Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Beyond Chicagoland

An inbound Union Pacific North train at the Rogers Park Metra station. If this line had been shut down, the CTA Purple and Red lines would have been a fall-back for some riders. Photo: Igor Studenkov

Yay, Metra service is spared! What were options for riders in the event of a strike shutdown?

By Igor Studenkov | Sep 15, 2022 | No Comments

There was good news today as the potential shutdown of four Metra lines due to a threatened freight rail worker strike was averted. But what would have happened if it wasn't?

Metra Electric District trains at Millennium Station. Photo: John Greenfield

Why it’s difficult for newbies to navigate Metra, and how it can be made easier

By Chris Russo | Sep 12, 2022 | No Comments

The low quality of wayfinding and information design throughout Metra stations and onboard the trains is totally inexcusable.

South Shore Line staff at the Gary Metro Center station on August 20, trying to figure out which train passengers should go on what shuttle buses. Customers going to different stations east of there were eventually directed to different buses. Photo: John Greenfield

The South Shore Line’s shuttle bus service is a bit of a mess

By Igor Studenkov | Sep 7, 2022 | No Comments

If you need to get to Beverly Shores or Michigan City's Uptown district, your transit trip may be completely screwed up.

A Chicago-bound Amtrak Lincoln Service train arrives at the Joliet Gateway Center station, the north end of the stretch of tracks between St. Louis and Chicago that is being improved for higher speeds. Photo: Igor Studenkov

IDOT’s multiyear plan supports intercity rail, bus-on-shoulder… and lots of driving projects

By Igor Studenkov | Aug 29, 2022 | No Comments

On August 12, Governor JB Pritzker announced the Illinois Department of Transportation's new multiyear plan, a blueprint for spending $34.6 billion on transportation infrastructure over the next six years.

Biking with a friend in Amsterdam. Photo: John Greenfield

What can Chicago learn about cycling from the Netherlands?

By Courtney Cobbs | Aug 17, 2022 | No Comments

Streetsblog talked with Bart Twaalfhoven, consul general of the Netherlands in the Midwest, about some of the differences between the Netherlands and Chicago when it comes to road safety.

Charging a bus a Navy Pier. Photo: Mia Park

CTA, 4 other Illinois transit systems get federal funding for bus electrification

By John Greenfield | Aug 17, 2022 | No Comments

There was good news on Tuesday for the CTA, as well as four other public transportation systems across Illinois, as the FTA announced $1.66 billion in grants to help electrify bus fleets nationwide.

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