The article further underscores how non-motorists bear far more than their fair share of the motorists' burden. If fatal collisions were up, I imagine non-fatal ones saw a similar increase, too. Really, I don't have any sympathy for those who object to the government's attempts at leveling the playing field (even when safety isn't the express purpose).

a combination of things which basically involves the construction of the west loop transportation center.

1) clinton-larabee subway diverting the red line through the west loop,
2) build in a corresponding blue line spur
3) underground BRT station which primarily provides E-W routing along carrol transitway and madison (among others)

that basically turns the union station area into a secondary hub outside the loop from which you can access most N-S and E-W destinations.

That's an interesting question with no easy answer. For the short term, I'd say stairways from the south platforms at Union Station up to Van Buren, with signage to the Congress/Clinton Blue Line station. Problem is, HSR would probably arrive on the through tracks right next to the river, meaning someone bound for, say, Clark/Adams would walk almost as far southwest to the Blue Line to ride back to Dearborn/Adams as they would just walking from the arrival tracks straight to their Loop destination.

I also hope that an offstreet bus loading facility will soon be built on the surface lot at the SWC Canal/Jackson, with a subterranean passage from the Great Hall under Jackson. That could help reduce the psychic distance from the Great Hall to Clinton/Congress, but perhaps encouraging use of the frequent bus service into the Loop to rapid transit lines would be smarter than building long, expensive tunnels.

Over the long run, we will need to figure out whether a Clinton Street subway (West Loop Transportation Center) or a Monroe Street subway is a better option. If HSR expands enough that either the Clinton Street tracks or an Old Post Office station facility is needed, then the solution becomes more obvious.

I am guessing the best way would be to link it into MDW for trains heading to Indianapolis and St. Louis. There would need to be additional parking added to MDW, but I don’t really see that as a huge problem.

Daley’s dream plan to have an airport express shuttle could rendezvous with O’Hare, and then head up to Milwaukee. It would allow Milwaukee residents to use ORD as an access point instead of MKE, and reduce congestion between MKE and ORD.

State of the 'hood
At forum, aldermen say Wicker Park and Bucktown are ready for stimulus

By IAN FULLERTON
Contributing Reporter
Chicago Journal

Two area aldermen believe the federal stimulus package could mean upgrades for transportation infrastructure in Wicker Park and Bucktown, and the CTA more generally.

"We are ready," said 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores, during a State of the Neighborhood address Feb. 4 at the Wicker Park-Bucktown Library.

At the forum, Flores and 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack met with neighborhood residents to discuss infrastructure, development, crime, parking and other local issues. The Wicker Park Committee hosted the gathering.

Waguespack said that he and Flores have put together a list of projects that could benefit from stimulus funding, including street, transit and sewer line renovations.

"Wicker Park and Bucktown have some of the oldest infrastructures in the city and they haven't been maintained very well," Waguespack said. "We need to sink a lot of money into this in a good way."

"The entire CTA is shovel-ready," added Flores.

Flores said at the top of his agenda is job creation and pro-environmental initiatives like the Green Exchange, a business incubator near Diversey and Campbell slated to open later this year.

Such projects, Flores said, are "not only related to environmental stewardship, but are also needed to help build the green economy in our city, especially in a time when we are facing an economic crisis and we need to expand more jobs for members of our community."

Waguespack said his office is working toward implementing building codes that will incorporate green products into the area's developments, like audits on new construction to ensure that the buildings meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification.

"It will set a standard in the city and show how we can start transitioning into green building," he said.

Flores and Waguespack's call for stimulus funding for the Near Northwest Side came after the city and CTA lost a $153 million federal grant in January. The grant was aimed at easing congestion in the city, and would have paid for "Bus Rapid Transit" along Chicago Avenue, which cuts through both of the aldermen's wards, among other projects.

"The $153 million that was lost was a travesty," said Waguespack. Mayor Daley had blamed federal officials for the loss, saying they were inflexible in the grant's deadline.

"It's an embarrassment," said Flores. "In a time when we need to improve our transit system, we lost out on this opportunity."

Other forum panelists included executive director of the Wicker Park-Bucktown Chamber of Commerce Paula Barrington, 14th District Police commander Lucio Martinez and the newly-seated Wicker Park Post Office manager Sherman Jones.

Barrington expressed her support for some of the proposed developments in the area, including the two parking garages developers hope to build just north of the Damen, Milwaukee and North intersection.

"With this area becoming more popular, we do see that there will be a greater need for these garages," Barrington said.

If built, the two garages - one at 1616-26 N. Milwaukee and the other at 1611-1619 N. Damen - would add around 270 parking spaces to the area. But Waguespack said that he continues to oppose the garages "from an urban planning perspective."

Some residents at the meeting voiced concerns over steady crime rates in the area.

Commander Martinez acknowledged that theft remains an issue. He said Wicker Park and Bucktown had seen 31 more armed robberies than in 2007, and 56 more home burglaries.

