CHICAGO: Transit developments

[ardecila]

Lunt?

The work will extend the lifespan of the stations for probably 20 years, and the elevated structure too. In the long run, the stations do not meet modern standards for spaciousness, platform width, or accessibility. I think the full rebuild is still worth it, Considering that the north lakefront is the densest corridor in the city and it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future.

[chicagopcclcar1]

Originally Posted by denizen467

^
Although in the Morse photos they do still have large platform signs pointing to an exit at Lunt Ave. After all these years I would've thought something could have been about that; the name always seemed a bit off to me...

What is wrong...the name of the street is West Lunt Ave.

D. H.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Morse Renovations

Holy Cow - I thought these were just going to be a somewhat more aggressive version of the deep cleaning things they did, but that's some serious work they're doing. Almost like Rahm has found a covert way to get a big jump start on the North Main rebuild.

[Kippis]

CTA's bus rapid transit won't be so rapid
City to start work Monday on BRT experiment that doesn't fully clear the way for buses

Jon Hilkevitch: Getting Around
August 20, 2012

CTA planning manager Joe Iacobucci is the first to acknowledge at the transit agency that "if you ask the average person in Chicago what BRT is, you get a blank look."

BRT, or bus rapid transit, is Iacobucci's special project. He hopes to transform those blank looks into satisfied smiles.

Yet riders of top-notch BRT service in cities like Bogota, Colombia, and Cleveland might not recognize the CTA's first foray into BRT as "rapid" — because a much-abbreviated form will hits the streets toward the end of the year on the No. 14 Jeffery Express route between the South Side and downtown...

Read More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/classi...2799509.column

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by emathias

that's some serious work they're doing. Almost like Rahm has found a covert way to get a big jump start on the North Main rebuild.

Except, of course, that all the work they're now doing will have to be torn out for that project. I was pretty astonished yesterday to see the entire platform at Thorndale missing down to the ballast.

[ardecila]

Seems like the Red Line project was conceived in response to the conditions in Washington, with little chance of funding for the full project anytime soon. Rahm doesn't want the north lakefronters to think he forgot about his promise to rebuild the line, so he had to get something done. Things improved a little bit now that Congress passed a bill, but I still think the chances of landing a Federal grant for the RPM project are slim.

Frankly, for only $80 million this stations project is very impressive. I don't think there are any other stations in this poor of a shape, except the Purple Line stations in Evanston, and I doubt Evanston can find another $80 million.

[Beta_Magellan]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Rahm doesn't want the north lakefronters to think he forgot about his promise to rebuild the line, so he had to get something done. Things improved a little bit now that Congress passed a bill, but I still think the chances of landing a Federal grant for the RPM project are slim.

This. I think this, and the 95th Street renovations, are partly examples of Rahm showing he can produce results on a quick turnaround to key constituencies (north side whites and African-Americans), which help differentiate him from negligent-on-transit Daley and give him concrete accomplishments to point to in case if his reputation takes a beating in other places.

Plus, if he has the money in hand he may as well spend it. It’s looking more and more likely that the upcoming Dan Ryan and Wilson reconstructions will probably be the last major projects the CTA will finish in this decade, if not my lifetime—I wouldn’t be surprised if (nationally) transit just withers on the vine in the next few years, and without the odd infusion of federal and state money I wouldn’t be surprised to see the CTA’s ridership gains backslide as well.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Beta_Magellan

...
which help differentiate him from negligent-on-transit Daley and give him concrete accomplishments to point to in case if his reputation takes a beating in other places.

Plus, if he has the money in hand he may as well spend it. It’s looking more and more likely that the upcoming Dan Ryan and Wilson reconstructions will probably be the last major projects the CTA will finish in this decade, if not my lifetime—I wouldn’t be surprised if (nationally) transit just withers on the vine in the next few years, and without the odd infusion of federal and state money I wouldn’t be surprised to see the CTA’s ridership gains backslide as well.

I'm not nearly as dour on the prospects of transit as you are. We are definitely on the cusp of some sort of change, but I'm not ruling out a change toward progress, current attacks on Obama notwithstanding. The CTA's ridership gains will only dissolve if we see ultra-cheap gasoline again - which is unlikely anytime soon. And cheaper gas is likely to come along with a better economy, with jobs growth. Jobs growth will me more commuters. If we have more commuters and high gasoline prices, ridership numbers will be setting records every year. I think it's also likely that Rahm will start pushing for more TOD construction near under-utilized "L" stations, instead of allowing "whatever" to get built there. If he does, that will reinforce ridership, too.

