Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about CTA

Chicago to Pursue Center-Running Bus Rapid Transit on Ashland Avenue

By Ben Fried | Apr 19, 2013 | 29 Comments

After a year of study and outreach, today Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Transit Authority, and the Chicago Department of Transportation announced plans for center-running Bus Rapid Transit on Ashland Avenue. Once implemented, the project could set a national precedent for high-quality BRT, improving transit speeds as much as 80 percent during rush hour, according […]

Ventra Will Be Anything But a Smooth “Retail Experience”

By Lynn Stevens | Mar 28, 2013 | 36 Comments

Editor’s note: Streetsblog accepts guest posts with viewpoints different than our own. Lynn Stevens is an urban planner, blogger at Peopling Places, and long-time neighborhood booster for Logan Square where she’s been an active participant in Bike/Walk Logan Square, the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival, the Logan Square Corridor Development Initiative, and the (now defunct) Zoning Advisory […]

You Might Already Be Ready to Use Ventra

By Steven Vance | Mar 18, 2013 | 96 Comments

Ventra, you may have heard, is the new fare payment system for Chicago Transit Authority and Pace. (Metra will not be joining the Ventra system, and is currently testing other fare payment methods.) CTA is switching to Ventra to save $5 million per year on maintaining outdated fare collection technology, according to spokesperson Lambrini Lukidis. […]

Eyes on the Street: The Bike Parking Fence Doesn’t Make Sense

By Steven Vance | Mar 14, 2013 | 15 Comments

Last week, the Chicago Transit Authority finished construction of a partially-sheltered bike parking area on Lunt Avenue under the viaduct at the Morse Red Line station. The area is well-lit but surrounded by a tall fence with a single opening, on the alley. Instead of making the bike parking area more secure, this fence may […]

It’s Up to Chicago to Set a Bold New Standard for American BRT

By John Greenfield | Mar 4, 2013 | 11 Comments

“We knew how important it was for federal policy makers to see innovation and new ideas bubbling up from important cities around the country,” said Nick Turner, managing director of the Rockefeller Foundation at a bus rapid transit roundtable last Friday. The foundation has provided roughly $2.8 million in grants to Chicago’s BRT program for […]

Grid Shots: Bridge Construction Interrupts Transit Service

By Steven Vance | Mar 3, 2013 | 4 Comments

The Wells Street bridge is under construction until early morning Monday, March 11, and Brown and Purple Line Express trains have modified service. The Chicago Department of Transportation is replacing part of the southern bridge leaf in a 9-day stretch; a part of the northern leaf will be replaced in April. The Chicago Transit Authority […]

Today, BRT Routes. Tomorrow, Rail Lines?

By Steven Vance | Feb 26, 2013 | 3 Comments

Let’s step back from the discussion about how Chicago is implementing rapid bus routes and take a long view of how transit in Chicago might transform if these first BRT routes are successful. First, how will we know Chicago’s BRT lines are a success? The best measurement is how many new riders are attracted. After bus enhancements […]

CTA and CDOT Unveil Proposed Designs for Central Loop BRT Corridor

By John Greenfield | Feb 20, 2013 | 41 Comments

Chicago just got a step closer to first-class bus rapid transit. Today the CTA and the Chicago Department of Transportation released proposed lane configurations for the Central Loop East-West Transit Corridor, a downtown circulator route connecting Union Station with Navy Pier, as well as renderings for a new transit center next to the train station. […]

Mapping the Potential for Development Near ‘L’ Stations

By Steven Vance | Feb 19, 2013 | 6 Comments

Do Chicago’s zoning rules position the city for transit-oriented growth? Last week, Andrew Salzberg, a D.C.-based transportation consultant who works for the World Bank, posted a link on Twitter to a new map he’s created that overlays CTA rail lines and stations with how much development is allowed. It’s an attempt to show if zoning […]

Eyes on the Street: Truth in Car Advertising

By Steven Vance | Feb 14, 2013 | 20 Comments

This advertisement for safe driving has been posted for a couple of months on a bus stop shelter for the 56-Milwaukee at California Avenue. It’s sponsored by the Auto Alliance and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (the kind who will fix your broken bones after a car crash). A woman dressed in a gown […]

CTA’s 846 New Train Cars Provide Opportunity For a Major Redesign

By Steven Vance | Feb 8, 2013 | 40 Comments

On Wednesday, the Chicago Transit Authority announced that it’s planning to upgrade its train fleet with more than 800 new rail cars. As the agency looks into what manufacturers can provide, this should be the time when Chicagoans influence the process and push for the best possible redesign. CTA’s “Invitation for Bids” [PDF] requires rail […]

Rahm: BRT Gives You a Strategic Advantage in Creating Jobs

By John Greenfield | Jan 30, 2013 | 4 Comments

This morning at Freedman Seating, a Humboldt Park-based company that will be making seats for hundreds of new CTA buses, Mayor Rahm Emanuel argued that better public transportation can give a shot in the arm to the local economy. The 120-year-old company will be fabricating some 11,100 seats for the transit agency’s $148 million contract […]

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