CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[sammyg]

There was something on the facebook page about it being pushed back to July, but I can't find it now.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by sammyg

There was something on the facebook page about it being pushed back to July, but I can't find it now.

They do realize the cycling season for all but the most dedicated bike die-hards isn't really that long. This should have launched at the beginning of May if they really wanted people to use it, not in the peak heat of summer.

What's most grating is that they say, "While we are going to begin installing stations beginning this Thursday, we decided to push back the full system launch for two weeks to Friday, June 28 to ensure we have the necessary time to test stations and ensure the system is fully functioning."

CDOT told all the Aldermen that they would be installing stations starting LAST WEEK, and didn't correct that information until after the dates they gave them had passed.

That's just HORRIBLE management. It's really inexcusable to not communicate schedule changes to your constituents before the dates have passed. Seriously, whoever is running this thing is literally incompetent and should be fired.

UPDATE ON YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Dear Founding Member,

We've been working around the clock to bring bike share to Chicago and wanted to give you an update on our progress.

Divvy has been on an aggressive launch schedule, aiming to begin limited operations this week. While we are going to begin installing stations beginning this Thursday, we decided to push back the full system launch for two weeks to Friday, June 28 to ensure we have the necessary time to test stations and ensure the system is fully functioning.

The first Divvy docking station will appear at Daley Plaza and will be on display during the Bike to Work Week Rally on Friday morning starting at 7am. Divvy bikes will be ready to ride from the first 75 stations when the system becomes fully operational on June 28. That's when you'll be able to use your key to unlock Divvy bikes from any station.

Here's what else you need to know:

Your Membership period has not begun. We will send you your Divvy key in time for June 28, and your Membership begins when you activate it online or by phone. We'll begin sending out keys very soon, but you'll want to wait to activate it until you can begin using it at the end of the month.

We welcome you to join us on June 14 from 7:00-8:30am in Daley Plaza. Gather with other Chicagoans and check out the first Divvy station! If you're a "Gear" Founding Member, we'll have t-shirts at our booth available for you to pick up. If you won't be attending the event, please email your t-shirt size (S, M, L, XL) to info@divvybikes.com and we'll send it to you with your key.

If you have any other questions, please email info@divvybikes.com and we'll answer your questions as quickly as possible.

We want to thank you again for supporting Divvy and bike share in Chicago.

- The Divvy Team and the Chicago Department of Transportation

[volguus zildrohar]

Originally Posted by CTA Gray Line

http://discussions.chicagotribune.co...ne-20120604/10


A Red Line train moves north to the 95th Street stop in 2010. (Jose M. Osorio / June 4, 2012)

By Jon Hilkevitch

Tribune reporter

11:48 a.m. CDT, June 4, 2012

The entire south branch of the CTA Red Line will close for five months starting in spring 2013, with the transit agency offering free shuttle bus service to Green Line rail stations, so a $425 million track replacement project can be completed more quickly, officials said Monday.

The decision to close the Red Line from the Cermak-Chinatown station to the 95th Street terminal was made to condense the reconstruction from four years of weekend work to five months total, said CTA spokeswoman Molly Sullivan.

She acknowledged it will cause inconvenience to riders, but that the benefits of the project will come on line sooner.

“Dragging out the project would be delaying faster service by more than three years,’’ Sullivan said, adding that slow zones are in effect on 40 percent of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line.

Completing the work in five months by shutting down the entire south branch, instead of four years of operating the line on weekdays only, will also save $75 million, Sullivan said.

The savings will also allow for some station upgrades, including elevators at three stations, she said.

The CTA is making the announcement now to get the word out and begin “extensive community outreach,’’ Sullivan said.

“We decided to make this announcement as early as we could to engage the community about the impacts of the project and (let people know about) the opportunity for jobs,’’ Sullivan said. “We will be seeking feedback from the community and planning town hall-style meetings.’’

The track system work will improve customer service by reducing the amount of slow zones, while also cutting operating costs for the transit agency, transit officials have said. Slow zones are currently needed to permit trains to travel safely on deteriorated sections of track.

The south branch of the Red Line has the highest slow zone percentage on the entire CTA rail system.

New steel rails, ties and ballast will be installed and drainage improvements made between the State Street subway portal, which is north of the Cermak-Chinatown station, and the 95th Street terminal, according to the CTA’s plan.

The project follows a 2006 project that upgraded signals, a portion of the power system and included some work on tracks and stations.

More than 50,000 riders board trains on the south branch of the Red Line on an average weekday, CTA statistics show.

jhilkevitch@tribune.com

Twitter: @jhilkevitch

Sorry to jump back to old news but this caught my attention.