I also think that calling Daley negligent on transit is not true. I think it'd be fair to say it wasn't his biggest priority, but he oversaw one of the fastest growth periods in ridership in the history of the agency, and he got the Kimball stations expanded, the Douglas Branch rebuilt in a time when, by the numbers, it could have been shut down, he got a lot of the downtown subway stations rebuilt. Most importantly, while he wasn't as visible on the issue as some may have liked, getting the sales tax increase passed just prior to the economy falling off a cliff is largely what has kept the CTA from extremely dire cuts and there's no way that would have happened without his support, even if it was mostly behind closed doors.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by denizen467

I have noticed some arterial intersections in the city that still have the old style traffic signal positioning, with pretty outdated lights (dim bulbs; poor-transparency glass covers) to boot. There are 2 of them right in the middle of Wicker Park on Milwaukee,

More details on Milwaukee/Wood/Wolcott:
http://gridchicago.com/2012/confusin...be-redesigned/

The textured curb cuts are the result of a court mandate.

[Standpoor]

It will be interesting to see the effect the Dan Ryan reconstruction project has on ridership and how quickly those displaced will return after the project is over.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by Beta_Magellan

It’s looking more and more likely that the upcoming Dan Ryan and Wilson reconstructions will probably be the last major projects the CTA will finish in this decade, if not my lifetime

Thats a little bleak to me... you forget that new stations at Cermak and Washington/Wabash are on the boards in addition to the Clark/Division rebuild. Even then, if expansion slows to a crawl I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing. Diverting funding to maintenance, providing a clean/safe/reliable service throughout the system could be just as beneficial as new capital projects imo.

And a +1 to emathias' suggestion of localized rezoning.

[ardecila]

Toronto-style TOD is not something that's gonna happen quickly. Land ownership around stations is fragmented into small parcels with many owners, and most larger sites in good locations have recently been built-upon with low-scale residential or retail space. I'm thinking of the Irving/Sheridan Walgreens here, or the Whole Foods garage at Lincoln/Paulina.

We've seen modest densification with 3-4 story buildings along the Milwaukee corridor, but not nearly enough to impact ridership.

The TOD ordinance removes the parking problem, so developers who want to build a transit-oriented product can go very high without worrying about how to configure parking. On the other hand, it doesn't totally eliminate parking because it requires car-sharing spaces or some vague "alternative" beyond the extensive options already available to Chicagoans. There's also a 250' radius limit on the TOD (1 block, going the short way). This needs to be doubled.

[Busy Bee]

This needs to be quadrupled.

[Nexis4Jersey]

What about TOD along the Metra lines or South Shore line?

[ardecila]

Interestingly, the radius applies to any rail entrance, so stations with multiple entrances can have overlapping circles of TOD potential. It also applies to Metra stations, although it's hard to say where you can find the "entrance" to a faregate-less Metra station.

I could see a developer agreeing to install an auxiliary entrance to facilitate the development of a TOD parcel.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Toronto-style TOD is not something that's gonna happen quickly. Land ownership around stations is fragmented into small parcels with many owners, and most larger sites in good locations have recently been built-upon with low-scale residential or retail space. I'm thinking of the Irving/Sheridan Walgreens here, or the Whole Foods garage at Lincoln/Paulina.

We've seen modest densification with 3-4 story buildings along the Milwaukee corridor, but not nearly enough to impact ridership.

I was actually thinking more along the lines of TOD on lines that have plentiful capacity for increased ridership. Sure, it'd be great on the north side, too, but I'm thinking more along the lines of the Pink Line, the Orange Line, the south Green Line, even the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line.

From a urban renewal standpoint, couple increased police presence along west 63rd with a re-opening of the Racine stop and construction of a number of moderately-dense midrises and that would do a lot more for getting Englewood to turn the corner than current strategies. Sure, it's not nearly as simple as making the statement is, but simply containing crime isn't a viable solution if we want the city to resume growth. I'd actually start by building highrises or dense midrises on vacant lots near Orange Line stations. There are enough large, vacant lots near Orange Line stations to probably add 20,000 units within walking distance of stations without even getting creative, and that would probably translate into 40,000 residents. With a 25% daily ridership figure, that would add over 3.5 million annual riders to the Orange Line, and probably more than that as it would result in more destinations for people to travel to. 3.5 million additional riders would be somewhere around a 40% boost in ridership for that line and an extra 3.5 million dollars pouring into the CTA's annual operations budget.