"Many of these were financial crimes," he said, suggesting that the numbers may correlate with the economic recession. "It's all money related."

Waguespack said with stimulus money going toward infrastructure projects, more money would be freed up for the police department.

Residents at the meeting asked about the long history of shortcomings in neighborhood postal service.

"I know you have a lot of issues with the service," said Sherman Jones, the new manager of customer services at the Wicker Park Post Office. He said recognized that mail delivery in the area has suffered from job cuts and a lack of funding.

"What am I going to do about it?" he said. "I'm going to talk about talk to the leadership about making changes I deem necessary."

^^^
I'm guessing things didn't go so well on the BRT grant for Daley when he went to Washington last week. As full of hot air as he is, if there was good news he'd have shared it.

Metra rail posts its biggest year yet for ridership
 

February 19, 2009

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/glencoe/...909-s1.article


By LIZA ROCHE lroche@pioneerlocal.com
High gas prices, congested roadways and expanded train service helped make 2008 a record-setting year for annual ridership for suburban Metra rail -- its third consecutive year for making such a record.

In all, Metra reported nearly 84.5 million paid rides in 2008, a 1.4 percent increase over 2007. When including free rides for seniors, the total number of passenger trips grew to 86.8 million in 2008, a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year.

"Since reaching a low of 54.6 million passenger trips in 1983, (the year before commuter rail service was reorganized as Metra) commuter rail ridership has increased 54 percent, averaging a growth rate of two percent a year," said Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano.

This past July was Metra's most popular month in its history, when for the first time ever, the commuter rail service recorded more than 8 million passenger trips in one month. Metra also recorded seven consecutive months in 2008 with more than 7 million trips each.

July also coincided with sky-high gasoline prices, which at the time averaged $4.34 a gallon.

"With the cost of driving more expensive, Metra became a popular alternative," said Lynette Ciavarella, Metra's director of planning and analysis.

Of all the Metra lines, three lines running through north suburban communities saw the biggest growth in 2008, with officials pointing to reconstruction of the Edens Expressway as a major reason for increased use.

Metra's North Central line, which runs from Chicago to Antioch and through many suburbs including Grayslake and Vernon Hills, grew 10.7 percent in passenger trips, from 1.48 million in 2007 to 1.57 million in 2008.

The Union Pacific North line, which runs from Chicago Kenosha and through many North Shore communities including Winnetka and Lake Forest, also saw big gains.

According the suburban rail system, the line recorded more than 10 million paid passenger trips in 2008, compared to 9.2 million in 2007. When including free trips for seniors and other free riders, the total number of rides on the line rose to nearly 10.5 million.

Passenger trips for the Milwaukee North line, running from Chicago to Fox Lake, and through Glenview and Libertyville, also grew by 7.2 percent in passenger trips from 2007 to 2008.

Another ridership noted by Metra staff was the growth in intermediate travel. Trips not beginning or ending in Zone A, or downtown Chicago, on Metra increased 12 percent over those in 2007.

Edens work is completed, employment numbers are decreasing and high gasoline prices have subsided for now -- all things that could reduce pressure on the commuter train system.

But Metra Director Jack Schaffer of McHenry County said more people may consider Metra with significantly higher parking prices --including metered parking -- in downtown Chicago.

"It's something we'll have to keep our eye on," he said.

So what does everyone think on CTA raising fares for 2009, and now finding out that they're already in a $87M hole for LAST year's budget.

Add that to the 2009 deficit and we're staring at a $254,000,000 budget gap that's already hitting.

Compare this to the years we sat through "doomsdays" that tore everyone apart and caused serious fights in Springfield over amounts from $50-$80 million.

We're looking at something 3 times larger than the past doomsdays and we already "won" our fight to fix the funding sytem. No one is giving us anything now, let alone 3 times as much.

Even the CTA and RTA in their meetings today said they were at a complete loss of words, and wouldn't even know where to start fixing this budget gap.

They said the only ways were massive fare increases alongside devestating service cuts.

And now they just released a story how they're pulling over TWO HUNDRED of the rush-hour accordian buses off their routes for defects.

The report said this will have a major impact on rush hour express bus travel on the north/south sides into downtown.

:previous:

That really sucks. They've known about the issue for a long time and have sued the manufacturer.

Oh geez. So is there a chance NABI will go bankrupt and CTA will end up holding the bag on those godawful buses? They're so bad I try to avoid routes that use them whenever possible.

It kind of sucks that the Trib hasn't emphasized that the budget shortfalls are due to the economy. If there's no money in this stimulus package to help out the RTA and other local agencies around the country that are no doubt in the same predicament, maybe more federal aid will show up sooner than we think. A few months ago I'd expect the federal government to gladly sit around while transit agencies went broke, but now I expect different...

THis isn't the first time...this issue has come up. When they first bought these buses...or about a year after...there was concern about this issue. But it quietly went away......so who got paid off to be quiet?

Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
Extra-long buses come with big flaws, CTA says.
From: Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) | Date: March 13, 2005 | COPYRIGHT 2005 Chicago Tribune.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-130255620.html
Chicago Transit AuthorityTransit Authority in Chicago.

