CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[emathias]

I've been thinking about subtle ways for donor states to claw back some of their losses. Of course it's unreasonable to think that every state gets an equivalent share, but perhaps some remedy for states that are donor to the point they get back less than 90% of what they send to Washington could use the difference as matching funds for infrastructure projects. In other words, say Illinois was shorted by $2 billion beyond what would amount to a 90% return. If they could qualify for a 2/1 local/fed match transit project that has a $3 billion price tag, they'd not have to ante up any actual funds, the Feds would grant their 1/3 worth $1 billion and then cover the $2 billion local match to compensate for the $2 billion excess donor status.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by emathias

...Of course it's unreasonable to think that every state gets an equivalent share, but perhaps some remedy for states that are donor to the point they get back less than 90% of what they send to Washington could use the difference as matching funds for infrastructure projects...

This seems only fair and makes a ton of sense, so of course it will never happen.

[k1052]

God fucking dammit.

https://patch.com/illinois/glenview/...expansion-idot

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced last week it has decided to drop a proposal to build five miles of holding tracks alongside railroads in a pair of affluent North Shore communities. The expansion is part of roughly $200 million project to increase service on the Amtrak Hiawatha Line between Chicago and Milwaukee from seven to 10 daily round trips.

If Glenview hates Amtrak service so much maybe their stop should be cut.

[IrishIllini]

No surprises there. If they hadn’t screwed up with the Glen station, it’d be possible to move the Amtrak station there assuming there’s space.

You really have to ask what was up with Glenview’s planning department when they decided to put their outdoor mall almost a mile from the Glen Metra station.

[SIGSEGV]

Yeah cut their Metra stops too (they probably don't care too much about Amtrak).

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Yeah cut their Metra stops too (they probably don't care too much about Amtrak).

Glenview Amtrak station no longer make sense. At one time there was GV Naval air station nearby. Updating for today's population and travel patterns it would make sense to move Amtrak to Lake Cook road where travelers could make use of multiple bus routes and employer sponsored shuttles.

Also a stop north in Lake County at Rte 120 in the old Lakehurst site is needed. This to provide Milw/Chi access to Great America park (3 Mil attendance) and an easy 10 min shuttle to the park.

7-10 trains day, each way is enough for park visitors to plan a day trip and enough for employers/employees to plan shuttle services and commuter trips. Also Amtrak has a balanced inbound and out bound schedule meaning it would be useful for reverse commuters.

Frankly the nimbys of Glenview dont deserve this service. And Amtrak could increase ridership by responding to current needs, not some outdated model that serves an older recalcitrant suburb.

[Jim in Chicago]

Originally Posted by k1052

Lightfoot outlines ambitious agenda for her first 100 days at City Hall

https://chicago.suntimes.com/?post_t...icle&p=2503075



Oh yes please

banning out-of-state motorists who have flooded Chicago streets

How is this supposed to be enforced? Monitors at the borders? How is she defining "flooded" has there been a census? The police don't have time or energy to stop cars that blatantly run a red light right in front of them almost killing pedestrians who scatter to get out of the way, there will be zero enforcement of this.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago

banning out-of-state motorists who have flooded Chicago streets

How is this supposed to be enforced? Monitors at the borders? How is she defining "flooded" has there been a census? The police don't have time or energy to stop cars that blatantly run a red light right in front of them almost killing pedestrians who scatter to get out of the way, there will be zero enforcement of this.

City: Non-IL residents/vehicles aren't permitted to operate. Give us data to verify compliance, non-compliance results in shutting your service locally.

Uber/Lyft: ok

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

No surprises there. If they hadn’t screwed up with the Glen station, it’d be possible to move the Amtrak station there assuming there’s space.

You really have to ask what was up with Glenview’s planning department when they decided to put their outdoor mall almost a mile from the Glen Metra station.

I mentioned this before, but the mall was centered around the old control tower. They weren't about to relocate the tower a mile away. The North Glenview station was added as an amenity for local residents and as overflow parking for Glenview station. There was never a TOD concept around The Glen, except that some people might enjoy the property value boost of being "walk to train" and an even smaller group might actually do it. It is actually a very pleasant walk... but the overriding goal all along was to avoid the aesthetic of suburbia without actually changing the suburban lifestyle.

Originally Posted by k1052

City: Non-IL residents/vehicles aren't permitted to operate. Give us data to verify compliance, non-compliance results in shutting your service locally.

Uber/Lyft: ok

Such a system would be unfair to Indiana or Wisconsin rideshare drivers, who probably do a lot of trips into Illinois and especially to the airports.