Originally Posted by ardecila

The TOD ordinance removes the parking problem, so developers who want to build a transit-oriented product can go very high without worrying about how to configure parking. On the other hand, it doesn't totally eliminate parking because it requires car-sharing spaces or some vague "alternative" beyond the extensive options already available to Chicagoans. There's also a 250' radius limit on the TOD (1 block, going the short way). This needs to be doubled.

I'd vote for quadrupled. Even quadrupled, it would still be less than 1/4 mile, and I think 1/4 mile from a station is a distance anyone would be willing to walk.

[Beta_Magellan]

In most of the literature I’m familiar with, walksheds for metro rail tend to be a half-kilometer to a half-mile, though there’s obviously a drop off with distance. Quarter-mile seems best to me too, at least in terms of offering incentives.

The idea of adding a lot of housing along the Orange Line is interesting—in terms of ridership, it’s really a light-rail line with metro infrastructure. Much of the land use there is pretty low-intensity or stuff like auto-repair with the odd strip mall, and it seems to me that most riders get there via bus transfer and park-and-ride. Turning land adjacent to the Orange Line into a denser housing corridor would probably be a worthwhile long-term project, but it would have to be done in a way that assuages fears of higher-density housing leading to gentrification and more industry fleeing the city (I think the efforts to keep industry in the city are somewhat misguided—most industry today takes up a lot of space and employs few workers/unit area, but I get the impression that it’s still a popular policy).

[Mr Downtown]

But who would be the intended tenants? Mexican families prefer houses to apartment buildings. And it's not a lack of apartments that keeps childless yuppies from choosing Brighton Park over Wrigleyville.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

But who would be the intended tenants? Mexican families prefer houses to apartment buildings. And it's not a lack of apartments that keeps childless yuppies from choosing Brighton Park over Wrigleyville.

I'd argue that it is partly a lack of new construction near rail transit that keeps yuppies from the area. The key is to keep it inexpensive but not "cheap".

Also, while Mexican *families*, like American families, prefer houses, there are plenty of non-family households who would be happy to live in the area if there was more modern housing close to rail transit downtown, in developments that drew in additional businesses and serviecs. No all Latinos are part of a large family - or any family at all for that matter - but there are also Latinos who like being in a latino area, but also like having access to modern housing and good transit. There are also people who like modern construction and rail transit, but don't want to pay what it costs to live downtown or on the north lakefront. If something was constructed that could be priced like Prairie Shores, but in a true urban, walkable format, it'd be popular despite being away from the lakefront. Logan Square and Bucktown are popular despite being away from the lakefront. The areas near Orange Line stations lack historic building stock within an easy walk of most of the stations, so putting modern housing there - more of an LA or Miami or Euro look could be just as popular as Wicker Park, but with a different demographic.

The biggest resistance to this sort of change would probably actually come from the anti-gentrification forces, because if it succeeded (as it succeeded), it would force up valuations and price out some of the existing renters in older buildings.

[Standpoor]

CTA has released a "plan" to reconfigure routes in an attempt to reduce crowding. There is an article about it from the Tribune but I will allow someone else to post it. I will post a link to the pdf of the plan's presentation however.

CTA Presentation

In short, the plan would add service on 48 bus routes and eliminates, truncates, or decreases service on 15 others. The plan would also add rail trips during weekday rush hours (17 new trips) and increases service on weekends on the Blue, Red and Brown line trains.

Routes proposed for discontinuation
#X28 Stony Island Express (send #28 downtown during peak instead)
#64 Foster-Canfield (Alternative #90 and Pace #209)
#69 Cumberland/East River (reroute #81W)
#122 Ill. Center/Ogilvie Express (extend #120 into Streeterville)
#123 Ill. Center/Union Express (extend #121 into Streeterville)
#129 West Loop/South Loop (Alternative #1, #29 and Green Line)
#144 Marine/Michigan Express (Add service to #148)sic
#145 Wilson/Michigan Express (Add service to #146)sic
#17 Westchester (Alternative Pace #317)
#49A South Western (Alternative Pace #349)
#56A North Milwaukee (Alternative Pace #270)
#90N North Harlem (Alternative Pace #423)
#N201 Central/Sherman – Owl service (1:00 a.m. to 5:15 a.m.)

Route segment truncate
#1 Indiana/Hyde Park (Discontinue south of 35th)
#11 Lincoln/Sedgwick (eliminate service between Western & Fullerton)

Contract service that could see cuts
#10 Museum of Science & Industry
#33 Mag Mile Express
#X98 Avon Express
#132 Goose Island Express
#169 69th-UPS Express
#170 U of C/Midway
#171 U of C/Hyde Park
#172 U of C/Kenwood
#192 U of C/Hospital Express