit funding but also defund Amtrak even further. Then again, CREATE is nominally NOT an Amtrak or transit project but a freight rail investment and corporate handout, so maybe it passes the GOP litmus test.

I think a non-negligible amount of Chicago transit stuff can be funded under the guise of CREATE. And CREATE helps people move oil and gas and the steel used to produce oil and gas. Republicans will support it because they'll get pressure from the cigar-chomping, monacle-wearing fat-cats who benefit. This is where Chicago depends on Mark Kirk now. Kirk is the kind of guy who can get kicked out of office pretty easily in Illinois. Doing some things that please the urban moderates who ride trains to Loop jobs and read boards like this can keep him in office.

^. Ironically, Chicago's ties to its suburbs via Metra benefit it's interests (or at least downtown's interests) politically. In that way, the GOP can't disregard train travel entirely

Good point. I believe he's up for reelection in 2016, too, and he'll probably be vulnerable.

museum campus transit
 

downtown chicago has subway/elevated train infrastructure and should utilize existing to its fullest potential. and we certainly are not, IMO.

building a new set of tracks in the streets (because its trendy in other cities with no other rapid transit) can introduce serious traffic snarl issues.

seattle for example had to re-think: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/...etcars/380603/

though outer neighborhoods, the clark street to downtown scenario, streetcars could make sense. there are also those sealed off tunnels under the river that one would think could be reconstructed for modern streetcars once entering downtown.

What's the Force Behind the Lucas Museum? (OT)
 

Wednesday, November 12th, 4:30pm: Union League Club of Chicago

http://www.bettergov.org/whats_the_f..._lucas_museum/

Is building the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Chicago's lakefront a fait accompli? Many people may think so, but there are a lot of unanswered questions and crucial points that should be discussed before construction gets underway at the Museum Campus...........

Part of the discussion will of course focus on improving Public Transit to the area, and the ongoing Museum Campus Transportation Study;
I do plan to attend: http://www.civicartworks.com/project...opular&phase=1

if the gray line were to be converted to a cta line as proposed, it would be the only stand alone route in the system, meaning you could not transfer directly to another cta rail line.

so, have you addressed the issues (at what location) where the gray line would possibly connect with the greater cta rail system?

http://www.grayline.20m.com/index_1.html

"Access and Transfer Information between the CTA Gray Line and ALL other CTA 'L' and Bus Services in Downtown Chicago:

ACCESS: Downtown at the Millennium Park Station Metra Electric/South Shore/Gray Line Terminal, the entrance on the SW corner of Randolph & Michigan is one short block from the CTA Loop 'L' Station at Randolph & Wabash (Orange, Green, Brown, Pink, and Purple Lines).

CTA's Red Line and Blue Line Subway Routes are accessible Downtown from Millennium Park Station through the ADA Compliant Underground Pedway System.

The Metra Electric's Van Buren St. Station's ADA Compliant Van Buren & Michigan entrances are 2 blocks from the ADA Compliant CTA Harold Washington Library/State & Van Buren 'L' Station; and the adjacent ADA Compliant CTA Red Line Jackson Blvd. Subway Station. Additionally the Van Buren St. Station's Jackson Blvd. entrance is 2 blocks from the CTA Adams & Wabash Loop 'L' Station.



TRANSFERS: Presently at the State & Lake, and Harold Washington Library/State & Van Buren Stations transfers for riders connecting between CTA 'L' Lines and adjacent CTA Subway Lines are accomplished via the street using a valid CTA Fare Instrument (Ventra Card or Pass, etc.)

An additional Fare or Transfer is NOT deducted if connecting within 2 hours of initial boarding of a Rapid Transit ('L') Line - thus granting a FREE transfer between 'L' Lines without having an actual physical paid-fare connection like the tunnel between the Red/Green/Orange Lines at Roosevelt Rd.

The same procedures would allow FREE Transfers between the CTA Gray Line and ALL other CTA 'L' and Bus Services in Downtown Chicago".

i would want to see a thompson center type of transfer which did not require walking a block or two (hell, my knees are bad) or bus transfer. a short extension of existing "l" or subway infrastructure could accomplish that.

couple of options would probably not be too dramatic (expensive): extend lake st "l" east; create a state str. subway east branch as i posted before.

This is working with the infrastructure that presently exists, I would like to see direct Thompson Center type connections also -- but now we're talking Billions in NEW Construction. I never said the proposal was perfect, but the Gray Line is running TODAY; just under a different label, and operating formats.

agree on the gray line, period.

remember that the cta completed an approx. mile long new subway tunnel in the early 90s to connect the dan ryan line to the state street subway.

it is not out of the question to create an east branch subway to connect at mccormick place and serve the campus, as well. and i don't think it would costs billions.

