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  #13541  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2017, 6:19 AM
Rizzo Rizzo is offline
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At least vehicle throughput and bicycle safety has improved. I feel a lot safer crossing intersections and biking down Washington to work since everyone has their own light. Sorry, I predicted from the beginning that transit vehicles on separated and fixed guideways with special signaling is the way to go. Either the highest standard of BRT or light rail vehicles.

The only alternative at this point is not to invest in some costly enforcement system, but wait for the auto industry to perfect autonomous vehicles that will probably improve a lot of reliability in the grid. May sound crazy, but thinking you can easily solve over a century old problem and change behavior is also kind of crazy.
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  #13542  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2017, 1:22 AM
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Wilson Red Line station on final phase of renovation

Quote:
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The $203 million renovation of the Wilson Red Line station is moving to its final phase.

When the project is complete the CTA said the Uptown neighborhood will have a "modern, fully accessible station." More than a half mile of tracks will be replaced.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the neighborhood is seeing other benefits as well.

"If you invest in good public transportation it's a multiplier and you get all this other investment that comes along side that would not have happened before," he said.
And a tweet from the mayor with photos: https://twitter.com/ChicagosMayor/st...57704189505536
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  #13543  
Old Posted Mar 15, 2017, 6:17 PM
brian_b brian_b is offline
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https://metrarail.com/about-metra/ne...-metra-station

Anyone know about this?

Quote:
Longer term, Metra is exploring the addition of a crossover track south of the station that would increase the capacity for train service between McCormick Place and Millennium Station, allowing Metra to provide additional rapid transit service when warranted.
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  #13544  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2017, 4:26 AM
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It sounds like Metra is willing to consider frequent service when conventioneers demand it, but not when the hundreds of thousands living on the South Side demand it.

Nevermind that there is literally a dedicated road for conventioneers already, fully grade-separated and not cheap to build.

The crossover track would allow Metra to run rail shuttles from Millennium Station to McCormick Place, and then switch back to the inbound track to head northward again. Presumably convention organizers and/or McPier would pay for this... I sure hope so, because I don't want a cent of my tax dollars going toward such a useless, redundant project.
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  #13545  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2017, 3:46 PM
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Metra opening bids to comlpete Ravenswood Station SB and additional bridge work

Metra seeks bids for UP North bridge project, Ravenswood Station
(March 7, 2017) -
Metra is seeking bids for the next phase of the multi-year Union Pacific North bridge project, which will replace bridges over 11 streets on the North Side of Chicago, as well as construct the inbound half of the new Ravenswood Station, the agency announced today.
.....

The second phase consists of new bridges for the inbound tracks over Grace, Irving Park, Berteau, Montrose, Sunnyside, Wilson, Leland, Lawrence, Winnemac, Foster and Balmoral. Construction of the bridges for the outbound tracks over the same 11 streets and related retaining wall work on the west side was completed in the first phase.
....

The work also includes construction of the inbound half of the Ravenswood Station, the busiest station on the UP North Line outside of downtown. The completed inbound half will mirror the outbound half of the station, which was completed in the first phase. The project will add longer, covered platforms and warming shelters, new lighting, space for a ticket office, vendor space, ramps, stairs and new landscaping. The new station will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Tuck-pointing the existing masonry abutments and sidewalk restoration are also included in this phase. No retaining wall work is planned along the east side of the right-of-way, except at Ravenswood Station. The project is expected to cost around $45 million.

Work should start this summer and take about 30 months. When this phase is complete, the project will move on to bridges over 11 streets between Addison and Webster.


Metra Improvements at Grayland Station include parking bike racks landscape and lighting

(March 15, 2017) -
Metra today announced plans to construct a commuter parking lot at the Grayland Station on the Milwaukee North Line.

The project will add a 68-space parking lot on the east side of Kilbourn Avenue, between Milwaukee and Patterson avenues in Chicago. The Grayland Station, where more than 300 commuters board every weekday, currently has eight parking spaces.
....
Work on the $1.2 million project is expected to begin this summer and be complete by the end of the year. Metra will fund the work primarily with a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant.

"I'm thrilled that Metra is moving forward with this needed improvement, creating a greater opportunity for residents to take transit in our community,” said Alderman John Arena (45th). “This is a great complement to the new Divvy station at Grayland, as well as the multiple bus routes within easy walking distance."

