CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[OhioGuy]

Originally Posted by emathias

This isn't good ...

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...bbed-this.html

Oh the lovely trash we have in this city...

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

the odds of crime in the area would probably drop due to one or two city employee's being stationed there nearly 24-7 with a clear view through the glass.

Why would city employees be stationed round the clock at a CTA station?

[the urban politician]

Quinn wants $25 billion for construction, won't talk taxes
March 9, 2009 1:07 PM |

Gov. Patrick Quinn today said he wants to spend $25 billion on a statewide construction program to improve schools, roads and bridges and create jobs, Clout Street reports.

Quinn offered few details about the plan, which he will likely formally unveil during his March 18th budget address, but said he would like the measure implemented quickly in order to spur the state's economy.

"We hope to have a $25 billion... Illinois economic recovery investment program that invests in rail as well as highway and bridges and water and everything else," Quinn said. "I think it's imperative... but we have to get it passed. I'd like to see it passed by April 3, and we're going to work very hard in that direction."

[BVictor1]

^^Well okay

[Busy Bee]

Wait, i thought we wasted all the money we had on flu vaccines?

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Why would city employees be stationed round the clock at a CTA station?

Well I've never been in a station where it wasn't the case. There is always at least one attendant stationed at every open station isn't there?

Granted its the Green line so there might not be anyone there for 2 or 3 hours early in the morning, but if you are out lurking at that time of the night in a semi-industrial area of the city you are asking to be attacked.

[Mr Downtown]

There's either a CTA customer assistant or a private security guard at any open station. But in 30 years of riding, I've never seen any city employees hanging around. What station are you going to where you see city employees? Are they just standing around drinking coffee, or sitting outside in cars or trucks?

[pottebaum]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Quinn wants $25 billion for construction, won't talk taxes
March 9, 2009 1:07 PM |

Gov. Patrick Quinn today said he wants to spend $25 billion on a statewide construction program to improve schools, roads and bridges and create jobs, Clout Street reports.

Quinn offered few details about the plan, which he will likely formally unveil during his March 18th budget address, but said he would like the measure implemented quickly in order to spur the state's economy.

"We hope to have a $25 billion... Illinois economic recovery investment program that invests in rail as well as highway and bridges and water and everything else," Quinn said. "I think it's imperative... but we have to get it passed. I'd like to see it passed by April 3, and we're going to work very hard in that direction."

Wow. That's so awesome.
"..invests in rail as well as highway and bridges..

[Rilestone75]

Originally Posted by pottebaum

Wow. That's so awesome.
"..invests in rail as well as highway and bridges..

I saw a news piece last night that said Quinn's plan for HSR in Illinois would only decrease the time between Chicago and St. Louis by an hour.

That makes a ton of sense, spend a billion, gain an hour. Does anyone else find that completely unimpressive and disappointing?

I'm sorry, I would really love to see more HSR in our area, but 4 hours between Chi and STL is still too much, I'll fly if that is the case.

[Taft]

CTA Circle Line Gets $8 Million Earmark

The Chicago Transit Authority's long-discussed Circle Line is getting a boost from Congress. The project received an $8 million earmark - sponsored by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin - in the omnibus spending package passed yesterday. If built, the Circle Line would connect all CTA and Metra lines in Chicago, using newly built western and northern corridors, and some existing tracks.

Durbin's office calls the plan a key component of the city's strategy for the 2016 Olympics. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the omnibus package shortly.

The bill also contains over $30 million to modernize the CTA Brown Line, and about a quarter million dollars each to lengthen the Red and Yellow lines.

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Co...?audioID=32736

OK, I have to say it...

A few posters here have asserted that the only people at the CTA who thought the Circle Line was a good idea are now gone (Frank Kruesi usually being fingered as chief among its supporters). So now I ask: what proof have you?

Clearly SOME people in IL still believe in this project if Durbin and crew are requesting money for the project. And I would be shocked if they were doing this without at least some support from city hall and the CTA.

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Well I've never been in a station where it wasn't the case. There is always at least one attendant stationed at every open station isn't there?

Granted its the Green line so there might not be anyone there for 2 or 3 hours early in the morning, but if you are out lurking at that time of the night in a semi-industrial area of the city you are asking to be attacked.

CTA employees and city employees are separate, I agree with Mr D I generally do not or even rarely see city employees lurking around CTA stations.

Your second point is nonsense.....so I went for a bike ride down ashland from Rogers Park to 57 th steet and back Fri night at 1 AM.....does that mean I jumped on my bike asking to be jumped or otherwise accosted? No

However it is surprising how prevalent this idea is, my wife said before I left..."you are going to get shot". She grew up in the suburbs and has a much different perspective on the city than I do

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by Taft

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Co...?audioID=32736

OK, I have to say it...