A few years back SEPTA completed a similar project on the Market-Frankford El. Whereas it seems to be an overhaul for the Red Line, here two miles of elevated guideway was completely replaced. The actual work of the project took place over four years with regular weekend shutdowns during the summer and spring and 7-12 day shutdowns once or twice a summer allowing for replacement of large sections of guideway. During the workweek all year long service ran as normal and, like the Red Line, the MFL is the system's busiest spinal route. The final price tag was $567 million.

I have a difficult time imaging smooth operation of the MFL during a five-month shutdown. The western terminal of the line is a major suburban transit hub similar I'd assume to 95th/Dan Ryan. The cost difference between the two timetables is not insignificant but is it worth that kind of major shutdown for such an important route? I attended several community meetings during the course of SEPTA's project and more than once they made it clear that they weren't interested in doing a total shutdown because of how important the route is to the area and commuters. How well is it being received?

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar

Sorry to jump back to old news but this caught my attention.

A few years back SEPTA completed a similar project on the Market-Frankford El. Whereas it seems to be an overhaul for the Red Line, here two miles of elevated guideway was completely replaced. The actual work of the project took place over four years with regular weekend shutdowns during the summer and spring and 7-12 day shutdowns once or twice a summer allowing for replacement of large sections of guideway. During the workweek all year long service ran as normal and, like the Red Line, the MFL is the system's busiest spinal route. The final price tag was $567 million.

I have a difficult time imaging smooth operation of the MFL during a five-month shutdown. The western terminal of the line is a major suburban transit hub similar I'd assume to 95th/Dan Ryan. The cost difference between the two timetables is not insignificant but is it worth that kind of major shutdown for such an important route? I attended several community meetings during the course of SEPTA's project and more than once they made it clear that they weren't interested in doing a total shutdown because of how important the route is to the area and commuters. How well is it being received?

They are only able to shut the Red Line south branch down because it is largely redundant with the Green Line. The main headache is for people living south of 63rd street where the Green Line terminates. Even then, the buses are fairly efficient as a replacement. The shutdown seems to be going all right and of course there have been no complaints from the demographic that elected the mayor (rich north side yuppies).

[emathias]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

They are only able to shut the Red Line south branch down because it is largely redundant with the Green Line. The main headache is for people living south of 63rd street where the Green Line terminates. Even then, the buses are fairly efficient as a replacement. The shutdown seems to be going all right and of course there have been no complaints from the demographic that elected the mayor (rich north side yuppies).

Part of the reason bus can be competitive with the Red Line was that service had degraded so much. It's important to remember that the CTA estimates that travel times between 95th and Roosevelt, a distance of just over 10 miles, may improve by as much as 20 minutes. That's a huge improvement for that distance. If they did the phased weekend work, there might be incremental improvements during the 4 year project, but most of that improvement wouldn't be seen until all construction zones were eliminated. This project for Chicago is too late, really, and should never have been allowed to degrade to this level. If Philly's project was more preventative and done relatively earlier in the decline of the line the before/after speed differential may have been much less. In Chicago's case, it's projected to be such a huge improvement that it would just be torture to make people wait four more years.

Plus, not only does the Red Line run close to the Green Line for 2/3 of its length, and near several Metra Lines (commuter rail), but it runs in the center of an expressway that has service roads on both sides for the whole length that can accommodate the shuttle buses quite well.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by emathias

They do realize the cycling season for all but the most dedicated bike die-hards isn't really that long. This should have launched at the beginning of May if they really wanted people to use it, not in the peak heat of summer.

What's most grating is that they say, "While we are going to begin installing stations beginning this Thursday, we decided to push back the full system launch for two weeks to Friday, June 28 to ensure we have the necessary time to test stations and ensure the system is fully functioning."

CDOT told all the Aldermen that they would be installing stations starting LAST WEEK, and didn't correct that information until after the dates they gave them had passed.

That's just HORRIBLE management. It's really inexcusable to not communicate schedule changes to your constituents before the dates have passed. Seriously, whoever is running this thing is literally incompetent and should be fired.

I agree. I'm actually a little pissed about this and hope its not a representation of how this program will work going forward. This week, I received two emails, one from Alderman Reilly's newsletter which stated a number of bike stations were already installed or are currently being installed. I actually went looking for one this afternoon that I plan on using frequently once the system is live. After coming up empty handed, I check my email again and see the Divvy announcement that the launch is now off until June 28th. Really? Notice of a 2 week delay just 2 days before a well advertised start date and a delay notice that has not even been communicated to Alderman who are advertising it to city residents.

They are already missing out on 1/3 of the summer now, the best time of the year to attract people to this service and make it fiscally sustainable to expand.

