CTA
Top Categories
CTA: Growing North Side Needs Brown Line Flyover
Last night, the Chicago Transit Authority explained at a packed open house that it simply cannot run any more Red Line trains through the Clark Junction, the busy crossing one block north of the Belmont station where the Brown Line splits from the Red and Purple Lines. To untangle the crossing, CTA has proposed a flyover that would send northbound Brown Line trains over, instead of in the way of, up to three Red and Purple Line trains that pass every 3-7 minutes during rush hour. CTA spokesperson Catherine Hosinski said that previous news reports, focusing on today's average 84-second delay, miss the point: The project is about improving reliability today, and increasing Red Line service in the future.
May 23, 2014
Eyes on the Street: Halsted Street Cyclists Battle Drivers for Bike Lanes
Two readers have contacted Streetsblog to report that many Chicago Transit Authority bus operators and other Chicagoans are driving in Halsted Street's buffered bike lane, between Division and North. Drivers appear to be taking to the bike lane to avoid queues on northbound Halsted as it approaches the busy three-way intersection at Clybourn and North Avenues.
May 22, 2014
CTA Should Take Cue from London With Automatic Day Passes
Transport for London, that city's regional transit operator and planning agency, has had a "daily cap" on bus, tram, and train fares since 2005. The fare system stops charging pay-as-you-go riders for trips once they spend a certain amount, which depends on which services you use and zones you visit. This means that you'll never spend more on transit in one day than a daily pass would have cost (sometimes even less), which gives everyone the value of a day pass without making people buy those passes in advance.
May 13, 2014
Regional Transit Needs New Funding to Meet $20 Billion Backlog
Transit systems in Northeastern Illinois face a $20 billion maintenance backlog. Now the question is how to pay for it.
April 2, 2014
Emanuel, CTA President Come Out Against Unified Regional Transit Agency
The transit task force Governor Pat Quinn convened last year after the Metra governance scandal continues to discuss the merits of a single transit authority to replace the Regional Transportation Authority and absorb Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and Pace. Count Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Forrest Claypool among the opponents of that idea.
March 18, 2014
More State Control Over Chicagoland Transit Is a Bad Idea
On Tuesday, the Northeastern Public Transit Task Force, created after former Metra CEO Alex Clifford's abrupt resignation and the ensuing severance package scandal last summer, issued four different options for restructuring regional transit governance [PDF]. While there's a lot of variation among the four options, they would all hand more power to the governor. This is the wrong direction to take.
March 13, 2014
RTA Downplays Effect of Service Cuts and Fare Hikes on Stagnant Ridership
In a new report [PDF], the Regional Transportation Authority blames weak ridership growth from 2008 to 2012 primarily on economic factors, glossing over the impact of fare hikes and service cuts.
February 28, 2014
To Smooth Out the Blue Line Rehab, Divert Cars From Milwaukee
As the Chicago Transit Authority prepares to fix up Blue Line tracks, the agency is warning riders that they'll face significant delays during the weekends when work is underway. But tens of thousands of transit riders would face less inconvenience if the city cleared some room on Milwaukee Avenue by diverting motor vehicle traffic.
February 24, 2014
Albany Park to Walgreens: Make a Walkable Store, Not Curb Cuts and Parking
Members of Albany Park Neighbors, a grassroots group of local residents, are gearing up to convince Walgreens to change the company's proposed suburban store design for Kimball and Lawrence to one that will work better for a walkable city neighborhood.
January 14, 2014
Blue Line Rehab to Make Only a Single Station Accessible
The Chicago Transit Authority will spend $492 million rehabilitating tracks and stations on the Blue Line between the downtown subway and O'Hare airport in an effort to speed service and improve the customer experience. But the project will make only one station accessible to people with disabilities, out of 11 stations slated for a rehab that are currently inaccessible. (A total of 13 stations are being renovated and upgraded.) The one station that will receive accessibility upgrades is Addison.
December 19, 2013