Chicago Tribune
March 13, 2005

Byline: Jon Hilkevitch

Mar. 13--Alarmed about serious defects in its new extra-long buses, the Chicago Transit Authority has stopped payments on the $102 million contract because the financially struggling manufacturer is resisting demands to fix many of the problems, transit officials said.

The most worrisome flaw involves cracks that developed in the chassis of a bus that was put through an accelerated durability test, officials said. The test involves running a bus 12,000 miles on a track that contains potholes and other hazards to approximate the wear and tear the ...

Ahhh, bad news. It's contagious.

Every thread I visit, it follows me around. Heido Ho, to the next thread I go! :D :cheers:

^ Well, it's only bad news if you started reading after this article posted by jpIllInoIs:

please please please tell me those new hybrid accordian busses are not made by the same company.

From Chicagobus.org

CTA Pulls NABI Buses for Safety Reasons
February 19, 2009 – By Kevin Zolkiewicz

The Chicago Transit Authority announced this afternoon that it has pulled its entire fleet of 7500-series North American Bus Industries (NABI) model 60LFW articulated buses from service effective immediately. The decision was prompted by safety concerns after a NABI bus recently experienced a structural failure while pulling into a garage.

An early retirement of the NABI fleet had been suspected recently, as over a dozen of the vehicles dropped off the active fleet roster in January. At last count, approximately 200 of the buses had remained in service.

The NABI fleet was placed into service starting in 2003 and has been prone to a substantial amount of defects. Shortly after entering into service, cracks began to form in the articulation joint and axles of the buses. This, combined with other mechanical issues, often resulted in the buses having a failure rate higher than that of buses more than three times their age.

In 2004, the CTA stopped payment to NABI as a result of the ongoing issues with the buses. A lawsuit was also filed when NABI failed to make sufficient improvements under warranty. In May 2007, CTA Chairman Carole Brown stated on her blog that the CTA was still working with NABI to correct ongoing suspension problems, calling it a “serious issue” that “must be fixed.”

The CTA says the buses will be inspected by a structural expert before making a decision regarding the future of the buses. While FTA regulations typically require that buses purchased with federal funds remain on the road for at least 12 years, exceptions could be made in the event of safety issues.

The disappearance of NABI buses on the streets will result in a major fleet shortage for the CTA. The agency is advising customers to expect “challenges” during rush hour periods. Additional rush hour rail service will be added to the Red, Blue, Brown, Green, and Pink lines.

Last fall, the CTA began accepting delivery of up to 150 articulated hybrid buses from New Flyer Industries. Currently approximately 94 of these buses are in service, with more arriving each week. However, their arrival will not fully solve the fleet shortage issue. CTA has also placed additional orders for articulated hybrid buses from New Flyer, but has yet to give a notice to proceed while the agency awaits capital funding.
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Are there any MAN's left? The 30 year old M.A.N.(Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg AG in case you ever wondered) artics were probably are most reliable bus of all.

some previus post of mine on those busses.





not sure of the date, too lazy to go relook up what I found already

NABI articulated buses

those are the freakin' worst pieces of junk and I'm no bus expert but I do know that much. Never buy from them again!



07-15-2008
I am trying to follow. These busses are the new articulated busses? Pic:

If so I agree. I never thought in my life I would complain about the quality of construction of a bus. I wonder if they will hold together over any little bump, that middle sections jumps as I watch it move up inches and crash together in a noise that would make a sonic boom a lullaby. Though stalling could prevent that. Also stalling would prevent the overhead areas from collapsing onto passengers. Who the hell made this crap?



so I went from the train to the express busses because of track work. I got used the the busses. Now the busses are down and lots of problems now so thankfully the trains are working again. Lol, what a system. But hey, I still live easily without a car so it can't be that bad. Also, and this is true, the CTA has impoved a lot within the past year even with this new bus problem. Things definetly follow schedule much better and whatever else makes riding easier. It's not a hassle to traverse the city anymore.

I'm glad those pieces of shit are gone even if it causes a rush hour crunch! I don't really care about rush hour because I don't travel then. earliest I have to be downtown is 9am...

I seriously hated those NABI crapfests, I have never had a more unpleasant experience on Mass Transit than riding those...

I don't think anyone was paid off to be quiet, I think there just wasn't much new to report. They stopped payments and cut their losses in a situation where aggressively suing a failing company would just mean paying a lot of lawyers to try and get blood from a stone. It does seem like they should have done a better job keeping an eye on the structural integrity of the buses in service.

Not sure how anyone else was affected this morning by the bus shortage, but my commute sucked! I take the 77 Belmont Bus currently, until Paulina Brown line stop opens back up. The bus tracker was showing buses running every 15 minutes at 7:30. That’s about twice as long as they usually take. I ended up walking nearly a mile to Belmont CTA stop. Not the end of the world, but it makes you realize that dropping 6% of these buses presents a huge problem…