[Mr Downtown]

Eliminate pay guarantee for show-up $3.0

Isn't that fairly standard in industry? These are not office jobs where work not done one day will still be there the next. Maybe Viva can explain exactly how this works and whether it's solely for the extra board or also applies to regular tricks.

[VivaLFuego]

^ I'm not 100% sure but I think that one is only for the extra board (in layman's terms, part of an operator's scheduled work is being available and ready at the garage to run special events service or cover the runs of absentees). The language suggests it's primarily for the extra board ("show up"), as the proposal for the minimum pay guarantee (which refers to the guarantee to be paid for 40 hours even if only picked/scheduled for 38 hours of service, for example) is listed as a separate line item in the proposal list.

Obviously, most of these proposals are smaller items around the margins. The biggest cost drivers, by a very large margin, are the base wage, pension benefits, medical benefits, and the ratio of part-time to full-time work. These latter 4 form the basis of the structural deficit, as they specified by means completely independent from those specifying the exact size of CTA revenue sources.

[Via Chicago]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/metra-considering-selling-naming-rights-for-stations-lines.html

Metra considering selling naming rights for stations, lines

Metra officials are floating the idea of selling naming rights for train stations, lines and even bridges to raise revenue.

As of yet, the agency doesn't know how much naming rights would bring in or what organizations or corporations might be interested. The issue came up at a Metra board meeting today.
"The whole idea is just to put it out there and see who may," Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said after the meeting.

"From time to time we have had interest, we have had inquiries," especially when a hospital or business is near a train station or particular line, she said.

It's something transit agencies in other cities have done successfully, she noted. "At this point, for us, it's just exploratory."

[mwadswor]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/metra-considering-selling-naming-rights-for-stations-lines.html

Seems like a brillinat idea to me depending on the terms and as long as they adopt some standards for who is allowed to name things (no names promoting a current political or religious agenda). Aren't they already doing this with a station sponsored by Apple?

[Via Chicago]

Seems like a brillinat idea to me depending on the terms and as long as they adopt some standards for who is allowed to name things (no names promoting a current political or religious agenda). Aren't they already doing this with a station sponsored by Apple?

The CTA is doing the Apple thing. Anyway, my feelings are mixed. In some cases, I think it makes sense and there are already names related to nearby attractions (for example, Brookfield Zoo). But it would get ridiculous if Borders decided to buy say the Naperville stop and rename it after themselves. You need at least a passing reference to where you actually are geographically, especially on Metra where you're going through dozens of different suburbs.

I also personally feel like naming rights cheapen the experience and the public realm. In any case, who knows if this will even happen. Remember that Metra did a trial run with wrap advertising, and I havent even seen those in a couple years.

[Mr Downtown]

I wonder if they'll send a bill for back services to Mars. (http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home/maps_schedules/metra_system_map/md-w/station.MARS.html)

[mwadswor]

The CTA is doing the Apple thing. Anyway, my feelings are mixed. In some cases, I think it makes sense and there are already names related to nearby attractions (for example, Brookfield Zoo). But it would get ridiculous if Borders decided to buy say the Naperville stop and rename it after themselves. You need at least a passing reference to where you actually are geographically, especially on Metra where you're going through dozens of different suburbs.

You could add the sponsor name to the existing name, eg. the Borders' Naperville station or the Naperville station brought to you by Borders :D like they do with the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl or the FedEx Orange Bowl.

Even better, if you retain the original station name like that it would be more feasible to have annual agreements for some ongoing money instead of a big infusion of money from a one time agreement, then that's it. It'd be a bit ridiculous to have the entire station name change every year, but I don't see the problem with the Border's Naperville station one year and the McDonald's Naperville station the next year. Then, when/if more money is freed up elsewhere, it's not too difficult to drop the sponsor name completely.

I also personally feel like naming rights cheapen the experience and the public realm

Whether or not I agree with you, unfortunately personal feelings and the experience are way down the list of funding priorities. Minimizing service cuts and maximizing funding for infrastructure expansion have to take priority when funding is limited.

[Via Chicago]

Whether or not I agree with you, unfortunately personal feelings and the experience are way down the list of funding priorities. Minimizing service cuts and maximizing funding for infrastructure expansion have to take priority when funding is limited.

Its a public good, funding should remain in the public's hands. Either that or just stop pussyfooting around the issue and privatize the lines entirely.

[Busy Bee]

I also personally feel like naming rights cheapen the experience and the public realm

They also chip away at a little thing called integrity.

[denizen467]

The Bureau of Electricity (didn't realize we had something called that) has "White Light Study" signs up along several streets in Wicker Park (Wood just north of Division, et al). There's a several-block stretch where all the streetlights are new, shorter than typical, and have a second, decorative lamp partway up. It would be interesting to see what they look like at night.

Does anyone know what the grand plans are with this? Are these LED fixtures? (Maybe this should be in the Gen Dev thread, but transit aficionados might be more versed in this kind of subject.)

I am kind of impressed with the way the City is using these detailed signs to inform the public.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/antre/3411790584
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3411790584_d8cdee8da4.jpg
(Googled this photo by "Antre" on flickr from last spring)

[the urban politician]

^ I would probably put this in the General Developments thread..

[ardecila]

re: the Bureau of Electricity... Somebody has to change the bulbs in streetlights when they go out, to preserve Chicago's status as the world's best-lit city. Streets and San is the logical agency to do this work, since they have a system for covering every street in the city effectively. CDOT is the other logical choice, but they just do large construction projects and pothole filling. Tracking down potholes is easy, since people notice them and report them, but streetlights going out is usually not something that most people will remember long enough to report, if they notice it at all.

I kinda like the yellow/orange sodium vapor lights, so I'm not too excited about a color change, but I would welcome a better-designed reflector so that light from streetlamps is not wasted by being sent upwards or laterally instead of down.

Merely switching to a "white" light is an aesthetic and not a functional change, so I say forget it. If the city does adopt them en masse, though, it will be interesting to see the effects on night-time photography, although it will probably take 5-10 years to replace most of the bulbs.

[denizen467]

re: the Bureau of Electricity... Somebody has to change the bulbs in streetlights when they go out, to preserve Chicago's status as the world's best-lit city.
Thought it was just Streets & San; wasn't familiar with their internal components. Also "Bureau" sounds more important than, say, "Division" or something. I dig it.

Hey, are we really the best-lit, by some measure?

[VivaLFuego]

Those light standards are pretty common for all street light replacement projects, but in most places they just receive the sodium orange.

I'm with ardec - not worth the trouble to switch them to white. Sodium is more energy efficient (light output per energy consumed) than the "true white" light sources like mercury, xenon, etc. So being the best lit city requires some sane compromises in the interest of pocketbooks.

[ardecila]

Hey, are we really the best-lit, by some measure?

I dunno... but we're the Dubai of streetlights, in terms of sheer quantity and excess. Just look at any nighttime aerial shot of the city.