I'm honestly not really sure myself, but any bore tunneling done today (it could N O T be built by cut-n-cover) does cost Billions-per-mile -- And that is a Fact!

What was the final cost of that Ryan Connector? (anybody know); also what is the present estimated cost of the Red Line Extension
(I really do need an answer to that question soon!)

Howard-Dan Ryan Connector cost $187M in 1992 or $317M in 2014 dollars. The tunnel is about 0.7 miles long so the cost per mile is about $450M.

This cost assumes something close to the best-case scenario - you build the tunnel using the cut and cover method through an open field, with very little in the way of utility relocation. This is the sort of cost you would expect for suburban subways in low density areas like those in San Francisco, Atlanta, or Washington. A subway connector downtown would surely cost more.

A closer comparison is probably the only heavy rail subway projects in the US right now - the East Side Access, 7 Extension, and Second Ave Subway in New York. These have costs about $2B per mile. New York's experience suggests the potential for cost containment is not great - East Side Access is being built by Spanish firm Dragados, which is responsible for some of the most inexpensive subways in the world in Madrid and Barcelona.

according to l.org:
CTA broke ground on the project to unite the Howard and Dan Ryan lines via a new subway connection. The project, which was budgeted at $142 million in '85 http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/danryan.html

for a more recent short subway cost comparison, the central subway in SF:
Central Subway is $1.578 billion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Subway

chicago's had no station costs associated.

Odd question, but is there any place I can find good renders of the interchange project and the eventual re-structuring of the on/off ramps on 90/94 in the loop area? I feel like there are some pretty significant highway changes happening and I can never find good renders. The city website is not that high of quality or detail on transit imaging.

Circle Interchange

Overall plan (page 2): http://www.circleinterchange.org/pdf...yer_100213.pdf

Landscape concept: http://www.site-design.com/projects/...e-interchange/

Unfortunately the overpasses and flyover structures will have a pretty standard, clunky appearance based on the construction drawings (which, like all IDOT projects, are posted online). Most renderings are carefully chosen to show a sleek appearance when the reality will be anything but.

Look at all the huge new construction coming into this area, including the very-close-by Lucas Museum site as seen in the pictures.
Read the comments about transporting all those needed Constuction Workers: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...107-story.html

Thank you Ardecila!

I'm not on the expressways that much, but I was driving up the Dan Ryan going into the Kennedy and I was shocked at how AWFUL all those bridges and onramps/offramps look from the circle up through the loop exits. They just replaced all those in the past 10 years and they look terrible with rust everywhere and even pieces of the decorative sections that are just missing. How can it look so trashed in just a few years? Any fixes in store? I would go after the contractor.

^ Sure sounds like a classic Walsh job!

Connections ~ Connections.......

What's Rauner's take on transit, tollway?
 

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...ews/141119964/

Marni Pyke posted: 11/10/2014 5:00 AM

"Pensions, schmensions. Readers of this column want to know what Illinois' next governor thinks about roads, transit and airports, issues sadly lacking in this fall's knock-down-drag-out election battle between Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican winner Bruce Rauner......"

Eyes on the Street: Metra Renovates 18th Street Electric Station
 

http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/11/1...ctric-station/

Steven Vance Monday, November 10, 2014

The South Loop-focused blog Sloopin reported last month that more residents in the Prairie District are using the Metra Electric service’s 18th Street station to catch a fast, on-time ride into the East Loop. A trip from 18th Street to Van Buren or Millennium Stations costs $2.75 and takes 10-15 minutes......

Metra’s $100,000 club includes conductors, engineers
 

http://chicagosuntimes.com/news/metr...ors-engineers/

Rosalind Rossi 11/11/14

Want to make at least $100,000 a year? Consider becoming a Metra conductor or engineer. Be prepared to put in enormous hours for your six-figure salary but not earn time-and-a-half for your extra time......

Metra employees get raises averaging 15% as agency eyes fare hikes
 

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...ews/141119719/

Marni Pyke 11/11/14


Metra leaders will vote Friday on proposed fare increases, including up to 19 percent for monthly passes in the same year hundreds of employees' salaries jumped by 15 percent on average......

While of course labor cost are going up -- there is the F A C T that CTA and Metra W A S T E Thousands of Dollars Each and Every Day by operating competing Transit Services throughout Chicago's South Side, and they don't even want to acknowledge that F A C T -- nor do anything about it.

Which one do you think should be abandoned, the Red Line or the Green Line?

Neither one, they both provide needed South Side services, there is none along the (densely populated) Lakefront however; I'm mainly talking about the Red Line Extension, and Southeast Side long-hauls on Lakeshore Drive.

