CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[orulz]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

If they build tracks coming to the airport from the west, they can stop both at the airport and downtown. I'm sure the airport works well as a park and ride, but they should really have a downtown stop by the transit center.

The way the realignment is currently planned, there will not be any connection to the existing alignment on the east side of the airport and down Bendix Road, so a further extension to the South Bend Amtrak Station or downtown South Bend will not be possible, short of demolishing the airport terminal.

It is likely that they plan to rip up the tracks connecting from the airport to Bendix Rd; whether they would even keep the tracks along Bendix in place at all is probably an open question as well. It doesn't seem like there are any active freight customers along this route anymore.

Seems a shame.

[Mr. Chicago]

Mr. Chicago here,
WHAT? Transportation in the NW corridor should not be this much of an issue. There is a terrific river -- use it. Start taking bids on river taxi service
which, by the way is very popular in NYC, Furthermore take bids on a monorail
system along the river which can provide direct service building to building. Take bids even from Musk if you must, Chicago can use the taxes from private enterprise. Let these new systems start way up the river where I and a million others can park and take what is offered.( I still mourn for the garage on St Clair)
I said this some time ago, Chicago can make the list of Venice, Amsterdam
and Saint Petersburgh for its urban river culture. If done correctly, the new features in the city can be better than a supertall.

[Busy Bee]

^Some trains would originate from the airport and some would originate from a downtown station. Same for termination. The tracks don't need to "run through" the airport to the current east side tracks to provide this service. The municipal leadership of SB is in agreement that a downtown station is desired.

[colemonkee]

No mention of a monorail on SSP should ever go without a reference to the best example of a monorail in human history...

[mattropolis]

Better not to have a branch. The trains run very infrequently as it is. If they are going to relocate the station, at least do it right and align it so you can go through.

[Mr. Chicago]

Mr. Chicago here,
I do not quite get it , but be that as it may. Monorails work in cities as diverse as Detroit and Miami. Am I to understand monorails are impossible in Chicago? Furthermore on the topic of transportation in the area, between bicycles and cars, consider staggered commute hours or half -hours. Assign a street for bicycles only for an half-hour morning and evenings.

[Busy Bee]

^The only alternative would be to build the west side airport connector but run a precision timed shuttle to the main with a new transfer platform. But then obvious (and fair) questions arise about whether a nice shuttle bus could fulfill the same need and forego an airport terminal SSL station altogether in exchange for a very nice downown extension and station initiative. If SSL freight handling to Chicago was to be proven lucrative, a west side alignment could be back in contention as you would be investing in the rail connection anyway. There's zero advantage to building a west side connection and then through routing across airport property and running SB bound over the very east side route back to the main that takes too long.

[Tcmetro]

Is there any good reason that the station is at the airport? All the flights seem to be regional jets to big 3 hubs or Allegiant vacation oriented destinations. I can't imagine many of the South Shore passengers are interfacing with the airport in any other way.

[rgarri4]

1. Because monorails are barely built anymore, cost to built and maintain is super expensive.

2. Monorails have no way of utilizing existing 2 track lines. Or the other way around. Existing 2 track cars cant utilize new monorail lines. You don't have this limitation with all the other options.

3. Track changeovers are super slow and complicated with the mono track, leading to layouts avoiding them as much as possible. This limits the flexibility of the layout to simple lines and loops.

[emailspyro@gmail.com]

Loving all the responses and clearly the city should have already had a plan for Clybourn, Elston but they have ZERO plans or studies. How do we get something going so that we can hold officials accountable?
Under Rahm there was much talk about a new train line to connect Ohare to downtown faster. Perhaps a new line should have the following stops:
- Wolf Point / Fulton Market
- Casino
- Goose Island
- North Ave and Elston
- LY connecting to Clybourn Metra
- Ashland and Fullerton
- Western and Belmont
- Avondale
- Express to Ohare

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chicago

Mr. Chicago here,
I do not quite get it , but be that as it may. Monorails work in cities as diverse as Detroit and Miami. Am I to understand monorails are impossible in Chicago? Furthermore on the topic of transportation in the area, between bicycles and cars, consider staggered commute hours or half -hours. Assign a street for bicycles only for an half-hour morning and evenings.

marothisu here,

You will need to write a letter to Lyle Lanley and ask him. He may have a difference of opinion to others on this forum. One of the reasons some here may think it's impossible is due to the opossums that hang out in the closets of monorails.

[left of center]

I call the big one Bitey.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Tcmetro

Is there any good reason that the station is at the airport? All the flights seem to be regional jets to big 3 hubs or Allegiant vacation oriented destinations. I can't imagine many of the South Shore passengers are interfacing with the airport in any other way.

It's just part of the pipe dream that South Bend will one day be a major airport. Which is unlikely given the small regional population in Michiana and the huge airports in Chicago, Detroit, Indy.

About the only good argument is that the airport is a better regional station, with plenty of parking for Chicago-bound passengers, and it's better for them to park at the airport instead of downtown South Bend. The airport stop is also convenient to the US-31/US-20 freeways which link up to Elkhart/Mishawaka, Goshen, etc. Unfortunately, it does nothing to encourage TOD or walkable development.

