Central Loop BRT

The Central Loop Bus Rapid Transit project will launch without key features that distinguish BRT from conventional bus service. The busways, which the Chicago Department of Transportation will begin building later this year, will include most of BRT's concrete features, like high-level bus-boarding platforms and dedicated lanes. These features will undoubtedly speed up six Chicago Transit Authority bus routes as they traverse the Loop.

In early June, I dubbed this the Summer of the Big Projects. The Chicago Department of Transportation was planning to start construction on, and/or complete, a slew of major infrastructure jobs this year. Now it seems more like the Summer of the Big Postponements.

Construction delays have pushed back the Central Loop BRT project, from a projected 2014 start until next year or even later. The causes of the setback remain troublingly vague, and there is no clear timetable for the improvements proposed for four downtown streets, which are supposed to speed up six Chicago Transit Authority bus routes with a combined ridership of 30,000.

Bicycle routes through the Loop suffer from "poor connectivity," admits Mike Amsden, assistant director of transportation planning at the Chicago Department of Transportation. At yesterday’s Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Council meeting, Amsden revealed details about how the Central Loop BRT project will improve the situation by spring of 2015.

Today’s Sun-Times article on the city’s plans to implement fast, efficient bus rapid transit on Ashland Avenue and in the Loop didn’t provide much new information on the projects, and it included a few errors. However, it did provide a bit of a window on the mayor’s thoughts on the subject.

Biking downtown has improved substantially with the addition of protected bike lanes on Kinzie Street and Dearborn Street, but much work remains to be done to create a safe, cohesive bike network linking people to Chicago's biggest employment center.

In a recent CBS Chicago TV editorial, veteran news personality Walter Jacobson panicked that the city’s proposal for the Central Loop BRT corridor would “create a gridlock of the world,” but he’s wildly unclear on the concept. The plan would create dedicated bus lanes with island boarding platforms on Washington and Madison; the proposed Washington configuration includes a protected bike lane between the platform and the curb. However, on the CBS website this bus rapid transit project is erroneously branded the “Washington Street Bike Plan.”

Last week the CTA and Chicago Department of Transportation unveiled the proposed lane configuration for the Central Loop East-West Transit Corridor. According to the city’s press release, the improvements will include dedicated bus lanes on Canal, Washington, Madison and Clinton, delineated with colored pavement and additional signs. The system, which is slated to open for service next year, would serve some 1,700 buses and would include level boarding via “island” bus platforms, plus queue jumps at key intersections.

A follower tweeted to us yesterday, "Let's get real bus rapid transit on Ashland/Western before we spend more money to get suburbanites to Navy Pier." It's an understandable concern, but when you look at the proposal a little closer it doesn't hold up. While CDOT's map of the Central Loop BRT does make it look like bus routes to Navy Pier will receive a big share of the improvements, the fact is that the project is targeted to speed Chicagoans' daily bus trips.