[SIGSEGV]

They should just charge drivers a cruising fee or something while they're downtown waiting for rides.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Such a system would be unfair to Indiana or Wisconsin rideshare drivers, who probably do a lot of trips into Illinois and especially to the airports.

Such a proposal wouldn't keep them out of the state, just the city. I'm sure a carve out for trips to the airports could be done and would be desirable.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

They should just charge drivers a cruising fee or something while they're downtown waiting for rides.

Do a utilization rate like NYC.

[k1052]

In capital bill proposal news some info is starting to come out:

Transportation: $28.6 billion

• Nearly $11 billion in Multi-Year Plan roads and bridges
• Over $12 billion in new roads in bridges
• $3.4 billion in mass transit
• $442 million for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)
• $769 million in rail
• $478 million in aeronautics
• $607 million for miscellaneous transportation

Transit: $2.87 billion for the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), which is one of the largest transit systems in the nation and includes the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace.

Rail: $225 million for the Chicago to Quad Cities Intercity Passenger Rail project, which aims to restore service in the Quad Cities and improve connectivity between major Midwest cities. The project consists of reintroducing twice-daily round-trip service between Chicago and Moline, with a new intermediate stop in Geneseo, after a 30-year absence of service on this corridor. Other stations served will include Princeton, Mendota, Plano, Naperville, LaGrange, and Chicago Union Station.

CREATE: $350 million in new funding for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program to complete the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project and adjacent corridors to prevent costly delays in rail travel. Chicago is the nation’s busiest rail freight gateway and the world’s third largest intermodal port. One-quarter of our nation’s rail-shipped goods and products move to, from, or through Chicago.

https://capitolfax.com/2019/05/17/pr...-capital-plan/

[Jim in Chicago]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

They should just charge drivers a cruising fee or something while they're downtown waiting for rides.

And how will the cops know they're cruising - follow them around? Chalk their tires - oh wait, that was ruled unconstitutional.

Originally Posted by k1052

Such a proposal wouldn't keep them out of the state, just the city. I'm sure a carve out for trips to the airports could be done and would be desirable.

Same problem - you need to go through the city to get to the airport - anyone stopped could just say "I'm on my way to Midway..."

Originally Posted by k1052

Do a utilization rate like NYC.

This, or a variation of it, is the answer. Whatever part of the city that makes sense becomes a "permit only" zone. This is in place all over the world. There are cameras at all entry points into the zone that scans license plate. Any car with a plate not in the database gets a ticket in the mail. There are typically ways to exempt non-permitted vehicles from the fines. The example I'm familiar with is in Italy, where if you're a hotel guest the hotel has a way to enter your car to get the exemption. I'm not sure how with would apply to things like food delivery services or Uber/Lyft - I'd think there would be a way for them to pay a large annual fee to be able to enter the zone as permitted. That would, of course, be added to your delivery fees.

London has something similar and NYC is talking about it.

In Chicago, I guess it could work sort of like the zoned parking:

You live in the zone you get a free pass to drive there.
You live in the zone and have a guest? - there could be away to enter an exemption for their car - with a cost per use and an annual limit.
You need to enter the zone repeatedly but don't live there? You can by an expensive annual permit.

This could even be time of day, where the permit is only needed M-F 7-7 or whatever.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago

Same problem - you need to go through the city to get to the airport - anyone stopped could just say "I'm on my way to Midway..."

The apps would not accept destinations inside city limits that aren't the airport. Rideshare companies would most certainly not risk losing city/airport access altogether for non-compliance. They already have to give data to the city.

This, or a variation of it, is the answer. Whatever part of the city that makes sense becomes a "permit only" zone. This is in place all over the world. There are cameras at all entry points into the zone that scans license plate. Any car with a plate not in the database gets a ticket in the mail. There are typically ways to exempt non-permitted vehicles from the fines. The example I'm familiar with is in Italy, where if you're a hotel guest the hotel has a way to enter your car to get the exemption. I'm not sure how with would apply to things like food delivery services or Uber/Lyft - I'd think there would be a way for them to pay a large annual fee to be able to enter the zone as permitted. That would, of course, be added to your delivery fees.

London has something similar and NYC is talking about it.

In Chicago, I guess it could work sort of like the zoned parking:

You live in the zone you get a free pass to drive there.
You live in the zone and have a guest? - there could be away to enter an exemption for their car - with a cost per use and an annual limit.
You need to enter the zone repeatedly but don't live there? You can by an expensive annual permit.

This could even be time of day, where the permit is only needed M-F 7-7 or whatever.