Construction will also include a retaining wall, sidewalks, ADA curb ramps, stairs, landscaping, lighting, signage, pavement markings and bike racks.
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  #13546  
Old Posted Mar 16, 2017, 6:29 PM
K 22 K 22 is offline
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Exclamation

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Originally Posted by OhioGuy View Post
That platform is wide like NY's 2nd Avenue Subway. Whenever I'm in town, I'm in Uptown and Rogers Park a lot so I can't wait to see this in person.


On a semi-related note, how's Washington/Wabash going? Is it in the "any day now" phase yet?
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  #13547  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2017, 5:11 AM
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Originally Posted by K 22 View Post
That platform is wide like NY's 2nd Avenue Subway. Whenever I'm in town, I'm in Uptown and Rogers Park a lot so I can't wait to see this in person.


On a semi-related note, how's Washington/Wabash going? Is it in the "any day now" phase yet?
30' (or 10m) platforms are a pretty universal standard for heavy rail systems worldwide. Often the platforms are made narrower on tight sites, or for cost-saving reasons. At Wilson it appears there was plenty of space, so the platforms are 28' wide - pretty close to the ideal.

Washington/Wabash is coming along nicely, both of the Calatrava-esque canopies have started to be framed out. I would have taken a photo if not for my crappy smartphone camera...
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  #13548  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2017, 7:45 AM
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Quote:
The new stop at Washington and Wabash will "probably" open later this spring, Transportation Department spokesman Michael Claffey said.
src: New Loop L Stop Construction To Shut Down Wabash Avenue Traffic
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  #13549  
Old Posted Mar 23, 2017, 1:56 PM
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Here's How Bicyclists, Runners Will Be Split On Revamped Lakefront Path
https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017...it-will-launch
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  #13550  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2017, 3:17 PM
Via Chicago Via Chicago is offline
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from a couple months ago....

Quote:
Originally Posted by via chicago
sorry but youre really naive. this guy has zero interest in expanding public transit. we'll be lucky if we continue to get any federal funds, period.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
It's not that clear-cut. There are three questions here - what does Trump personally think, what do his shadowy advisors think, and what can he actually accomplish given Congress?

Trump himself doesn't give a flying you-know-what about the dogma of the Republican platform. He will do what works best with his voters to show them that he is a builder president. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly mentioned that America needs to make more investments in intercity rail. This cuts in the face of Republican dogma; Trump doesn't care. High-speed rail is sexy and marketable in a way that regular buses, light rail, and subways are not, so I expect Trump to throw his support behind it. Likewise, an airport express train as proposed in Chicago and New York (and now LA) definitely falls on the "sexy" side of the ledger, so I don't see why Trump wouldn't support them.

Trump's advisors are a bit of an unknown - I doubt Steve Bannon would support investments in rail or public transit, but I also think transportation policy is small potatoes to him - he's more concerned with foreign relations. However, Jared Kushner seems to be the guy for domestic policy, and he is a pretty savvy New York developer like Trump who no doubt understands the importance of public transportation and intercity rail.

Congressional Republicans are just as hostile to intercity rail and public transit as they have always been, but the fact that Trump is also a Republican means that the leadership in Congress will not show the same obstructionism to Trump that they did to Obama.
hate to say i told you so. but told you so.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...328-story.html

Quote:
Trump 'skinny budget' would starve Chicago transit: officials

Transportation expert Yonah Freemark said that the Chicago area, with its large network of mass transit and freight rail, may be one of the worst hit in the nation in terms of cuts under the proposal.

The proposal would end federal support for Amtrak's long-distance train service and future funding for new transit projects. Future investments for new transit projects "would be funded by the localities that use and benefit from these localized projects," the budget blueprint states.

Funding for highways, like federal money for maintenance received by the Illinois Department of Transportation, would be unaffected, said Freemark, who writes the blog the Transport Politic.

The budget proposal "terminates federal support for Amtrak's long-distance train services, which have long been inefficient and incur the vast majority of Amtrak's operating losses." The proposal said the Amtrak cuts would allow the agency to focus on better managing its state-supported and Northeast Corridor train services.

The effect of this cut would be to reduce by a quarter the number of Amtrak trains that come into Chicago's Union Station, according to Audrey Wennink, director of transportation for the Metropolitan Planning Council, a nonprofit research group. State-supported trains like the Hiawatha to Milwaukee and the Lincoln Service to Springfield would remain, though their ridership could get hurt by the loss of the long-distance trains with their connections.

...the cuts would leave in doubt a proposal that has been discussed for decades to extend the Red Line into what advocates call a "transit desert" south of 95th Street.

To help fund past projects, the CTA has used federal grants under the New Starts and the TIGER grant programs, both at risk under the proposal, Freemark said. The Create program to unclog rail traffic with new underpasses, overpasses and other upgrades also has used TIGER money.
...