A few posters here have asserted that the only people at the CTA who thought the Circle Line was a good idea are now gone (Frank Kruesi usually being fingered as chief among its supporters). So now I ask: what proof have you?

Clearly SOME people in IL still believe in this project if Durbin and crew are requesting money for the project. And I would be shocked if they were doing this without at least some support from city hall and the CTA.

8 million for the circle line.....not that I am a huge fan, but it better than nothing...

but 8 million seems like dribble piss in a bucket....sheesh

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by Rilestone75

I saw a news piece last night that said Quinn's plan for HSR in Illinois would only decrease the time between Chicago and St. Louis by an hour.

That makes a ton of sense, spend a billion, gain an hour. Does anyone else find that completely unimpressive and disappointing?

I'm sorry, I would really love to see more HSR in our area, but 4 hours between Chi and STL is still too much, I'll fly if that is the case.

I agree this needs to get down to as close to 2 hours as possible....certainly less than 3 hours to be competitve

[alex1]

certainly nice to see mass transit continuing to become a talking point for politicians in tough economic times, coupled with lower fuel prices.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

There's either a CTA customer assistant or a private security guard at any open station. But in 30 years of riding, I've never seen any city employees hanging around. What station are you going to where you see city employees? Are they just standing around drinking coffee, or sitting outside in cars or trucks?

You know what I am talking about, I meant CTA employees not random city employees, thats why I said I was talking about the "attendants" at the stations, is it really worth 3 posts of questions just to point out that CTA employees are not city employees? I don't understand why you are still going on about it even after specified who I am talking about...

Originally Posted by lawfin

Your second point is nonsense.....so I went for a bike ride down ashland from Rogers Park to 57 th steet and back Fri night at 1 AM.....does that mean I jumped on my bike asking to be jumped or otherwise accosted? No

No, actually its not non-sense. I have lived in Edgewater and Roger's Park for the past 3 or so years. One of my best friends grew up as a street rat in East Rogers Park. Whenever I go on bike rides with him on nice summer evenings he refuses to ride down side streets near and west of the Metra tracks. He knows all of the people his age in the neighborhood subsequently most of the gang leaders in the area, he says the area west of the Metra tracks is crawling with gangsters and doesn't want to go near it. That said, I'm sure Ashland is safe, only because its a major thoroughfare with lots of traffic, but stray off Ashland its its very possible you'll get mugged.

Why would you ride around in Back of the Yards at night? I know its improved at ton, but its not a place I'd go alone after dark, again, you are probably safe on Ashland, but stray off into the side streets and you are risking it...

Believe it or not, there are places in this city that are not great places to hang out after dark...

[intrepidDesign]

Originally Posted by lawfin

I agree this needs to get down to as close to 2 hours as possible....certainly less than 3 hours to be competitve

Agreed. We shouldn't get a "high speed" rail line just to have one. It has to be able to fill that gap between too far for a car and to close for a plane, and the only way to fulfill that is to get the speeds up around 200 mph. True HSR. The only way to get that is to eliminate slow zones, not share lines with freight, and by all means, avoid going through populated areas.

[Abner]

CTA warns service cuts, fare hikes on the table
March 11, 2009 5:01 PM | 14 Comments

CTA service cuts and more fare increases must be among the possible options to erase a projected $155 million budget deficit this year, transit officials warned Wednesday, adding that a decision will be made next month.

"We are going to take some type of action at the April board meeting,'' CTA chairman Carole Brown said.
Urgent steps to cut costs are required, partly because of the uncertainty over the accuracy of sales tax projections provided by the Regional Transportation Authority, Brown said.

...

Also Wednesday, the CTA board approved a contract marking the agency's first use of federal economic stimulus funds. The money is being directed toward reducing slow zones in the Blue Line Dearborn Street subway, where deteriorating track conditions require trains to operate at slow speeds.

The CTA board awarded a $56.6 million contract to Kiewit-Reyes A Joint Venture to replace about 36,000 feet of track. The entire subway project will cost $88 million, and work is scheduled to begin in April. The project will create about 400 jobs over the course of the work, officials said.