I believe that dates back to one of Daley Sr.'s plans to reduce crime by improving lighting, where pretty much every street in the city was covered to the point of ridiculousness. I'm not sure if it had much of an effect on crime or not. Certainly, it's more difficult to commit crimes unnoticed, but it also makes it more difficult for a gang to attack rivals by surprise, so there's probably more overall gang activity on the street, in terms of drug-dealing and so forth.

[Mr Downtown]

From today's Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-cta-slowdown-threatened-20100213,0,1521253.story)

"Darrell Jefferson, president of the bus drivers union, said Saturday that if there's no agreement soon to restore service cuts he will ask his membership to adhere strictly to CTA operating rules, including a 35-mph speed limit. . . Drivers also would follow other rules to the letter, such as waiting until all riders are seated or "standing securely" before leaving a stop . . ."

[electricron]

I though almost all street lamps had parbolic deflectors that reflect the light going upwards downwards.
http://www.outdoorlightingn.com/products_img/20088295760.jpg
There's also some street lamps that use lenses to refract light downwards too.
http://www.freewebs.com/streetlanterns4/US-175w-Street-light.jpg
Even decorative lamps have reflectors, or use lenses.
http://germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50338883/Decortaive_Street_Lamp.jpg
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/Globalphoto/Globalphoto0704/Globalphoto070400017/874410.jpg
Most of the light pollution you see from space is light reflected back up from objects on the ground.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

From today's Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-cta-slowdown-threatened-20100213,0,1521253.story)

"Darrell Jefferson, president of the bus drivers union, said Saturday that if there's no agreement soon to restore service cuts he will ask his membership to adhere strictly to CTA operating rules, including a 35-mph speed limit. . . Drivers also would follow other rules to the letter, such as waiting until all riders are seated or "standing securely" before leaving a stop . . ."

It's like something out of The Onion.

[denizen467]

I dunno... but we're the Dubai of streetlights, in terms of sheer quantity and excess. Just look at any nighttime aerial shot of the city.

I believe that dates back to one of Daley Sr.'s plans to reduce crime by improving lighting, where pretty much every street in the city was covered to the point of ridiculousness.
The aerial nighttime view (especially from an approaching aircraft) of Chicago is one of the planet's most thrilling sights. But I always thought that, to the extent other cities aren't as striking, it's because they are (other than Manhattan, where narrow canyons block the effect) just smaller, less dense, more leafy, and/or less rectilinear -- not because they are equipped less densely with streetlights.

Driving around Chicago's neighborhoods at night I have never thought of the lighting as excessive -- it seems perfect for being able to see what's around you. I've always felt comfortable roaming into unknown neighborhoods at night (other than known war zones, of course). Maybe that itself is an excessive amount of streetlights, you're saying?

Other folks, what do y'all think?

[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-met-getting-around-0215-20100214,0,4354032.column

CTA may give quarter, stop charging 25 cents for transfers at Block 37

Jon Hilkevitch

February 14, 2010

The new pedestrian tunnel inside the Block 37 shopping mall, connecting the CTA Red Line and Blue Line subways, offers more than just a way to duck out of bad weather.

Since its opening in November in the heart of downtown Chicago, the Block 37 project remains a work-in-progress on the promise of developing retail, office and residential space with attention to providing mass-transit users more than transportation.

Enticing aromas waft through the sleek, brightly lit underground pedway from an assortment of food shops and restaurants. The eateries, along with emerging retail businesses, make it so a commuter might not want to immediately catch the next train.

Ambitious plans for a CTA "super station'' at Block 37 have been on hold for almost two years, after the city and the CTA spent more than $250 million on the project. But the Daley administration says it is still committed to finding business partners that will help build the station and operate express rail service to O'Hare International Airport on the Blue Line and to Midway Airport on the Orange Line. That will take at least another $100 million, officials said.

But there's a problem that needs attention first. It has a simple fix that is good for transit riders and will reap the benefit of much more foot traffic passing through the Block 37 facility, bounded by State, Dearborn, Washington and Randolph Streets................

..

[Via Chicago]

I kinda like the yellow/orange sodium vapor lights, so I'm not too excited about a color change, but I would welcome a better-designed reflector so that light from streetlamps is not wasted by being sent upwards or laterally instead of down.

You honestly like sodium vapor? Id rank their development and insane overabundance as one of the greatest urban blights of the last century. Night light should not be yellow.

I also dont understand why some people take so much pride in our light pollution...seems like some bizarre ego thing.

[Via Chicago]

Driving around Chicago's neighborhoods at night I have never thought of the lighting as excessive -- it seems perfect for being able to see what's around you. I've always felt comfortable roaming into unknown neighborhoods at night (other than known war zones, of course). Maybe that itself is an excessive amount of streetlights, you're saying?

Other folks, what do y'all think?

To address your question, my personal take on that is yes, you've been conditioned to feel comfortable in areas that are well lit. It dosent mean they actually ARE safer.

In any case, there are studies which can prove virtually any stance you have
http://www.britastro.org/dark-skies/crime.html

I think within moderation, streetlighting is good. But again, it shouldnt be excessive, and the light itself should be effectively directed downwards. LEDs show a lot of promise in this area. Something along the lines of this:
http://www.ledlite-power.co.uk/images/baoding.jpg

[Chicago Shawn]

I dunno... but we're the Dubai of streetlights, in terms of sheer quantity and excess. Just look at any nighttime aerial shot of the city.

I believe that dates back to one of Daley Sr.'s plans to reduce crime by improving lighting, where pretty much every street in the city was covered to the point of ridiculousness. I'm not sure if it had much of an effect on crime or not. Certainly, it's more difficult to commit crimes unnoticed, but it also makes it more difficult for a gang to attack rivals by surprise, so there's probably more overall gang activity on the street, in terms of drug-dealing and so forth.

It did reduce crime, particularly in alleys which had not been illuminated prior to Daley Sr. Nighttime illumination does have a effect on criminal physiology, in fact gangbangers will sometimes shoot out streetlights to darken their territory where streetside drug deals are common.


The heavy night lighting is one of my favorite things about Chicago, and you always know where the city limits begin at night. I do not like Mercury Vapor lighting, because, its does not provide enough illumination, and aesthetically, the lighting temperature is very cold. The sodium vapor provides a much warmer hue. As a pedestrian often walking around in the late evening/early morning, I want my streets well lit; even if it means the birds are chirping at 2:30am, thinking the sun is about to rise.


On the transit union, just wow. So now they are going to pout like babies and take it out on the customers, all because the CTA rejected their bullshit "proposal", which provided no real means of dealing with this year's deficit.

[the urban politician]

^ I say go ahead and let the bus drivers do their "slow driving" thing.

They are the ones who will have to deal with pissed off riders more than anyone else.

[Chicago Shawn]

^ I say go ahead and let the bus drivers do their "slow driving" thing.

They are the ones who will have to deal with pissed off riders more than anyone else.

