Rail Transit

The surface parking lot on the west side of the stadium has been transformed into the Park at Wrigley, a plaza and lawn that will function as public space for all Chicagoans when there aren’t events at the stadium.

As part of an amendment to the Chicago Transit Authority’s contract with its advertising concessionaire Intersection, which has exclusive ad rights on all CTA vehicles and real estate, 130 more digital displays are coming to ‘L’ stations, bringing the total number to more than 400, the transit agency announced today. The screens, which display Train Tracker arrival info and service alerts, as well as advertisements, will be installed at no cost to the CTA and will generate revenue as part of a profit-sharing deal.

The Hong Kong Airport Express train is a bad example on which to base a Chicago service because it's the Hong Kong airport's only rail link, and it was funded by private real estate operations.

Local leaders say many planned improvements would be almost impossible to pay for without help from the feds, so we're going to have to fight this anti-urban budget with everything we've got.

At a talk earlier this afternoon for the City Club of Chicago, transportation commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld blasted Donald Trump’s efforts to abolish federal funding for transit, as well as Governor Rauner’s withholding of state funds for Chicago projects.

West Coast cities have made non-payment a fineable offense, rather than a misdemeanor. Chicago criminal justice reform advocates say we should do that here as well, because being short a couple of dollars for a CTA train or bus ride shouldn't result in a criminal record.

Dozens of transit projects across the nation -- as well as walking and biking projects that count on funds from the TIGER program -- are under threat unless Congress scraps the hardline budget outline proposed by the White House. Transportation for America is urging people to contact their representatives and oppose the cuts.

When you think about appropriate uses for federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement dollars, pouring asphalt to make more room for warehousing automobiles is not the first thing that comes to mind.

The $203 million rehab of the Wilson Red Line station in Uptown is chugging along. Yesterday city officials marked the start of the final phase of the reconstruction, which involves removing the last section of 100-year-old tracks and building a modern, wheelchair accessible station house.