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The Only Problem the Illiana Solves Is a Political One
The Illiana Tollway is a solution in search of a problem, and the Illinois DOT's final document in preparation to receive federal approval to build the tollway is a case study in backwards transportation planning. IDOT's playbook went like this: Design a new road, have consultants review traffic patterns on existing roads to find issues to underpin the rationale for the new road, then rally political support for the road around those issues.
March 4, 2014
To Grow Transit Ridership, Chicagoland Needs to Build Near Transit
Testifying before the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force Friday, the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Peter Skosey argued that the region could significantly increase transit ridership by encouraging jobs and development near existing stations.
March 4, 2014
One Change to IDOT’s Rail Plans Could Vastly Improve Amtrak, Metra Service
Amtrak trains would run faster between Chicago and Joliet in the Illinois Department of Transportation's proposal to switch St. Louis-bound trains to less crowded tracks. But IDOT's project could be even better with a few key changes. By folding the track upgrade known as CrossRail into the Amtrak project, IDOT could improve intercity trains and regional Metra service in one fell swoop.
February 26, 2014
Illinois’s New Highways Will Cost Taxpayers Dearly
The nation may be driving less, but Illinois road boosters are still determined to build more highways. The problem for Illinois taxpayers is that it may be impossible to construct these new roads without huge subsidies.
February 14, 2014
IDOT to Waste $43 Million Trying to Relieve Kennedy Congestion
The Illinois Department of Transportation is pulling another bad idea out of its old bag of tricks, proposing to add two traffic lanes on the Kennedy Expressway between Harlem Avenue and Cumberland Avenue. Also included in IDOT's proposal are modified ramps at Cumberland and a new ramp onto the Tri-State Tollway (I-294).
February 12, 2014
New Metra CEO Drives to Work Because the Train’s Too Infrequent
The Metra board recently confirmed Don Orseno as the permanent executive director following his stint as interim chief after Alex Clifford resigned last year. After the confirmation, the Tribune reported that Orseno, a decades-long railroad and Metra employee who lives in Manhattan, a far southwest suburb, said that he has to drive to work because the "SouthWest Service Line schedule doesn't get him to the office early enough, or home late enough."
February 10, 2014
Transit Gets Shortchanged in Chicagoland, Stifling the Region’s Economy
The Chicagoland region "underspends on transit operations and capital" compared to peer cities, and the "region's economic competitiveness will suffer" as a result, according to a recent analysis by the Metropolitan Planning Council [PDF]. The report takes a look at Metra, the CTA, and Pace as a collective system, comparing it to transit networks in 17 other regions.
February 5, 2014
Traffic Deaths Down 7.5 Percent in Chicago While Rising Statewide
Update: IDOT updated their statistics today which now show that there were 124 fatal crashes in Chicago in 2013, not 120, as initially reported. This represents a decrease from 2012 of 7.5 percent.
January 15, 2014
Saving Time and Money Through Transportation Demand Management
Traffic jams cost Chicagoland residents more than $7.3 billion every year in wasted time and fuel, according to the Metropolitan Planning Council’s 2008 report “Moving at the Speed of Congestion.” And we're not headed in the right direction: The share of drive-alone commuters in the region increased from 46 percent to 51 percent from 1990 to 2008.
December 9, 2013