Easy for you to say, when you don't have to deal with it as part of your commute. Now, generally I would agree with you in principal, but think of the long term consequences; slower and more crowded buses does create more pissed off people, but these people will also give up on the system and turn to driving if its not effective and reliable enough for their traveling needs. This will do a lot of harm to the future of public transit in Chicago, because it will increase the severity of the service cuts on the riding population. Not to mention it endangers some of the public living in bad neighborhoods. Would you like to wait 30 minutes for a bus in a gang warzone? Not everyone has the ability to access bus tracker and the safety element is a real concern raised by the public at CTA board meetings.

[electricron]

You honestly like sodium vapor? Id rank their development and insane overabundance as one of the greatest urban blights of the last century. Night light should not be yellow.

I also dont understand why some people take so much pride in our light pollution...seems like some bizarre ego thing.

Prior to high pressure sodium, mercury vapor was the standard street lamp.

Look at their specifications:
Mercury Vapor:
50 Watts 16,000 Hours 1,900 Lumens
75 Watts 16,000 Hours 3, 000 Lumens
100 Watts 24,000 Hours 4,500 Lumens
175 Watts 24,000 Hours 8,900 Lumens
250 Watts 24,000 Hours 13,700 Lumens
400 Watts 24,000 Hours 24,000 Lumens

High Pressure Vapor:
35 Watts 24,000 Hours 2,250 Lumens
50 Watts 24000 Hours 4,000 Lumens
70 Watts 24000 Hours 6,300 Lumens
100 Watts 24,000 Hours 9,500 Lumens
150 Watts 24,000 Hours 16,000 Lumens
250 Watts 24,000 Hours 27,500 Lumens
400 Watts 24000 Hours 50,000 Lumens

Comparisons:
Lumens per Watt.
High Pressure Sodium gives at least twice as much Lumens per Watt than Mercury Vapor.

Light pollution considerations
For placements where light pollution is of prime importance (for example, an observatory parking lot), low pressure sodium is preferred. As it emits light on only one wavelength, it is the easiest to filter out. Mercury vapor lamps without any phosphor are second best; they produce only a few distinct mercury lines that need to be filtered out.

Bans
Mercury vapor lamps will be banned in the EU in 2015. In the USA, ballasts and fixtures were banned in 2008.

Source for lamp information: http://www.globalindustrial.com/c/electrical/bulbs/high-intensity-discharge-hid?infoParam.campaignId=T9A&gclid=CJvz9K-V9Z8CFQohDQod5libkw

[ardecila]

You honestly like sodium vapor? Id rank their development and insane overabundance as one of the greatest urban blights of the last century. Night light should not be yellow.

I also dont understand why some people take so much pride in our light pollution...seems like some bizarre ego thing.

Yea, actually.

It's just part of the aura of Chicago that I've grown up with. At night, Chicago becomes a city of gold.

[VivaLFuego]

electricron,
Thanks for posting those tables - exactly what I wanted to post, but could only point out that sodium is vastly more energy efficient than the alternatives.

[the urban politician]

Easy for you to say, when you don't have to deal with it as part of your commute. Now, generally I would agree with you in principal, but think of the long term consequences; slower and more crowded buses does create more pissed off people, but these people will also give up on the system and turn to driving if its not effective and reliable enough for their traveling needs. This will do a lot of harm to the future of public transit in Chicago, because it will increase the severity of the service cuts on the riding population. Not to mention it endangers some of the public living in bad neighborhoods. Would you like to wait 30 minutes for a bus in a gang warzone? Not everyone has the ability to access bus tracker and the safety element is a real concern raised by the public at CTA board meetings.

^ Can't the CTA simply counter by lifting the 35 mph restriction?

Bada boom! Problem solved.. :bowtie:

[Mr Downtown]

I can't think of any places CTA buses ever go over 35 mph anyway, except for the Lake Shore Drive expresses and maybe the #30 way down on Torrence.

But there are oodles of other official ordinances that could be obstinately observed by obstreperous operators.

[ardecila]

Maybe I can bring a baseball bat onto the bus and bash some better behavior into their backward brains? ;)

[Taft]

The CTA garden car lives!

According to CTA Tattler, the CTA has given approval for the idea. Joe Baldwin--the guy that came up with the idea--just needs to find the cash to implement the car.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/cta-tattler/2010/02/catching-up-with-cta-news-jury-award-in-blue-line-derailment-mobile-garden-get-green-light.html

Good times...

[the urban politician]

Create project slated for $100M from feds for railroad fix (http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=37115)
By: Paul Merrion Feb. 16, 2010
(Crain's) — A Chicago-area plan to fix railroad bottlenecks will get a $100-million boost from a new round of federal stimulus grants to be awarded Wednesday, according to a source briefed on the matter.
A substantial grant means continued progress for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program, known as Create, a partnership of freight railroads, Amtrak, Metra, and state and local transportation agencies.
Illinois transportation officials applied for $300 million, the maximum any state could get.

[the urban politician]

Create project slated for $100M from feds for railroad fix (http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=37115)
By: Paul Merrion Feb. 16, 2010
(Crain's) — A Chicago-area plan to fix railroad bottlenecks will get a $100-million boost from a new round of federal stimulus grants to be awarded Wednesday, according to a source briefed on the matter.
A substantial grant means continued progress for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program, known as Create, a partnership of freight railroads, Amtrak, Metra, and state and local transportation agencies.
Illinois transportation officials applied for $300 million, the maximum any state could get.

^ I just want to mention that I find it outright stupid that a bill for Nationally significant transportation projects has a spending limit for each state.

Yeah, because national transportation issues are resolved by treating Nebraska and Illinois equally.. :rolleyes:

At this rate ($100 million every 2 years), CREATE will be completed (adjusting for inflation) in.....100 years! Nice one, LaHood and Obama. By the time CREATE is completed, Chicago won't need to untie its freight bottleneck because we'll be importing all of our raw materials from the Martian colonies instead..

[Busy Bee]

^Simmerdown TUP. I'm sure more cash for CREATE will come in larger and larger quantities once the ball gets moving. At least the train is leaving the station–pardon the pun.

[schwerve]

as of December 2009, ~20% of the create projects were either in construction or completed. In the span of a month create was just awarded another 10% of the total estimated construction budget by the feds (not sure what/if Illinois ponied up any), calm down.

[jpIllInoIs]

There is more than one grant program that CREATE will have to use to receive funding. This TIGER grant is a ery significant boost. Many of the CREATE projects are road/rail grade separations. 26 of those I think. That funding can also come from road/highway funds. And the State and City and host railroads have some funding promised. Also the Engelwood Flyover (P1) got funded to the tune of $133 mil under the HSR ARRA round of stimulus.

[ardecila]

^^ Yes, the Englewood Flyover is a significant part of CREATE as well. Bear in mind that the state and the railroads will also be contributing, so don't look to the Feds for a blank check.