I will note the #4 bus connects downtown to the airport and runs every 30 minutes (hourly on weekends). It wouldn't be too hard to set up a timed transfer with proper signage, bus shelters, etc. Another route is probably needed to connect South Shore to the Notre Dame campus, they already run seasonal service for football games.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chicago

Mr. Chicago here,
Monorails work in cities as diverse as Detroit and Miami.

Reality here.

Neither Detroit nor Miami has a monorail.

[Steely Dan]

I've only ridden 3 monorails systems in the US, and only one of them even vaguely resembles an urban mass transit system.

Las Vegas- a 4 mile line with 7 stops.

Seattle - a 1 mile 2-stop shuttle

Disney World - an amusement park ride.

[Mr. Chicago]

Mr. Chicago here,
Fact check: oh yes they do. In Detroit it is called The People Mover and while it runs only from to building to building, the principle, if you will, is the same. Also there is a similar system in Miami. As for the disconnect a monorail system or even light rail may physically have from the rest of the CTA - well- that is the whole point. Let me give an anecdote from locally here in NJ: the ACELA is our answer to the Shinkosan, however, the train never goes faster than 60 mph, Why? The tracks cannot support a train at 150mph. The Chicago system is old much like the NY system, Do not combine the good with bad. The gem of idea is the bid from some enterprise who would want to build, run and maintain the system using the bid money held in trust by the city for any repairs, Tax money to follow. The same financing can follow light rail. There are no possums, raccoons or squirrels here. This is serious business and if Chicago is hold its honored position as a leading business city then the city itself has to become an on-going concern that is worth the investment

[DirectionNorth]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chicago

Mr. Chicago here,
Fact check: oh yes they do. In Detroit it is called The People Mover and while it runs only from to building to building, the principle, if you will, is the same. Also there is a similar system in Miami. As for the disconnect a monorail system or even light rail may physically have from the rest of the CTA - well- that is the whole point. Let me give an anecdote from locally here in NJ: the ACELA is our answer to the Shinkosan, however, the train never goes faster than 60 mph, Why? The tracks cannot support a train at 150mph. The Chicago system is old much like the NY system, Do not combine the good with bad. The gem of idea is the bid from some enterprise who would want to build, run and maintain the system using the bid money held in trust by the city for any repairs, Tax money to follow. The same financing can follow light rail. There are no possums, raccoons or squirrels here. This is serious business and if Chicago is hold its honored position as a leading business city then the city itself has to become an on-going concern that is worth the investment

The Detroit People Mover is widely regarded as one of America's worst transit failures - it costs $12 million in annual subsidies and total ridership in 2019 was just 1.6 million.

The Miami Metromover is successful because it connects their subway system to downtown, as the subway goes around downtown.

Chicago has a good subway system in the central city already; a people mover would be for show.

[IrishIllini]

Lets keep talking about Clybourn and Elston

A subway line running under the entirety of Clybourn has been long justified. Also feel the bike lanes should be improved upon and extended northward towards Belmont.

I think the natural center of gravity for the north branch is probably North & Clybourn. There's already a ton of foot traffic and it's largely box stores & surface/garage parking. Could easily be more than it is today.

Fullerton & Clybourn could also evolve into something similar / secondary node with some major infrastructure improvements (ideally road diets for both Ashland and Fullerton).

I think Elston is one of the few streets in the city that could, not without significant headache, go mostly car-free entirely south of Cortland. 90/94, which is the reason Elston sucks so much, is literally right there and traffic is already fairly light in my experience.

It would take a bit of time for its use to change into something more destination/entertainment oriented, but it could happen with the right plan in place.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chicago

Mr. Chicago here,
Fact check: oh yes they do. In Detroit it is called The People Mover and while it runs only from to building to building, the principle, if you will, is the same. Also there is a similar system in Miami. As for the disconnect a monorail system or even light rail may physically have from the rest of the CTA - well- that is the whole point. Let me give an anecdote from locally here in NJ: the ACELA is our answer to the Shinkosan, however, the train never goes faster than 60 mph, Why? The tracks cannot support a train at 150mph. The Chicago system is old much like the NY system, Do not combine the good with bad. The gem of idea is the bid from some enterprise who would want to build, run and maintain the system using the bid money held in trust by the city for any repairs, Tax money to follow. The same financing can follow light rail. There are no possums, raccoons or squirrels here. This is serious business and if Chicago is hold its honored position as a leading business city then the city itself has to become an on-going concern that is worth the investment

Fact check: No they don't. A monorail is a train running on a single rail, hence the name mono (one) and rail. It isn't a catch all term for any train that happens to run on an elevated guideway. The Detroit loop uses trains with two rails, the same as most urban transport systems around the world.

[Kngkyle]

How about a new line going from the Blue Line @ Jefferson Park to the Brown Line @ Kimball, continuing along Clybourn to the Red Line @ North/Clybourn, turning south along Halsted to the Blue Line @ Grand, connection to Green and Pink @ Morgan and further on to Orange Line @ Halstead.

Trains could be run from O'Hare to Midway, connecting to every other main CTA line in between and all of the "hot spots" for development in the city.

Maybe $20 billion? ~13 miles of subway track + 15 or so stations.

An alternative option would turn east from a station at ~18th/Halsted or Roosevelt/Halsted towards a terminus at McCormick Place/Museum Campus (One Central?) instead of going along the Orange to Midway.