Promoted

Hard-boiled Streetsblog reporter J. Niimi hitches a ride with Santa Claus during a trip on the Blue Line's Forest Park branch.

Check out Part 1: Uptown, Lincoln Square, West Ridge, Rogers Park, Edgewater here

Note: In what's sure to be a refreshing change of pace for Streetsblog Chicago readers, I have committed to not making any '80s pop music references in this article about a CTA service announcement.

Next year, sustainable transportation advocates can inspect the infrastructure of their blocks, attend a state summit, and learn how to advocate for a Neighborhood Greenway.

On Sunday, as part of Streetsblog Chicago's Bike Lane Week 2024, I checked out a little project to create a more seamless transition between two segments of the Leavitt Street (2200 W.) Neighborhood Greenway side street bike route. North of the North Branch of the Chicago River, the route runs about three miles between Diversey Parkway (2800 N.) and Berwyn Avenue (5300 N.)

Check out Part 1: Uptown, Lincoln Square, West Ridge, Rogers Park, Edgewater here

Let's get real: Illinois has a looming public transportation crisis on our hands. Federal COVID-19 subsidy money, which has kept the CTA, Pace, and Metra running despite lower post-pandemic ridership, is projected to run out by 2026. How can we dodge this transit fiscal cliff in Chicagoland, the metro region where roughly three-quarters of Prairie State residents live? Here are some possibilities that have been discussed:

This post was written by John Greenfield, and features research by Sharon Hoyer.

At this week's final CTA board meeting of 2024, the directors approved several ordinances. Most notably, the CTA and DePaul University’s Driehaus College of Business agreed to launch a pair of pilot programs to help small minority-owned small businesses win contracts with the transit agency.