Besides, many of the improvements in CREATE need to be completed in a specific order. For example, the Englewood Flyover is required before the Grand Crossing or 75th Street projects can be built - both of those projects will send additional trains through Englewood Junction, which is completely unable to cope with additional traffic until a flyover is built. Because the timeline for CREATE is necessarily drawn-out, a large investment in CREATE projects would be a poor choice for stimulus funding intended to provide a short-term boost to the economy.

I should also mention that Illinois DOES have other applications for TIGER funding that could still see approval. Pace has an application for $220m (the max they can now receive would be $200m) for an express bus system on 294, which also includes the partial build-out of an managed-lanes system. IDOT and the Tollway have an application for $300m for an interchange at 294 and 57. Rockford has an application for $72 million to reduce freight rail congestion and lay the groundwork for commuter rail. $100m for CREATE does not mean that Illinois is one-and-done for TIGER.

[orulz]

Any idea yet what CREATE projects will be funded with this $100 million? Most of the projects in the application are related to freight capacity and congestion. (In other words, boring stuff but necessary and useful.) The two that seemed less boring to me were GS14, the 71st street grade separation, and B2, triple-tracking the UP-W line between Elmhurst and Melrose Park, including reconstruction of the Bellwood and Berkeley stations.

[ardecila]

It'll be up to the CREATE planners to decide what gets the money.

No other TIGER grants were awarded to the Chicago area, although Normal will get money for its big new Amtrak station and the "Southwestern Illinois Intermodal Freight Transportation Hub" will get money.

On the bright side, the CREATE grant was the second-largest one awarded.

[Marcu]

The Port of Gulfport Missisippi is also getting $20 mil to connect it by rail to Chicago, among other cities.

[the urban politician]

On the bright side, the CREATE grant was the second-largest one awarded.

^ The largest grant being the one that was awarded to States in the SE to improve their freight rail and intermodal capacity.

Would this be in direct competition with the Chicago freight hub? Perhaps JpIllinois would know..

[ardecila]

^^ Not really. The Crescent Corridor is speeding up trains from Gulf ports to East Coast cities, and trains from Mid-Atlantic ports to Sunbelt cities. These trains aren't currently going through Chicago anyway - much of that freight is probably going by truck at the moment down I-85 or I-20.

The Crescent Corridor will also directly improve passenger rail service on Amtrak's daily Crescent by adding sidings, upgrading track, and so forth.

[bnk]

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-create-grant-react-0218-20100218,0,7257132.story

chicagotribune.com
Stadium-goers to get benefit of stimulus funds
$100 million grant intended to unclog rail congestion
By Richard Wronski, Tribune reporter

February 18, 2010


The $100 million federal grant awarded to the Chicago region Wednesday to unclog rail congestion will benefit Jimmy Buffett Parrotheads and Chicago Fire soccer aficionados along with freight haulers, motorists and rail passengers.

That's because $20 million of that money will go toward building a rail/highway underpass on 71st Street, west of Harlem Avenue and across from Bridgeview's Toyota Park, a 28,000-seat sports and music venue.

The underpass is one of five Chicago-area rail projects receiving part of $1.5 billion in Obama administration stimulus money designed to spur the economy, develop infrastructure and create jobs.

The rail projects are lumped together under a rail congestion relief program known as the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program, or CREATE, a partnership of railroads and transportation agencies.

With the strong support of state and federal officials, particularly CREATE's chief proponent, U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., the rail program beat out scores of other agencies for stimulus money.

The Illinois Tollway unsuccessfully sought $300 million to help build an interchange where Interstate Highway 57 and the Tri-State Tollway (Interstate Highway 294) intersect.

The tollway also lost out in its bid for $38 million to set up a Dial-511 traffic and travel information system. The tollway and Pace had partnered on a losing $200 million proposal for Tri-State express buses.

Observers said Wednesday that the CREATE program had the edge on the other applicants from the start.

"I am surprised that CREATE didn't get more," said Jim LaBelle, a transportation expert with the civic group Chicago Metropolis 2020 and a Metra director.

Peter Skosey of the Metropolitan Planning Council said the Illinois Department of Transportation, one of the CREATE partners, "put all its eggs in one basket" with the rail program. "IDOT tried to corral everybody around CREATE," Skosey said.

...

[jpIllInoIs]

^ The largest grant being the one that was awarded to States in the SE to improve their freight rail and intermodal capacity.

Would this be in direct competition with the Chicago freight hub? Perhaps JpIllinois would know..

Freight has to go somewhere...Why not south? I did note with interest that Kansas City was denied their request for intermodal assistance, and that yard would be direct competition to Chicago's East-West dominance.

[a chicago bearcat]

Freight has to go somewhere...Why not south? I did note with interest that Kansas City was denied their request for intermodal assistance, and that yard would be direct competition to Chicago's East-West dominance.

Isn't Chicago's dominance due to the need to switch between eastern and western companies, since both BNSF and UP don't serve east of Chicago?

[jpIllInoIs]

Isn't Chicago's dominance due to the need to switch between eastern and western companies, since both BNSF and UP don't serve east of Chicago?

And CSX does not serve west of Chicago, but NS does go all the way to Kansas City, thus making a connection with both UP and BNSF that can completely bypass Chicago. And KC has another play in that Kansas City Southern has a big network form KC into Mexico.

Of course Chicago is still the Emporer of rail with major terminals and yards for all the biggest players CN CP NS UP BNSF and CSX. We just need to not get complacent and take it for granted. Memphis, Birmingham and Kansas City are all making a play for intermodal expansion.

[jpIllInoIs]

Things are starting to move ahead! This is the same group that did the 220mph HSR study.

Metra contracts TranSystems to design CREATE’s Englewood flyover

Metra’s board recently approved a final design contract for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) program’s Englewood flyover project, according to the program’s partners.

TranSystems Corp. obtained a $5.65 million contract to design the flyover, which will carry Metra’s north-south Rock Island line over the an east-west Norfolk Southern Railway/Amtrak line. To be completed in 2012, the project is designed to eliminate conflicts between 68 Metra trains and 60 freight and Amtrak trains that intersect daily at an existing grade crossing.

The project will be funded with a portion of a $133 million federal grant CREATE partners received in January through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The flyover must be built and in operation before two adjacent CREATE projects — 75th Street corridor improvements and the Grand Crossing — can be completed, according to a prepared statement.

CREATE partners include Amtrak, the Association of American Railroads, Belt Railway Co. of Chicago, BNSF Railway Co., CSX Transportation, CN, Canadian Pacific, Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co., Norfolk Southern Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, and the Illinois and Chicago Departments of Transportation.

Funded through a public-private partnership, CREATE calls for building roadway underpasses or overpasses to separate vehicle/pedestrian and rail traffic; constructing rail overpasses to separate freight- and passenger-rail tracks; and upgrading track, switches, signal systems and other rail infrastructure.

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=22622

[Via Chicago]

Union Station is soliciting plans for a redevelopment of the Great Hall. Not sure how I feel about that. It clearly could be utilized better, but I dont see how anything regarding that station will change until they address the 800 lb gorilla in the room, which is the smoke filled, overcrowded, mazelike, underground hallways and crumbling platforms which comprise 90% of the the actual operational building.

