Rail Transit

[This piece also runs in Checkerboard City, John’s transportation column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

The next group of transportation projects that aim to improve air quality or reduce congestion and should receive federal funding has been approved by Chicagoland's regional planning organization. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning evaluates requests for the funding from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program. CMAQ has ensured for nearly two decades that bike lanes are built and new Chicago Transit Authority and Pace buses go out on the road, among other active transportation projects.

Last Thursday, the Chicago City Council passed a transit-oriented development reform ordinance that dramatically more than doubles the distance around train stations where dense development can be built, and virtually eliminates the car parking minimums within these districts. The new legislation amends the city's original TOD ordinance, which passed in 2013 and has been highly successful in spurring new building projects.

Tomorrow’s the big day. On Monday, City Council’s Zoning Committee unanimously passed Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed reforms to Chicago’s existing transit-oriented development ordinance. On Thursday, the full council will almost certainly approve the new legislation, paving the way for a new wave of dense, parking-lite development near train stations. However, the committee made three notable changes to the new ordinance.

Lazy air travelers rejoice! It took almost year and a half, but both escalators at the CTA’s O’Hare stop are finally operational after a catastrophic 2014 Blue Line crash. Although an ‘L’ train smashed into the escalator at high speed, miraculously, no one was killed. A single “up” escalator and the elevator have been operational in the interim.

State lawmakers in North Carolina launched a sneak attack this week on plans for light rail between Durham and Orange County -- and nobody's sure exactly who's behind it or why they did it.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and aviation commissioner Ginger Evans stated earlier this year that creating an express train to O'Hare Airport is a priority for this administration. However, the Blue Line is already a fairly speedy way to get to the airport, which could easily be upgraded via a few short-term improvements. Therefore, the city might be wiser to invest in neighborhood transit projects, rather than creating a premium service for well-heeled travelers.

[This piece also appears in Checkerboard City, John's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]