The CTA is to receive a total of about $240 million in stimulus funding. The money will help pay for new buses, to rehab trains and renew aging tracks, including on the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line, transit officials said.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...officials.html

The combined two-year expected sales tax shortfall is $242 million, almost exactly the size of the stimulus funding. Doesn't it seem like it would make a lot more sense if they could just use the stimulus money to patch the budget shortfall? This is a cyclical, not structural, revenue shortfall, so the use of a one-time cash infusion isn't just putting off long-run problems in this case. I'm sure the stimulus package doesn't allow for this, which is just another sign that we need some direct and explicit aid to government agencies facing massive shortfalls like this.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by Taft

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Co...?audioID=32736

OK, I have to say it...

A few posters here have asserted that the only people at the CTA who thought the Circle Line was a good idea are now gone (Frank Kruesi usually being fingered as chief among its supporters). So now I ask: what proof have you?

Clearly SOME people in IL still believe in this project if Durbin and crew are requesting money for the project. And I would be shocked if they were doing this without at least some support from city hall and the CTA.

That is because the Circle Line study area has been expanded westward to Cicero Avenue. My guess, is that this money will be used to fund phase 3 of the study. The Circle Line, as initally proposed is pretty much dead, however Mid-City Transit way and the Clinton-Larrabee Subway are still on. These, if built will fulfill some of the goals that the Circle Line strived for, but provide some even better benifits. The money in the Omnibus Spending Bill, might also be used as seed money for the construction of a station at Madison Street to service the United Center, a Olympic Venue. That is just my speculation, perhaps someone with better CTA knowledge could opine on the subject.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Taft

http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Co...?audioID=32736

OK, I have to say it...

A few posters here have asserted that the only people at the CTA who thought the Circle Line was a good idea are now gone (Frank Kruesi usually being fingered as chief among its supporters). So now I ask: what proof have you?

Clearly SOME people in IL still believe in this project if Durbin and crew are requesting money for the project. And I would be shocked if they were doing this without at least some support from city hall and the CTA.

The Alternatives Analysis study is still in progress at the CTA. That study has NOT limited the options down to a rail line yet, meaning that a BRT option is still on the table. This is, in fact, a far cheaper and more likely outcome. The BRT alignment, the last I heard, would run along Ashland and Ogden and it would involve a reconstruction of the Ogden Ave Bridge in some capacity in order to bring buses to the North/Clybourn area.

Also, $8 million is very high for a mere study - you'll note that similar studies for the Red and Orange Lines are only getting $250,000 each. This amount almost seems like the cost of early engineering - actually nailing down a specific alignment, which buildings need to come down, where streets need to be reconfigured, etc.

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

You know what I am talking about, I meant CTA employees not random city employees, thats why I said I was talking about the "attendants" at the stations, is it really worth 3 posts of questions just to point out that CTA employees are not city employees? I don't understand why you are still going on about it even after specified who I am talking about...




No, actually its not non-sense. I have lived in Edgewater and Roger's Park for the past 3 or so years. One of my best friends grew up as a street rat in East Rogers Park. Whenever I go on bike rides with him on nice summer evenings he refuses to ride down side streets near and west of the Metra tracks. He knows all of the people his age in the neighborhood subsequently most of the gang leaders in the area, he says the area west of the Metra tracks is crawling with gangsters and doesn't want to go near it. That said, I'm sure Ashland is safe, only because its a major thoroughfare with lots of traffic, but stray off Ashland its its very possible you'll get mugged.

Why would you ride around in Back of the Yards at night? I know its improved at ton, but its not a place I'd go alone after dark, again, you are probably safe on Ashland, but stray off into the side streets and you are risking it...

Believe it or not, there are places in this city that are not great places to hang out after dark...

Well, ok. I was born and raised in Rogers Park. And have walked all over it probably from before you were born, I am 38, some of my relatives and several of my friends, who I grew with who are cops in 24, that would be district. I think I have an idea about what I am talking about when it comes to RP.

I spent an awful lot of time with people in Ignatius, and Gertrudes, and MArgaret MAry's and Jerome's ...those are parishes...its one way we distinguished who was from where.

I have lived in several areas of the city, all on the north side though. I currently own a house west of those cursed metra tracks your friend speaks about in horror....and I can assure you it is not crawling with gangbangers......there are some seedier areas near granville across from emerson park (I was born in that area)....and also in north rogers park..north of potawattamie (sp??). I walk in those areas on a nearly daily basis and have never had a problem. In fact the only problem I ever had in RP was closer to Loyola, right outside my apartment when I was a junior at Loyola, and I was stuck up a gunpoint at my front door.

Anyhow....I was objecting to your statement that by traveling in a certain areas that one is asking to be attacked. That statement is nonsense. Whether it is wise or not is open to discusion.


To answer your question...I felt like going for a nice long ride, it was warm....and it has been a long, cold winter & I ride down ashland all the time to go downtown