[ardecila]

^^ agreed

I mentioned in the MWRRI thread that Amtrak has set aside $1.5 million for preliminary design and EIS work on the Grand Crossing project.

[ardecila]

New CDOT 2010 Projects

LaSalle/Congress Intermodal Center
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6634/lasalle1.jpg
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7673/lasalle3.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9487/lasalle2.jpg

Morgan/Lake
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7277/morgan1r.jpg

New Halsted St Bridge, North Branch Canal
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/682/halsted1.jpg

Navy Pier Flyover
http://www.chicagojournal.com/dropins/npf_121709.jpg
Chicago Journal (http://www.chicagojournal.com)

35th Street Pedestrian Bridge
http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu/files/content/image/bigboldvisionary/teng_35th_street_bridge1.jpg
UChicago Burnham Plan Centennial (http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu)

Apparently CDOT also wants to begin construction on a big grade-separation project at 130th and Torrence. This is all in addition to the massive projects on Wacker and Congress. Also, the work at Grand/State will wrap up. All in all, this is shaping up to be a good year.

[jpIllInoIs]

New CDOT 2010 Projects
Apparently CDOT also wants to begin construction on a big grade-separation project at 130th and Torrence. This is all in addition to the massive projects on Wacker and Congress. Also, the work at Grand/State will wrap up. All in all, this is shaping up to be a good year.

I believe this is another CREATE project; GS15a.

Dont be surprised if this is funded in the yet to be announced Federal Highway Transportation bill.

[spyguy]

Morgan/Lake


Looks pretty good so far. Thanks for the updates.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/cta-tattler/2010/02/cta-to-tap-3-million-in-tif-funds-for-wilson-station-rehab.html

CTA to tap $3 million in TIF funds for Wilson station rehab
Kevin O'Neil

The CTA will use up to $3 million in tax increment financing to rehabilitate the Red Line's Wilson station -- long considered one of the worst stations.

[the urban politician]

New CDOT 2010 Projects

LaSalle/Congress Intermodal Center
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6634/lasalle1.jpg
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7673/lasalle3.jpg
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/9487/lasalle2.jpg


^ So the parking lot remains? What exactly are they lining the street edge with? Are those supposed to be bus shelters in continuum covered with advertising? Seriously, all I'm seeing here is a staircase, some bus shelters, a widened sidewalk, and a few trees. A bit of a disappointment..

[pip]

CTA bus union leader: Monday could bring strike vote
But L workers union says he doesn't plan to follow suit

The leader of the union representing CTA bus drivers says there could be a strike vote Monday, in the wake of CTA service and staff cuts.

“It’s a very good possibility,” said Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241. “It’s up to the members whether the vote takes place.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/2065704,cta-bus-drivers-strike-vote-022310.article

great!!

[Chicago Shawn]

^ So the parking lot remains? What exactly are they lining the street edge with? Are those supposed to be bus shelters in continuum covered with advertising? Seriously, all I'm seeing here is a staircase, some bus shelters, a widened sidewalk, and a few trees. A bit of a disappointment..

That's a good thing. I thought the lot was going to disappear as well, but this preserves a prime development site for the future, and offers the opportunity for a developer to perhaps negotiate a FAR bonus in exchange for making future improvements to the transit center.

[Chicago Shawn]

CTA bus union leader: Monday could bring strike vote
But L workers union says he doesn't plan to follow suit

The leader of the union representing CTA bus drivers says there could be a strike vote Monday, in the wake of CTA service and staff cuts.

“It’s a very good possibility,” said Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241. “It’s up to the members whether the vote takes place.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/2065704,cta-bus-drivers-strike-vote-022310.article

great!!

Would this be an illegal stop work action? If it is, fire these assholes if they act on the threat. Seriously, unemployment is over 10%, there is large labor pool who would be more then willing to drive a bus with good base pay and benefits, they may already have a CDL in hand. Can CTA even legally hire people in the event of a strike?

The union really needs some new leadership. The public is already pissed at them, and a strike would only work to worsen their public perception; perhaps to the point where the state legislator may take away their legal protections (at least I hope). The rail union sees this, and has refused to bring up the consideration of a strike because the "riding public has suffered enough".

[VivaLFuego]

^ So the parking lot remains? What exactly are they lining the street edge with? Are those supposed to be bus shelters in continuum covered with advertising? Seriously, all I'm seeing here is a staircase, some bus shelters, a widened sidewalk, and a few trees. A bit of a disappointment..

This project is of nebulous origins, but I think the main goal is to provide an actual terminal and 'layover' point for the 22 and 36 bus routes (and/or possibly the 145 and 148), which have had their southern termini and routing awkwardly shuffled throughout the Printer's Row area for quite some time -- seems most businesses and residents nor the aldermen representing them like to have buses parked in front for any length of time, and further if there isn't enough space to stage buses, it gets that much harder to operate a remotely reliable and regular service in the congested PM Peak. Unless there's something I haven't heard, the "intermodal" connection is really more just seizing an opportunity to bundle such a connection with the street & sidewalk reconstruction, rather than in meeting a pressing demand for massive quantities of Rock Island<--> CTA bus transfer traffic. Of course, it also simply serves as another access point to/from LaSalle Street station, on the south side of forboding Congress "Parkway" no less, so there is a simple station accessibility benefit to residences and businesses in the area from that as well.

[Busy Bee]

Has anyone ever seen these postcards showing early plans for the post office in between Union and NW?

Would've been beautiful. Amazing how much they thought it would look like Penn Station. I love the Chciago typo.

http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20&%20po%20&%20c&nw%20320.jpg
link (http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20&%20po%20&%20c&nw%20320.jpg)

All grabbed from the wonderful Chicago History in Postcards (http://chicagopc.info/) website. Here's the railroad stations (http://chicagopc.info/transportation-railroads__depots.htm) page.

And the original tower plan. Wow.

http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20new%20371.jpg
link (http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20new%20371.jpg)

And what WAS built.

http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20143.jpg
link (http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20143.jpg)

http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20new%20with%20bus%20371.jpg
link (http://chicagopc.info/Chicago%20postcards/transport/railroads/stations%20-%20depots/union%20station%20new%20with%20bus%20371.jpg)

[Taft]

^ So the parking lot remains? What exactly are they lining the street edge with? Are those supposed to be bus shelters in continuum covered with advertising? Seriously, all I'm seeing here is a staircase, some bus shelters, a widened sidewalk, and a few trees. A bit of a disappointment..

As a person who has walked past that lot some untold thousands of times, I can say that the addition of the sidewalk on the east side of the street alone justifies this project for me.

Nothing worse than competing with other pedestrians and vehicles for a tiny strip of gutter...

[ardecila]

Of course, it also simply serves as another access point to/from LaSalle Street station, on the south side of forboding Congress "Parkway" no less, so there is a simple station accessibility benefit to residences and businesses in the area from that as well.