I support a utilization standard for rideshare and dynamic congestion pricing. Both of these could indeed be done with fully automatic enforcement. Tons of people already have transponders for tolls and plate cameras could handle the rest.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago

And how will the cops know they're cruising - follow them around? Chalk their tires - oh wait, that was ruled unconstitutional.

Uber/Lyft know these numbers (essentially the times a driver is available for a ride) and will cooperate if they are made to. Maybe they can pay for some Uber or Lyft stands to have a place for drivers to wait without muddying traffic.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The Glenview holding track was the cheaper option at 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost, but it only narrowly serves the needs of the Hiawatha expansion plan without any provisions for further growth of passenger service along the corridor. Unfortunately the New Line plan requires running freight trains through the backyards of plutocrats in Lake Forest, so I suspect it was quietly removed from consideration.

IDOT insists it is still looking at ways to make the Hiawatha expansion happen. I’m not happy about them kowtowing to Glenview and Lake Forest NIMBYs, but maybe this will push them to re-evaluate the New Line freight bypass idea.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...523-story.html

[MayorOfChicago]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

It still makes me mad that the powers that be almost seemed to go out of their way not to build a relatively easy connection that would have incorporated the ATS system and a link to the Metra/NCS station. We are talking a matter of a few hundred feet and just literally plotting the station down on the south or north side of the rental car building instead of the west side. Just seems so shortsighted even if there wasn't immediate plans for increased or express service using that line.

I didn't think so before but it probably will just be best in the future from a cost and time perspective to use the MD-W route and split off at the rail line at York and have a new station as part of the new employee people mover connecting the new island termianls and new T2.

This drove me nuts 4 seconds after I looked at the proposal, and I've actually used that Metra station twice now. All they had to do was keep running that train another 5% of its distance and come around the north side of the building and they could have had one station serving both the ATS and Metra all tied in together under one roof. They could have made the north side the main entrance to the rental care facility fairly easily, there is no main pedestrian entrance, just shift the setup within the large main hall/rental desks/parking spots.

As it is now you get off Metra and you're just standing all alone on the side of a street with no real pedestrian access or anywhere to go. You can walk around the side of the rental car facility and in through the front, but it is akin to getting dropped off behind a Target store and then having to kinda awkwardly walk and make your way around to the official entrance. It just seems like it's not built for this at all and not designed to have you walking there - yet here sits the Metra stop.....

This is what greets you:

https://goo.gl/maps/fUiF1s9kckHZHYnf8

There is one solitary door along that 400 feet of the northern side of the building, and I believe it's locked but I was able to go inside and you're literally just standing on the first floor of about the worlds largest parking garage. I wandered around and it made no sense, finally ran into workers who were just like - what the hell are you doing here??? I said I had gotten off the metra and were looking for the main desks and they thought I was crazy. They said I was in the totally wrong area, and there were no signs.

[Jim in Chicago]

Originally Posted by MayorOfChicago

This drove me nuts 4 seconds after I looked at the proposal, and I've actually used that Metra station twice now. All they had to do was keep running that train another 5% of its distance and come around the north side of the building and they could have had one station serving both the ATS and Metra all tied in together under one roof. They could have made the north side the main entrance to the rental care facility fairly easily, there is no main pedestrian entrance, just shift the setup within the large main hall/rental desks/parking spots.

As it is now you get off Metra and you're just standing all alone on the side of a street with no real pedestrian access or anywhere to go. You can walk around the side of the rental car facility and in through the front, but it is akin to getting dropped off behind a Target store and then having to kinda awkwardly walk and make your way around to the official entrance. It just seems like it's not built for this at all and not designed to have you walking there - yet here sits the Metra stop.....

This is what greets you:

https://goo.gl/maps/fUiF1s9kckHZHYnf8

There is one solitary door along that 400 feet of the northern side of the building, and I believe it's locked but I was able to go inside and you're literally just standing on the first floor of about the worlds largest parking garage. I wandered around and it made no sense, finally ran into workers who were just like - what the hell are you doing here??? I said I had gotten off the metra and were looking for the main desks and they thought I was crazy. They said I was in the totally wrong area, and there were no signs.

This being Chicago - is it just possible that the city sees the Metra as competition for the CTA and doesn't want to loose all those $5 trips from ORD? So, has thrown up a huge disincentive? Just asking.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Jim in Chicago

This being Chicago - is it just possible that the city sees the Metra as competition for the CTA and doesn't want to loose all those $5 trips from ORD? So, has thrown up a huge disincentive? Just asking.

Very possibly could be a primary reason.

Because it certainly seems negligent planing at best to have not to have integrated the ATS into NCS Metra Stop or least stage it for intermodal integration.