The cuts also would affect Metra's ability to spend on new capital projects, like new locomotives. The commuter rail agency needs $12 billion over the next 10 years to achieve and maintain the system in a state of good repair, and it anticipates getting about a fourth from federal sources, said Metra CEO Don Orseno. Metra is already hurting from the lack of a state capital bill, Orseno has said.
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  #13551  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2017, 3:35 PM
Kenmore Kenmore is offline
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yeah, you could see that one coming a mile away.
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  #13552  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2017, 6:03 PM
emathias emathias is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Via Chicago View Post
from a couple months ago....

hate to say i told you so. but told you so.
...
We'll see how far that budget gets. The guy who wrote the budget said he basically took Trump's speeches and designed a budget based on that. Kind of a weird way to design a budget, and I don't think even the Republicans will allow this "skinny budget" get implemented.
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  #13553  
Old Posted Apr 3, 2017, 10:12 AM
denizen467 denizen467 is offline
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Wabash has reopened south from Washington, though just 1 lane's worth (dead center of the right of way). The pleasant surprise is it looks as though they have reconstructed the street (not just a surface layer) while they had it closed for station construction. Also, the lighting running the length of Wabash there is now white LED, which really changes the character of Wabash. Once the whole block underneath the new station is finished, it could be practically unrecognizable if it's entirely far brighter, and whiter, than ever before. Along with the sparkling new station itself the presence and attractiveness of the station area could really encourage more el usage.
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  #13554  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2017, 1:58 AM
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How is the bike path bridge at the river / Navy Pier coming along? Haven't seen a picture in a while. When does it open if it hasn't already?
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  #13555  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2017, 2:01 AM
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Quote:
The proposal would end federal support for Amtrak's long-distance train service and future funding for new transit projects. Future investments for new transit projects "would be funded by the localities that use and benefit from these localized projects," the budget blueprint states.
That is a shame. I want to take Amtrak to the Quad Cities, I've been waiting for the new route to Moline to open. I've heard the city and state are still trying to make it happen, but it probably won't happen this year as originally planned.
I need to get there to pick up a car from my parents. My options are an 11 hour bus ride, or a $130 one way car rental. That's what Amtrak is competing against.
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  #13556  
Old Posted Apr 6, 2017, 4:21 AM
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How is the bike path bridge at the river / Navy Pier coming along? Haven't seen a picture in a while. When does it open if it hasn't already?
Phase 1 is done (the segment north of Ogden Slip) but it's literally a Looney Tunes-esque bridge to nowhere until they build Phase 2. That work is slated to begin this summer and wrap up in 2018. Phase 3 is a just a widening of the sidewalk on the existing LSD bridge - not out for bid yet.
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  #13557  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2017, 1:08 AM
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Mr Downtown Mr Downtown is offline
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Originally Posted by aaron38 View Post
My options are an 11 hour bus ride
Not sure what interplanetary bus line you're checking, but Burlington Trailways does it in 3:35, for $40.

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Chicago/Davenport
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  #13558  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2017, 1:54 AM
emathias emathias is offline
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Not sure what interplanetary bus line you're checking, but Burlington Trailways does it in 3:35, for $40.

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Chicago/Davenport
And the most famous bus company, Greyhound, runs four trips a day under 4 hours to Davenport from Chicago and two additional ones under 5 hours all for as little as $25 if you book a week ahead. And one to Moline in under 4 hours, two under four hours and one additional under 5 hours.

Also, Megabus runs a daily bus to Moline for $29 round-trip in 3 hours 10 minutes.

So, yeah, decent array of options, all much less than 11 hours or $120 car rental. Heck, a fancy bicycle could make the trip in 11 hours. Oh, and I've seen plenty of rentals for around $25/day plus gas (about $25 each way), so even that isn't a terrible options, price-wise, depending on how long you'll be in Iowa. But you might have to pick the car up at the airport lots for the best deals. I've rented cars for as little as $13/day in admittedly rare circumstances - you just have to be flexible and use a credit card that includes car rental insurance.
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  #13559  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2017, 3:41 PM
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New renderings for the Belmont Blue Line renovation. This time, it looks a lot more realistic/constructable.

The rendering also appears to show an elevator from the streeet to the mezzanine, which would be utterly pointless if there wasn't a second elevator from the mezzanine to the platform. Maybe CTA has reversed their earlier stance on making the station accessible.



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  #13560  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2017, 5:36 PM
the urban politician the urban politician is online now
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That will complement that gas station and strip mall across the street very well.
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