It should have included a matching stairway/elevator on the east side of the station. The Feds have closed off LaSalle for Homeland Security purposes, so you could just use some of the street ROW. If you were smart, you could extend a short underground passage to allow for a direct elevator/stair connection between Metra and the Blue Line.

[jpIllInoIs]

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/02/a-highspeed-rail-station-proposal-from-helmut-jahn-not-perfect-but-it-gets-the-civic-debate-on-the-r.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Ftheskyline+%28ChicagoTribune+-+Cityscapes%29

From: BLAIR KAMINS Blog


February 25, 2010
A high-speed rail station proposal from Helmut Jahn: Not perfect, but it gets the civic debate on the right track
Share |

Chicago architect Helmut Jahn has a promising but imperfect plan for a high-speed rail station in Chicago. It’s not much more than a sketch, certainly not a finished blueprint. Yet it deserves to be taken seriously, if only because it should kick-start a much-needed debate over the right place for the hub of the Midwest’s just-funded high-speed rail network.

Jahn, who has long excelled at transportation facilities, has prepared the plan for Reuben Hedlund, a civic-minded zoning lawyer who headed the Chicago Plan Commission from 1991 to 1997. Hedlund does not appear to be in a position to profit from the project, which he calls the Daniel Burnham Central Station in honor of the great turn-of-the-century Chicago planner. So the proposal can be considered clean, even if it would likely send the values of nearby properties skyrocketing.

The plan calls for the demolition of a brick U.S. Postal Service building in the 300 block of West Harrison Street, which stands just southeast of the old Chicago Main Post Office astride the Congress Expressway, and is mainly used by carriers who deliver mail to the South and West Loop (below). In its place would rise a riverfront office or condo tower and a low-slung train concourse with a swooping roof that would reach out like a tail, sheltering tracks and train platforms below street-level (above).

Let’s set aside the biggest practical hurdle to this vision—whether the Postal Service would sell the building or join private developers in a partnership to rebuild the site.

Advocates expect high-speed rail to make its debut in Chicago by 2014, in the wake of President Barack Obama’s decision to award $8 billion to the concept nationwide. That means Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley have a choice: Are they going to get on board and create a railroad gateway worthy of the city--or are they going to let a golden opportunity pass, cramming new passengers into an already-jammed Union Station?

The stakes are enormous, and not just because high-speed rail is the signature public works initiative of Obama’s controversial economic stimulus package. The location and architectural character of the station will invariably influence whether people switch from planes, as well as energy-hogging vehicles, to this greener form of getting around. The station also could propel a new wave of downtown development once the recession ends. Yet there has been precious little leadership on this issue from City Hall.

Whatever explains the city’s recalcitrance, this much is clear: Union Station is a poor candidate to serve as a high-speed rail hub.

Despite the soaring image of its barrel-vaulted Great Hall, the passenger concourse east of the hall is confusing and confining, a warren trapped within the structural columns that hold up the office building above it. Going forward, Union Station lacks adequate space to marshal more passengers and handle more trains. Nor does it connect to the Chicago Transit Authority’s express service to O’Hare. Its fundamental problem, though, is that it isn’t really a station. It’s a terminal.

Almost all of Union Station’s tracks, whether northbound or southbound, stop at the station instead of running straight through. That’s no good if you’re a high-speed rail passenger traveling, say, from Milwaukee to Cincinnati. You’d have to change trains in Chicago. Who has time for that? You’d fly instead.

In contrast, Hedlund is touting his site as the best of both worlds: It offers access to the train tracks that emerge from Union Station’s south end without the station’s claustrophobic structural web...............................more sketches in link

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss253/jpillinois/Train%20maps/6a00d834518cc969e201310f3c1914970c-.jpg

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss253/jpillinois/Train%20maps/6a00d834518cc969e201310f3c1b84970c-.jpg

[k1052]

We don't need yet another station that offers no CTA integration or easy transfers to Metra that will only add to the auto traffic snarl around the west loop stations.

Build the WLTC, if needed bore additional HSR tracks under Canal.

[Busy Bee]

VERY interesting.

[Busy Bee]

Jahn’s design does not solve the crucial problem of how pedestrians coming from the Loop would get to the new station, which would be brutally separated from the Loop by the Congress Expressway. His plan is disappointingly oriented to the car, with a big drop-off circle running north to the train pavilion from Harrison Street. Until the pedestrian access problem is corrected—perhaps with a passageway leading through the old Main Post Office, now owned by mysterious British investor Bill Davies—this plan will remain deeply flawed

Carroll Ave Light Rail.

[Mr Downtown]

Carroll St. Light Rail? How does an isolated route with no possible connection to any CTA train lines aid connectivity?

As for this proposal, what possible use is an HSR station with platforms only 600 feet long?

[k1052]

Carroll Ave Light Rail.

Which doesn't go into the loop and would have to be extended further south than anticipated then cut over on Harrison to even get close to the station.

I'd even rather they demolish 222 S Riverside and entirely redo the concourse, platforms, and track configuration than see the Jahn proposal built.

[schwerve]

Its an interesting spot for a station. the clinton street subway would provide the necessary cta connection. as for the clinton-carroll street line, that will be integrated with the monroe st busway so you could theoretically build a station at congress with an underground pedway under congress to the HSR station (1 block) and have direct connections to the loop (via clinton - monroe st busway, and McCormick continuing on the lakefront line) and the major N-S CTA route (red line through clinton subway). that's a long way off but realistically, so is any HSR station.

[jpIllInoIs]

Carroll St. Light Rail? How does an isolated route with no possible connection to any CTA train lines aid connectivity?

As for this proposal, what possible use is an HSR station with platforms only 600 feet long?

On the sketch I see 240M penciled in...
240 meters=787 feet according to my metric conversion table.

On the Talgo website they state that the 250 trainset series maximum length is 183meters with 11 cars.

Not that I am advocating this station, but it looks like the platform length is adequate.

[Via Chicago]

I'd even rather they demolish 222 S Riverside and entirely redo the concourse, platforms, and track configuration than see the Jahn proposal built.

I wish they would demolish 222. Its really the only way to truly fix Union once and for all. Of course, if they had simply kept the concourse building in the first place we wouldnt have to have this discussion. What an incredibly shortsighted decision.

[Mr Downtown]

Yes, Helmut has written in "700 feet/240 m." But that's for the longest platform; the other three are substantially shorter. Why would you build a station for the future where only one platform can even accommodate a single Talgo trainset, when you're hoping that 20 years from now you'll need a double set every semester break or holiday weekend?

I think a lot could be done at the current location, as I've mentioned in the past. Four run-through tracks could be created, and you could push the food court and even some Amtrak services upward into the first two floors of the 222 building. You could then take in about half the riverside walkway and the current food court to be the commuter waiting room and circulation, and reopen the taxi drives and use the Great Hall for intercity travelers.

[Nowhereman1280]

I wish they would demolish 222. Its really the only way to truly fix Union once and for all. Of course, if they had simply kept the concourse building in the first place we wouldnt have to have this discussion. What an incredibly shortsighted decision.

