CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by k1052

I think he's decided it isn't worth the political capital required since so many forces are arrayed against it now. The Red line extension was never going to happen in the first place unless the feds came through with a surprise load of cash.

I'm kind of assuming that adding signal priority (needed for BRT) is a first step toward BRT. And adding the express bus back takes away a major talking point from the anti-BRT opponents, at no cost. Their main point was, "we don't need BRT, we need the express bus back first!"

Well, now we have the express bus. It's a slightly better bus. We're working out the kinks in signal priority prior to BRT. Maybe we can get 50% of the way to BRT on the sly?

[jc5680]

Structures going in today on madison today for the loop link lanes

[HowardL]

Originally Posted by jc5680

Structures going in today on madison today for the loop link lanes

Just saw those tonight when I got off work. Super digging it.

[emathias]

I noticed yesterday that Clinton is getting re-striped for protected bike lanes similar to the ones on Dearborn. Nice to see the plans actually getting implemented.

[M II A II R II K]

What If Chicago Had a Rail Line Connecting Its Two Airports?

Read More: http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...-rail-line.php

Chicago's 'L' system covers much of the city, but yet, it doesn't connect many neighborhoods to one another nor does it connect the city's two airports together. However, the Active Transportation Alliance believes that having a light rail line that connects O'Hare and Midway airports could be a boon to travelers.

- In addition to connecting the two airports, Active Transportation Alliance believes that such a line would connect west side neighborhoods with one another and make it easier for residents to get to job hubs. Other Transit Future 'L' expansion ideas include a near west side line that connects the Brown, Blue, Pink, Orange and Green lines together as well as multiple South Side lines.

.....

[M II A II R II K]

[sentinel]

^^^Yes please!!! Although, at least have it run along/above/below/through I-294, because the way it's currently shown it appears to be coming down Mannheim/La Grange rd, which has a very high residential population along it..

[Randomguy34]

Transit Future has descriptions for the rest of the potential projects: http://transitfuture.org/ I personally hope that the Lime Line and Gold Line both get funded, but that obviously won't happen if the Cook County Commissioners decided not to have dedicated transit revenue this year.

[SkahHigh]

Wow cool, didn't know Chicago had so many projects planned.

[Busy Bee]

"Planned", no. "Hopes, dreams, visions", yeah plenty of those.

[nomarandlee]

Though it would be cool for there to be a link the need for a link between the two airports is minimal. And if one was created I suspect the air lines would do little to utilize it.

[SkahHigh]

When was the last rapid transi extension in Chicago?

[M II A II R II K]

Crossrail Chicago is another fantasy website.

[OhioGuy]

Any recent updates on the progress with the Clark/Division station renovation? I know a new entrance was opened up last year at LaSalle. When is the entrance at Clark expected to reopen? Are there any recent photos available?

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by OhioGuy

Any recent updates on the progress with the Clark/Division station renovation? I know a new entrance was opened up last year at LaSalle. When is the entrance at Clark expected to reopen? Are there any recent photos available?

It's got to be close. It's looked nearly complete for some time now. The LaSalle side ended up looking nice and has good circulation to it.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

Though it would be cool for there to be a link the need for a link between the two airports is minimal. And if one was created I suspect the air lines would do little to utilize it.

It's not about code sharing or air travel at all. O'Hare and Midway are both major job centers, both with airport jobs and industrial jobs in the surrounding areas.

Also, Chicago really dropped the ball by not building a Crosstown Expressway. There are huge swaths of outer Chicago and the inner burbs with horrible congestion far from an expressway, where north/south travel is slow and aggravating. To the extent this can be alleviated with transit, the city/county should make the investment.

[Mr Downtown]

^Yes, but the main problem resulting from lack of the Crosstown is that truck traffic is either forced through downtown or all the way out to the Tri-State. A transit line does nothing to fix that problem.

An expressway that could help lure skilled manufacturing and logistics back from Elk Grove Village and Des Plaines to Franklin Park, Cicero, and Bedford Park would do a lot more for South Side workers stranded far from good jobs than building a new train line they could spend 75 minutes riding.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

^Yes, but the main problem resulting from lack of the Crosstown is that truck traffic is either forced through downtown or all the way out to the Tri-State. A transit line does nothing to fix that problem.

An expressway that could help lure skilled manufacturing and logistics back from Elk Grove Village and Des Plaines to Franklin Park, Cicero, and Bedford Park would do a lot more for South Side workers stranded far from good jobs than building a new train line they could spend 75 minutes riding.

This 100%.

[montasauraus]

I heard a rumor that the Orange line will be changed to a 24HR service as a part of the Midway renovations and upgrades. I haven't seen any other info about this anywhere else, so it seemed unlikely to be true.

Anyone else hear anything along these lines?

[oshkeoto]

^ From a service standpoint, it seems weird to give Orange 24 hour status before Brown.

Though there are politics, involving both the North Side-South Side issue and the fact that transit to airports makes normal people insane.