Why do you think of the Lake Shore Drive buses as costing money, instead of thinking of them as saving money? Those #6 buses stop right in front of the Jeffery Blvd apartment buildings. They don't require riders to walk or ride a crosstown bus a mile to a train station just so (when the train comes) the ride downtown would be a few minutes faster.

I always catch an express bus downtown to work in the morning, but when I leave the office at 8pm, I always take the Red line home because express buses are no longer running and the buses that are available take 15-20 minutes longer than a train ride with walking factored in. The southside lake front, particularly an attractive neighborhood like Hyde Park, will never attract a resident like me until it is served by CTA train service. I do believe a new heavy transit rail line down the south lakefront will improve economic development.

^The #6 runs until 1 am. If that's not relevant because you live way west, over by Cottage Grove, more service on the Metra Electric won't help you either.

I did not realize that the #6 runs with 12 minute intervals. Maybe it is due to my personal preference or experience with awful routes (e.g. #36, #22, #151, #148 etc.), but after living about 15 years without a vehicle, I feel more comfortable having easy access to a CTA rail line that provides a high frequency of service around the clock.

Mr Downtown just gets a kick out of disagreeing with everybody around here.

Of course express buses and trains are equal. Didn't you know that?

Greg Hinz at Crain's reports that CMAP is pushing a "Fund 2040" quarter-cent sales tax for the six-county area to help implement their GOTO 2040 plan. Reportedly this would generate about $300 million annually for transportation, water infrastructure, and open space projects, which would be doled out through a competitive process and not based on a pre-determined list.

$300 million per year is about half of what LA County receives from their half-cent Measure R sales tax, for comparison, so we could see a handful of ambitious projects financed this way, including the Red/Purple Line Modernization project or some of the stuff in CREATE, especially if used to secure Federal matching funds. That dollar amount could go up, too, if Rauner's proposal to extend sales tax to services goes through.

I do not think this is enough money to implement the ambitious Measure R-like "Transit Future" proposal, but maybe a few key elements from that plan could move forward.

http://fund2040.org/

The CTA says it has shot HD videos of all the lines, but the first ones posted on You
 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/11/...-cta-red-line/

The CTA says it has shot HD videos of all the lines, but the first ones
posted on You Tube show the ride along the Red Line in both directions.....

(Sorry for duplicate posts)

Would have been really nice to have had this before the election :hell:

There's nothing new in that article, all the information was available before the election if you read Greg Hinz' column or follow other transportation news sources.

Honestly, it's pretty scant because neither candidate said much about infrastructure issues during the campaign, it was all about taxation, schools, and character assassination.

On the other hand, Quinn didn't need to say very much because he has five (six?) years in office, which featured a major state capital program and heavy investment by CTA and the Tollway. He also has a well-known support for the Illiana project, which is very controversial.

Today I saw a Brown Line train with LED signs. Is it a test model, or are they upgrading all of the 3200 cars with the new signs?

Museum Campus Transportation Study
 

A VERY Interesting new development, I was just contacted by Bob O'Neill of the Grant Park Conservancy; based on the intial Study results, he wants to arrange a GPC/GPAC Presentation soon for John Krause and the Superloop Streetcar, and the CTA Gray Line Project: http://www.civicartworks.com/project...opular&phase=1

I seem to remember telling him YES in sort of a daze.......

That's great! This should give more leverage for both projects and should (hopefully) convince Metra to start working with the CTA on this.

I remember the CTA announcing in a press release that they would upgrade all 3200 cars to have LED signs for $166 million, probably because the lines that have the 3200 series (Brown and Orange) go to the loop and they want to give passengers an easier way of identifying them from the 5000 cars.

Errrrrrrr, I think a decimal point is missing somewhere there.

Cermak station
 

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7571/...fc8932e2_z.jpg
The new Cermak-State-22nd CTA station has a partial shell by Steven Vance, on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7532/...53aec541_z.jpg
The 23rd Street entrance of the new Cermak Green Line station by Steven Vance, on Flickr

Trust me, I wish it was.

CTA Prepares to Overhaul its 3200-Series Rail Cars in 2015
8/14/2013
...
Although work to rebuild all 256 3200-series rail cars is not expected to begin until 2015, the CTA has started the process of procuring parts and operating systems that have long-lead times and require successful testing of pre-production samples. Personnel at the CTA’s Skokie Heavy Maintenance Facility will perform the overhaul work over the course of two-years. The total estimated cost of the overhaul is $166 million.

http://www.transitchicago.com/news/d...ArticleId=3197

Uhh...the entire mid-life overhaul of the 3200s is what's costing $166M. The LED signs are a much smaller contract.

Thanks for the clarification! I thought it was odd for it to be $166 million. I guess I should read more closely next time.

Are they going to reconfigure the seating?