I don't think that's the only way to fix Union. 222 could easily be renovated into an awesome station if they just put the money into it. I believe 222 is a steel tube construction like the Hancock and many other buildings. This means that floor sections bear no weight and can be cut out at will. I vote that they completely gut the bottom five floors of or so and leave only the elevator cores and load bearing beams. Then just rearrange the platforms and station functions contained within to the most effective layout and encapsulating the whole thing in a glass atrium. How sweet would that be to see the whole first five floors of 222 without any floor plates or cladding, suspended over an active train station, protected from the elements only by a skin of glass in the shape of a bubble (maybe something similar to Jahn's U of C library, but with a 1970's tower poking out of the top).

I might do my own sketches of this concept and post them here!

[k1052]

222 is so utterly unremarkable that I highly doubt anyone would miss it, particularly millions of passengers who are stuffed through it's dank bowels annually.

[Mr Downtown]

Don't be fooled by the Mid-America Commodity Exchange, which does appear to have a steel exoskeleton like the Hancock. 222 S. Riverside is a composite steel frame and concrete tube structure. I'm no engineer, but I don't think you can remove too much of the lower floor slabs before you start having torsion concerns.

[VivaLFuego]

What about only removing one or two floor slabs to create something of an open atrium in the middle (albeit with all the structural columns still there)? If one could merely take out one floor, having stairs/escalators descend from street level into a concourse with high ceilings whose only obstructions are the columns, with easy visibility to the under-street passageway to the Great Hall which itself could take on some of the concourses current functions not to mention serve as the waiting area for eventual HSR intercity travel on the deep HSR tracks under Clinton...

I dunno, I'd be surprised if the station isn't somewhat salvageable, if it is considered carefully from a user experience standpoint rather than as an unfortunate burden on the highrise, which is what the current smoke-filled dingy labyrinth feels like.

[the urban politician]

From: BLAIR KAMINS Blog

That means Chicago and Mayor Richard Daley have a choice: Are they going to get on board and create a railroad gateway worthy of the city--or are they going to let a golden opportunity pass, cramming new passengers into an already-jammed Union Station?

....


Whatever explains the city’s recalcitrance, this much is clear: Union Station is a poor candidate to serve as a high-speed rail hub.


^ Has Mr. Kamin never heard of the Central Area Action Plan and the West Loop Transportation Center? Pretty bold plans, if you ask me. I"m not sure in which way the city is being recalcitrant, just realistic perhaps..

[pip]

Union Station is busy? Really?

[ardecila]

What about only removing one or two floor slabs to create something of an open atrium in the middle (albeit with all the structural columns still there)? If one could merely take out one floor, having stairs/escalators descend from street level into a concourse with high ceilings whose only obstructions are the columns, with easy visibility to the under-street passageway to the Great Hall which itself could take on some of the concourses current functions not to mention serve as the waiting area for eventual HSR intercity travel on the deep HSR tracks under Clinton...

I dunno, I'd be surprised if the station isn't somewhat salvageable, if it is considered carefully from a user experience standpoint rather than as an unfortunate burden on the highrise, which is what the current smoke-filled dingy labyrinth feels like.

This won't make it any less smoke-filled... the platforms need better ventilation.

Why not replace this:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3571814502_e29d91c271.jpg?v=0

with something more open? You could build a giant vault between Canal and the edge of Gateway Center or hell, just rip that triangular skylight in the middle off. It directly blocks the diesel exhaust from exiting.

Of course, the vast majority of the platforms are blocked by buildings. Using air rights to develop wasn't a bad idea, but they didn't plan for expansion or ventilation. Air rights may have worked at Grand Central, but Grand Central has been electrified for 100 years. Union Station in DC, the only similarly-sized terminal with buildings over the platforms, has the same problem.

[Mr Downtown]

Actually, the triangular skylight is over the baggage platform, not the tracks. It's the open slots on either side that were specifically engineered to draw the smoke from steam locomotives up and out of the trainshed. If you remove the skylight, the fumes would be pulled laterally onto the platforms.

Those who built over air rights were keenly aware of the ventilation problem—and imagine how pressing it was in the era of the steam locomotive. Holabird & Roche did extensive engineering and even a full-scale mockup to arrive at the proper chimney shape and ventilation system for the Daily News Building.

[ardecila]

Wow, didn't know that. On the other hand, Union Station is noticeably smoggier than Ogilvie, which has no building obscuring the ventilation.

[BVictor1]

Community Meeting:
Congress Parkway, Wacker Drive and Eisenhower Expressway Construction


At 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, in the Robert Morris University Auditorium, 401 S. State St., Room 803, representatives from CDOT and IDOT will be giving a presentation for residents of the 2nd Ward regarding upcoming construction on Wacker Drive, Congress Parkway and the Eisenhower Expressway.

Construction will begin on April 1 and will drastically alter traffic flow through, in and out of the City. This is a very large, three-year project. The presentation will detail the type of work being done, street closures, detour routes and construction time-lines.


Attendance at this meeting is highly recommended as the traffic and construction experts will be on hand to answer questions.


While the construction itself will be concentrated in one geographical area, most of the Ward will be affected in some way by detour routes and expressway closures. For more information, please call Pasquale Neri in the 2nd Ward Public Service Office (312) 263-9273.

[Via Chicago]

Union Station is busy? Really?

Are you being serious? Union Station is an absolute madhouse during the morning/evening rush hours.

And this is what it looks like when theres a delay.....(death trap, anyone?) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemarla/3289958613/)

[k1052]

Are you being serious? Union Station is an absolute madhouse during the morning/evening rush hours.

And this is what it looks like when theres a delay.....(death trap, anyone?) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemarla/3289958613/)

ugh

and the head house sits there an almost empty derelict, maybe Amtrak and Metra will wise up someday and actually make use of it

[a chicago bearcat]

deleted
<misread>

[BVictor1]

Are you being serious? Union Station is an absolute madhouse during the morning/evening rush hours.

And this is what it looks like when theres a delay.....(death trap, anyone?) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemarla/3289958613/)

The station maybe busy, the the facility itself in underutilized.

[Via Chicago]

The station maybe busy, the the facility itself in underutilized.

Well, the Great Hall is underutilized depending on how you look at things, but thats a big difference than saying the sation isnt busy.

[Nowhereman1280]

Simple solution to solve this problem. destroy all of the lounges, waiting areas, ticket counters, and all that in 222 and move it all over to the Great Hall. Then just use the entirety of the track level in 222 for queing lines and utility uses like baggage and the likes. That way you make people wait in the great hall and then funnel them into the track/staging area in 222, no problem. Also reopen the freaking underground taxi drives. Also, if done correctly, this could open up enough space under 222 to install more than 2 lines that cut all the way through the station instead of terminating.