[Mr Downtown]

Crain's has pictures of the unfinished shell of the Block 37 station.

[Mr Downtown]

The winning Burnham Prize design for BRT stations has been announced. It's by Hesam T. Rostami and Bahareh Atash of Toronto. The idea is that most part would be the same, but bent wooden components would vary depending on location, solar orientation, and neighborhood character.





More at Chicago Architectural Club website
More at Arch Daily

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Crain's has pictures of the unfinished shell of the Block 37 station.

It's nice to see it in the news, but the photos are not very good. The New York Times' photos of the 2nd Ave subway were a lot better done, but then again they probably had better access to that for staging floodlights and stuff.

I don't care if it's ever a station, but I do wish they'd finish the track work and run some trains between the Blue Line and the South Side. I think adding a few trains to the O'Hare branch and running them to 63rd/Cottage Grove would be something useful and helpful for the growth of that part of town. The current 20-minute headways on that branch don't exactly inspire ridership, and giving the U of C a 1-seat ride to O'Hare seems like a good idea strategically.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

The winning Burnham Prize design for BRT stations has been announced. It's by Hesam T. Rostami and Bahareh Atash of Toronto. The idea is that most part would be the same, but bent wooden components would vary depending on location, solar orientation, and neighborhood character.
...

My understanding is that this is in no way binding to CDOT, but these are nice-looking designs and would be, as the jury noted, iconic.

[ardecila]

$150M is the cost for a station buildout, but not for a connecting track. They could build some CMU walls along the sides, lay out tracks, and demolish the knockout panels to complete the connection for a lot less.

The BRT shelters are interesting. The concept of interchangeable wood conponents works well with the city's history as a lumber center and the birthplace of balloon framing. We probably have just as much history with wood as we do with steel and brick, even if the city is rapidly replacing frame structures with masonry ones. The rounded glass on the shelters may prove to be too costly, so it might make sense to simplify the idea a bit.

[OhioGuy]

CTA revenues lower than expected

CTA fare revenues for the first four months of the year are less than expected, with seven-day passes taking the biggest hit since the agency hiked the cost of its fare passes, CTA officials revealed Wednesday.

In mid-January, the price of the CTA’s seven-day pass jumped 22 percent, from $23 to $28, although one-day and three-day passes increased by even larger percentages.

[ardecila]

Clark/Division CTA

Station Mezzanine


Entrance, NE corner LaSalle/Division

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by OhioGuy

CTA revenues lower than expected

Can I ask a quick question for you? Why the fare is getting more expensive. I just don't understand it. How much all-day pass? Do you know? Is still same or did they change a fare?

There is no reduced fare for seniors, disabled, youth, & college student as well. Why? They never have reduced fares for a long time.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by N830MH

Can I ask a quick question for you? Why the fare is getting more expensive. I just don't understand it. How much all-day pass? Do you know? Is still same or did they change a fare?

Dude, read the article and read the CTA website. Those are very basic questions you're asking, and you should do at least the minimum of reading before asking questions that have easy answers.

Originally Posted by N830MH

There is no reduced fare for seniors, disabled, youth, & college student as well. Why? They never have reduced fares for a long time.

You're just factually wrong. Which is because you haven't even bothered to read anything on the subject. There are reduced fares for seniors, disabled, youth and college students.

If you're going to join the discussion, please do us all a favor and at least have your facts in order.

[Rizzo]

I noticed Granite floor installations at Clark and Division. Progress is looking good.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Hayward

I noticed Granite floor installations at Clark and Division. Progress is looking good.

Isn't that premature? Why put out finished flooring before the mezzanine is enclosed?

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Isn't that premature? Why put out finished flooring before the mezzanine is enclosed?

No it's not in the mezzanine but the platform level. I should have clarified.

[Chicago29]

Originally Posted by emathias

Dude, read the article and read the CTA website. Those are very basic questions you're asking, and you should do at least the minimum of reading before asking questions that have easy answers.



You're just factually wrong. Which is because you haven't even bothered to read anything on the subject. There are reduced fares for seniors, disabled, youth and college students.

If you're going to join the discussion, please do us all a favor and at least have your facts in order.

He asked some questions and the discussion continues, no worries. Sometimes even the commonly known details of projects among people here are not easily found online. No need to be condescending.

[OrdoSeclorum]

The Grand Neighbor's Association is hosting a meeting on the 25th with the Ashland-Western Bus Service Coalition--the car-dependent-business group with the Orwellian name that's trying to kill BRT.

If any of you are in the area, might be worth stopping in to put in a good word for transit investment on the West side.

http://chicagograndneighborsassociat...posed-changes/