Category: Chicago

Grid Shots: Shiny and new

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Post updated April 30, 2012, at 16:01 to add more photos of the new CTA station and new commentary. 

In this edition of Grid Shots, the suburbs of Skokie and Evanston are getting a bit of attention. Transit infrastructure is being built in more places than Chicago. Post updated to feature photos from opening day at Oakton-Skokie Yellow Line station. The Oakton-Skokie Yellow Line station opens on Monday, April 30, 2012. The Chicago Transit Authority will have another station opening in May, at Morgan (at Lake Street) Green and Pink Lines station. First four photos were taken by Jeff Zoline on April 30 and prior.  Continue reading Grid Shots: Shiny and new

WGN radio host talks to CDOT’s Scott Kubly about bike sharing

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Scott Kubly from the Chicago Department of Transportation talks about speed camera enforcement.

Jonathon Brandmeier, weekday morning host on WGN 720AM, talked to Scott Kubly on Friday, April 27, about bike sharing in Chicago. Kubly oversees the Bicycle Program’s implementation of the bike sharing program, among other projects, for the Department of  Transportation (CDOT).

Download the MP3 or listen to it in a Flash player on WGN’s website. Continue reading WGN radio host talks to CDOT’s Scott Kubly about bike sharing

Fisher sets new CTA record; ‘L’ race this Saturday at Linden centennial

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A CTA racer’s summit: Fisher (wearing a t-shirt based on the honorary station sign the CTA sent him), minutes after setting the new record, meets up with Bielaski, Greenfield and Resner to toast his triumph.

Adham Fisher has done it again. In March 2011 the globetrotting Leicester, England, native set the world record for visiting all 143 CTA stations by train, only to have the title stripped from him by Chicago residents Danny Resner and yours truly last February 3. On April 6 Chicagoans Kevin Olsta and Scott Presslak beat our time, but were bested five days later by locals Rob Bielaski and Ben Downey, who brought the winning time down to 9:08:56.

Continue reading Fisher sets new CTA record; ‘L’ race this Saturday at Linden centennial

This pile of evidence insinuates there are more bicycles than riders, but all are destined for a good cause

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Used bicycles as far as the eye can see. 

I met a friend in Pilsen Wednesday to have lunch and then visit Working Bikes Cooperative (2434 S Western Avenue), a non-profit organization that repairs bicycles to sell to Chicagoans and also to send to people in Africa, Cuba, Guatemala, Peru and even the Gulf Coast. Volunteers and some paid staff take in donated bikes – from individuals, from collection drives, and even from the Chicago Department of Transportation’s own abandoned bicycle pickup program – organize, repair, and then sell or ship them. I asked manager Raul Gonzalez for a quick tour. I came in knowing the warehouse held a lot of bicycles, but I couldn’t imagine how many. Continue reading This pile of evidence insinuates there are more bicycles than riders, but all are destined for a good cause

Why is there a “vestigal” stoplight just south of Clark/Roosevelt?

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Although it’s hard to see, there’s a button-activated, signalized crosswalk located between the first planter median and the jersey wall.

[This piece also runs in Time Out Chicago magazine.]

Q: There’s a working stoplight on Clark south of Roosevelt, that doesn’t seem to have any purpose or function. What’s the deal with this vestigial traffic light?

A: The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) installed this signal during the 2004 rehab of the Clark/Roosevelt intersection, when the Clark underpass was built, says spokesman Pete Scales. The stoplight was included for a future access road to a housing development planned for the vacant land southwest of the intersection. “That massive redevelopment project never got off the ground,” Scales says. “At this point it might take more money to remove the stoplight than leave it in.” Continue reading Why is there a “vestigal” stoplight just south of Clark/Roosevelt?

CDOT installs new bike parking at six CTA and Metra stations

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Bike parking for more than 40 bicycles at the 57th Street entrance to the 55th-56th-57th Street Metra station. 

CDOT installed in March and April  a combination of regular u-racks and double deck bike racks at six CTA and Metra stations around the city and will hold a press conference at the 95th Red Line station today at noon. The coolest part of the project, in my humble opinion, is that I got to analyze and recommend the stations that would receive new bike parking. The bike racks are installed at the following stations, all sheltered, from north to south:

  • Howard Red Line – Rogers Park – Double deck
  • Loyola Red Line – Rogers Park – Double deck
  • Clybourn Metra – Bucktown – U-racks
  • Western Orange Line – Brighton Park – Double deck
  • 55th-56th-57th Street Metra – Hyde Park – U-racks
  • 95th Red Line – Roseland/Longwood Manor – Double deck

Continue reading CDOT installs new bike parking at six CTA and Metra stations