[Via Chicago]

Simple solution to solve this problem. destroy all of the lounges, waiting areas, ticket counters, and all that in 222 and move it all over to the Great Hall. Then just use the entirety of the track level in 222 for queing lines and utility uses like baggage and the likes. That way you make people wait in the great hall and then funnel them into the track/staging area in 222, no problem. Also reopen the freaking underground taxi drives. Also, if done correctly, this could open up enough space under 222 to install more than 2 lines that cut all the way through the station instead of terminating.

As mentioned before, the Great Hall is owned by a separate investment company. I believe this is why no operational functions are located there today

[Mr Downtown]

No, Amtrak still owns all of Chicago Union Station. They haven't (yet) conveyed the Great Hall or any part of it to a developer. The Great Hall isn't used because it's not air-conditioned and is distant from the current ticket windows and public address systems. Amtrak's 1991 remodeling created waiting areas in the concourse area scaled to their needs, but they have outgrown those facilities. Amtrak understands this and is always looking at ways to reconfigure things, especially if someone else will pay for it as part of the construction of a new tower atop the Great Hall.

[a chicago bearcat]

Amtrak understands this and is always looking at ways to reconfigure things, especially if someone else will pay for it as part of the construction of a new tower atop the Great Hall.

good to see you dreaming on this one

single egress for anything seems problematic, let alone a commuter rail platform, under what exactly do the platforms end to the south?

[Mr Downtown]

^Do you have some inside knowledge on this? Don't you think it's likely that Union Station will get its tower during the next boom?

As for track egress, I've recently been pondering how half of the block south of Jackson is still uncovered trainshed. So if commuter crowding is a problem, stairways could go directly from Jackson down to five of the south platforms, just as they now do from Madison Street to the north platforms.

[Via Chicago]

^Do you have some inside knowledge on this? Don't you think it's likely that Union Station will get its tower during the next boom?

As for track egress, I've recently been pondering how half of the block south of Jackson is still uncovered trainshed. So if commuter crowding is a problem, stairways could go directly from Jackson down to five of the south platforms, just as they now do from Madison Street to the north platforms.

That next "boom" could be 20 or 30 years away for all we know. And I doubt any residential/commercial tower will do anything to address the logistical issues of the station at large.

Boarding stairs to the south platform would be nice, but ignores the fact that most people are coming from/going to the north/east end of the city. And that does nothing to address the crowded/outdated Amtrack facilities, or the underground labyrinth.

I just dont see how the Great Hall logically would link up as a truly functional boarding/departure facility. Its simply located in the wrong place in relation to tracks.

[Mr Downtown]

^By separating the intercity pax from the commuters. The commuters would continue to come and go through the east building, because they are coming from the Loop and arrive shortly before departure. They will always take the shortest path and need generous circulation space but only modest waiting facilities.

If the Great Hall were air conditioned, with a new offstreet bus facility to the south and reopened taxi drives, intercity pax (who don't necessarily come from the Loop) could arrive at the headhouse side and be held there until departure time. Move Amtrak ticket windows back to the historical location between the Great Hall and the concourse and other Amtrak facilities into the unused spaces around and above the Great Hall. Union Station would again function more or less as Thomas Rodd designed it to.

[k1052]

^By separating the intercity pax from the commuters. The commuters would continue to come and go through the east building, because they are coming from the Loop and arrive shortly before departure. They will always take the shortest path and need generous circulation space but only modest waiting facilities.

If the Great Hall were air conditioned, with a new offstreet bus facility to the south and reopened taxi drives, intercity pax (who don't necessarily come from the Loop) could arrive at the headhouse side and be held there until departure time. Move Amtrak ticket windows back to the historical location between the Great Hall and the concourse and other Amtrak facilities into the unused spaces around and above the Great Hall. Union Station would again function more or less as Thomas Rodd designed it to.

Also, if the WLTC gets built under Clinton the great hall will be a huge traffic corridor for people connecting between HSR/Amtrak/Metra/CTA

[spyguy]

http://www.lakeeffectnews.com/2010/03/01/lunching-with-helen/

Lunching With Helen
By LORRAINE SWANSON

...The CTA is also negotiating an intergovernmental agreement with the city to redo the Wilson CTA Red Line station. About $3 million from the Wilson Yard TIF would go toward fixing the roof and upgrading the retail space so it can be viable. Other plans include moving the turnstiles to the ground floor to open up the second floor platform to improve security and the overall aesthetics and usability of the station as part of the CTA’s “Red Line Visioning Study.”

Also on tap for development is the Wilson Mall and possibly turning it into a mini-French market.

“They’re still working on the design,” Shiller said. “The design is still there at Wilson and that design was enough for [the CTA] to determine that they want to do a new station on the south side of the street and preserve the structure on the north side as a secondary entrance.”

[the urban politician]

^ I wonder if creating a walkway to Target is still being considered

[sammyg]

Scaffolding went up around the North/Clybourn station in preparation for the remodel. I shot these yesterday and you can see Bacci Pizza is closed, and most of the interior has been closed off -

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_a9YHcZ5sa7A/S5Cz0VF1H6I/AAAAAAAAAOA/cXRqSFiRThc/s800/2010-03-03%2015.54.47.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_a9YHcZ5sa7A/S5Cz1uihMqI/AAAAAAAAAOE/fNHR0uQXigA/s800/2010-03-03%2015.54.54.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_a9YHcZ5sa7A/S5Cz3GZoQ1I/AAAAAAAAAOI/SPbfUT77ePE/s800/2010-03-03%2015.55.26.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_a9YHcZ5sa7A/S5C2Bjclw-I/AAAAAAAAAOw/vGExb0MtUSg/s800/2010-03-03%2015.56.30.jpg

I think it already looks better.

[VivaLFuego]

CDOT has posted a presentation on the new Morgan/Lake infill station:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/cdot/MorganCTAstation_Jan2010.pdf

Very sharp looking station - definitely taking design cues from the other stations along Lake Street that were reconstructed in the 1990s, and notably nicer and more thoughtfully-designed and planned than the bulk of the unfortunate VE'd new Brown Line stations. The canopy/lighting look great. The streetscape and access design seem decent (sidewalks seem pretty narrow along the stationhouses, but hopefully the materials used are light/airy enough that it doesn't feel cramped. Not sure about the elevator towers and transfer bridge yet, hard to get a read on how the materials will look in the finished product.

All in all, great progress for West Loop, and hopefully a successful project that can serve as a model for an eventual South Loop infill station.

[Pandemonious]

^Nice Find. The design looks pretty slick actually. I really like the mesh/rod/louvered facade cladding, and how it helps give a nice textured but simple way to celebrate the form to the two big boxes that make up either side of the station. The sidewalks do look a little tight at grade, especially if those entry doors do swing out...and I would have put additional entry doors where the vending machines are slotted facing morgan street to make the entrance more visible instead of only tucked into the narrow sidewalk facing the neighboring buildings. I wonder why there are only two turnstiles on the north building, but three on the south... seems strange since there is space.

[Mr Downtown]

^How many people would ever board here at one time outbound?