Looks like Chicago scored about $36 million from the Feds today for bus projects.
From FTA's website:
Quote:
Project: Chicago Central Area Transitway: E-W Corridor BRT (Urban Circulator)
Sponsor: Chicago Department of Transportation
Amount: $24,650,000
The E-W Corridor BRT will consist of designated bus priority lanes on two miles of downtown surface streets to be used by seven CTA bus routes. The project includes bus signal priority, "next bus" information, and bus shelter branding. This project will connect Union Station through several districts in the downtown Loop to the Navy Pier. It will also expedite bus services through the downtown and serves a community not currently served by transit. Bicycle lanes, bus lanes and streetscape enhancements are also expected to be provided as part of the project.
Project: Jeffery BRT Corridor (Bus and Bus Livability)
Sponsor: Chicago Transit Authority
Amount: $11,000,000
This bus rapid transit project runs along 103rd Street and Stony Island to Jefferson and Washington Streets, providing a high-quality transit link to the central business district, a corridor that lacks easy rail access. More than 200,000 people live and nearly 600,000 jobs are located within a half mile of this corridor.
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The "east-west circulator" is news to me. I'm not sure what alignment it will follow. If I had to guess, based on the description and budget, I'd say it is probably
a surface transitway on Monroe Street, possibly including significant closure or reduction of the street to private vehicles, as per the Central Area Action Plan. I dunno how the Navy Pier connection will work... but once the buses cross Michigan Avenue and get out of the Loop, it's already a quick trip to Navy Pier across Grant Park and up Columbus or LSD.
Obviously, this is meant as a proof-of-concept, a test for lines to come. Ideally, it would be two bus lanes, two bike lanes in a cycle track, and one vehicular lane preserved for garage/alley access. I hope eventually they add a ramp down to the Lakefront Busway (which would be right underneath the Art Institute's new bridge). A river tunnel would be great, too, but that'll have to wait until the West Loop Transportation Center gets built.
The Jeffrey corridor is great, too. I'm guessing that, since express service already exists there, the improvements are only targeted at signal priority or lane closure, south of 67th. I don't even know if $11 million is enough for that, unless CTA somehow has a huge pot of local matching funds sitting around somewhere.