Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Red Line

Some Skepticism, Lots of Support for Funding Red Line Work With Transit TIF

By Michael Podgers | Sep 15, 2016 | 9 Comments

At a public meeting Tuesday night, Department of Planning and Development and Chicago Transit Authority officials outlined plans for a new transit TIF district along the North Side Mainline ‘L’, which carries the Red and Purple lines. The proposed TIF (tax-increment finance district) would generate funds to help pay for the Red-Purple Modernization project. At […]

Pritzker Park Sale Is a Chance to Create New Transfer from ‘L’ to Subway

By Steven Vance | May 8, 2015 | 37 Comments

There are several pros and cons of the city’s controversial plan to sell the Pritzker Park site for development. One important and urgent aspect is that it would be an unparalleled – and potentially free – opportunity to create the first enclosed, wheelchair-accessible transfer between the CTA’s Loop elevated lines and the Red and Blue Line subways. […]

Everything You Need To Know About CTA’s Red Line Rebuild

By Steven Vance | Jun 19, 2014 | 10 Comments

The Chicago Transit Authority has begun a series of projects aimed at completely overhauling nearly every part of the Red (and Purple) Line, its longest and busiest rapid transit route. They call these projects “Red Ahead,” and together they should dramatically improve reliability on the line, while also increasing service, adding accessible facilities to stations, […]

CTA: Growing North Side Needs Brown Line Flyover

By Steven Vance | May 23, 2014 | 48 Comments

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 […]

CTA’s “Red Ahead” To Begin With Uptown, Edgewater Station Expansions

By Shaun Jacobsen | May 22, 2014 | 7 Comments

The CTA has announced that the first phase of the Red-Purple Modernization project, which will increase the capacity of the north side’s Red and Purple lines, will expand and rehab four stations in Uptown and Edgewater: Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr. Phase One of the project also includes the Red-Purple Bypass project, which will […]

Building Another Strip Mall by a Red Line Stop Won’t Help Edgewater

By John Greenfield | Mar 20, 2014 | 20 Comments

View Larger Map The former Piser Weinstein Funeral Home site. Located just around the corner from the Red Line’s Berwyn station, the former Piser Weinstein Funeral Home site, 5206 North Broadway in Edgewater, would make an excellent spot for transit-oriented development. Sadly, that doesn’t appear to be its destiny. Edgeville Buzz reports that the funeral […]

Sunday’s LSD Crisis Highlighted Value of Chicago’s Diverse Tranpo Network

By John Greenfield | Mar 17, 2014 | 18 Comments

Yesterday’s nine-hour standoff between police and an alleged murderer, which shut down North Lake Shore Drive and created Carmageddon on nearby surface streets, highlighted why Chicago is fortunate to have multiple transportation options. Around 12:30 p.m., officers began chasing accused killer Joseph Andrew Felton Jr., 43, in his car from south-suburban Harvey, through the South […]

CTA Applies for Federal Grant to Fund Red-Purple Modernization

By Steven Vance | Nov 21, 2013 | 10 Comments

In a great example of President Obama’s “fix it first” strategy (improving existing infrastructure before building new), the Federal Transit Administration is changing one of its rules to allow the Chicago Transit Authority to apply for a large grant to help fund the $2-4 billion Red-Purple Modernization project. RPM would significantly upgrade some of CTA’s oldest […]

CTA Picks Walsh Construction to Oversee 95th Street Terminal Rebuild

By John Greenfield | Oct 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

As the CTA wraps up track reconstruction on the south Red Line, slated to reopen on October 20, there’s some movement on the upcoming rehab of the 95th Street Terminal, originally built in 1969 as part of the Dan Ryan Expressway project. The agency has hired Walsh Construction to serve as the construction manager and […]

Eyes on the Street: A New Plaza Opens By the Loyola Red Line Station

By Steven Vance | Aug 30, 2013 | 3 Comments

An inviting new plaza complete with benches opened by the renovated CTA Loyola Red Line station house this Tuesday. The $20 million cost was covered by Loyola University — whose classes started Monday — and federal grants. The station is now accessible from the west on Loyola Avenue, which previously was exit-only, and the south, […]

Eyes on the Street: The Bike Parking Fence Doesn’t Make Sense

By Steven Vance | Mar 14, 2013 | 15 Comments

Last week, the Chicago Transit Authority finished construction of a partially-sheltered bike parking area on Lunt Avenue under the viaduct at the Morse Red Line station. The area is well-lit but surrounded by a tall fence with a single opening, on the alley. Instead of making the bike parking area more secure, this fence may […]