CTA

A new study from the Chicago Transit Authority on ‘L’ capacity highlights where trains are running at capacity, and how the CTA can alleviate crowding.

What you're seeing isn't a typical "Eyes on the Street" because we got our "eyes" up in the air with the new Streetsblog Chicago Traffic Chopper (actually a drone camera) to check in on the reconstruction of the CTA's Wilson 'L' station in Uptown. The project, which began in 2014, will make the train stop fully accessible to people with disabilities, add a new entrance on Sunnyside, and enable transfers between Red and Purple lines for the first time.

The Chicago Transit Authority celebrated the 125th anniversary of the 'L' yesterday by bringing out rapid transit cars built in 1923 and in 1976. The Chicago & South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company commenced "Alley L" service on June 6, 1892, in an alley east of State Street between Congress Parkway and 39th Street, according to the CTA. The CTA also highlighted its own 70 years of service. The authority was created in 1947 to unify the different bus, streetcar, and elevated companies.

Active Trans has hit the ground running by getting input from almost 2,000 local straphangers about their biggest beefs with current CTA bus operations, and the group will be using this feedback to push for positive change.

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.

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.

An O'Hare express train won't save anybody any time, but the replacement of a CTA station at Damen is great news for people living on the Near West Side.

This isn't a wish list. These are five standard features of most bus networks in Europe.