Federal Policy

The gateway project includes extending the platform's canopies; elevator and escalator upgrades; and the installation of public art and landscaping.

Why is the city creating an interdepartmental strategy to end traffic violence within a finite period of time, but not one for gun violence?

Move will put Chicago in line for a $1.1 billion grant for the Red and Purple Line modernization projects.

It's likely funding for urban transit will be harder to come by under the Trump administration. That could jeopardize chances to fund the Red and Purple Modernization project (RPM).

It’s hard to predict what last night's election means for the future of sustainable transportation in the U.S. But as Streetsblog editor-in-chief Ben Fried wrote this morning, the fact that the Republican party doesn’t rely on city dwellers for votes, and the president-elect’s rural base doesn’t include many fans of better transit and walkable, bikeable streets, is not a good sign.

If all goes well, starting this weekend you’ll be able to walk most of the way from the Ogilvie Center to Michigan Avenue on a car-free, if somewhat circuitous, route. At a media preview of the final section of the Chicago Riverwalk expansion this afternoon, Mayor Emanuel said he’s confident that the new recreational space, which doubles as a corridor for walking and (cautious) biking, will be open to the public this Saturday.

This week the Federal Highway Administration released new performance measures for non-motorized transportation that are designed to help states measure and increase safety for people on foot and bike riders. North Side congressman Mike Quigley (IL-05), who lobbied for these new standards, and the advocacy group Ride Illinois applauded the move as a step in the right direction towards reducing pedestrian and bike injuries and fatalities in our state.

The first phase of the Red and Purple Modernization Program – including the hotly contested plan for the Belmont flyover – took a step closer to becoming a reality yesterday. Officials announced that $281 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the initiative, which also includes rebuilding the track structures, viaducts, and stations between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr. That’s nearly 30 percent of the $956.6 million in federal funding the CTA is seeking for Phase 1, now estimated to cost $2.131 billion.

It looks like plans to renovate Union Station are on track. On Wednesday, City Council passed an ordinance that will move the Union Station Master Plan forward by authorizing an intergovernmental agreement between the Chicago Department of Transportation, Metra, the Regional Transportation Authority, and Amtrak.