Tag: CTA

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

Talking transportation with 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman

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As part of our ongoing project to interview all 50 of Chicago’s aldermen about sustainable transportation issues in their districts, I recently sat down with Harry Osterman at the 48nd Ward service office, 5533 N. Broadway. His ward includes most of Edgewater and parts of Uptown.

The son of the late former 48th Ward alderman and community activist Kathy Osterman, for whom Hollywood Beach was renamed, he got started in local politics as an aide to recent 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith. During the last decade he served as state representative for the 14th District, showing a particular interest in public safety as he advocated for gun control and tougher penalties for domestic violence and unlicensed driving. After Smith chose not to run for reelection in conjunction with Richard M. Daley’s retirement, last year Harry Osterman won the election to replace her.

Osterman recently launched the year-long community input process for the 48th Ward Master Plan, a planning roadmap for the rest of the decade. We talked about how sustainable transportation might fit into the plan, his opposition to the CTA closing any of the ward’s six Red Line stations, and his ideas for promoting walking, biking and transit in the area, including on-street bike racks on Andersonville’s main drag.

Continue reading Talking transportation with 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman

Grid Bits: Pace increases bus frequency on Stevenson and other transit news

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The Morgan Street Green/Pink Line station will be open in May, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation. This photo was taken April 2, 2012, by Jeff Zoline, a frequent photo contributor.

There are 8 transit stories in this post (1 for Pace, 2 for Metra, 4 for CTA, and one story about how transit users save money because they’re not driving to work). Hat tips to CTA Tattler and Riders for Better Transit for keeping up with transit news in Chicagoland.

1. Pace yesterday began putting more buses on routes 755 and 855, both of which can drive on the shoulders of I-55/Stevenson Expressway during rush hour periods when traffic is moving slower than 35 MPH. They’re doing this because of increased demand for a route that’s seen its reliability improved and travel time decreased. There’s no word yet on the status of running buses on the shoulder of I-90/Jane Addams Memorial Tollway.

2. People who take transit to work instead of driving save $1,006 per month because of the cost of gas, insurance, parking, and other expenses. This is actually just a monthly calculation the American Public Transport Association releases. See the savings in the top 20 cities on the APTA’s website (via Chicago Sun-Times). Continue reading Grid Bits: Pace increases bus frequency on Stevenson and other transit news

Grid Shots: Art on the street edition

Art on the street includes street art, but the reverse isn’t true.

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Oak Park Arts District cross walk. Photo by I BIKE UIC / April Yvonne.

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Bloomingdale Trail mural by Jeff Zoline. The quantity of art will only be increasing in the next few years as the viaduct undergoes a transformation to become a trail and linear park.  Continue reading Grid Shots: Art on the street edition

Protest against low transit funding on Wednesday is directed at the wrong audience

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One of the buses Pace uses on the Stevenson Expressway shoulders during rush hours. The two routes have seen a lot of demand and Pace is responding by adding more runs. Photo by Ann Fisher. 

On Wednesday, people will gather at the Chicago Transit Authority headquarters (567 W Lake Street) to protest “inadequate funding and policies”, according to the Red Eye. Members from at least two groups (LVEJO and Citizens Taking Action) will join to protest public-private partnerships and to support laid off bus drivers. This is part of a larger National Day of Action for Public Transportation called by Occupy Boston.

They are protesting in the wrong location. They should be rallying at locations where there are people who can do something about underfunded transit: the offices of elected officials, like at City Hall and those of state and federal Congresspersons scattered around town. Continue reading Protest against low transit funding on Wednesday is directed at the wrong audience

Grid Shots: Skyline edition

It’s a mix of cold and warm views of Chicago and Evanston skylines in this edition of Grid Shots.

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The Evanston skyline is seen in the background from this view over the Chicago Transit Authority’s Howard yard for Red, Yellow, and Purple Line trains. Photo by Alton Park.

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A foggy (or is that haze?) vista of the CTA Green Line taken from Kedzie Avenue. Photo by Ann Fisher.

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Another view of the CTA Green Line along Lake Street, but this time from Ashland Avenue. Photo by Eric Pancer.

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People swim and sunbathe on the concrete beach along the Lakefront Trail, a view of good times that are just around the corner. Photo by Michelle Stenzel.

Next week’s Grid Shots theme is “Art on the street” (April 8). See the full schedule. Submit your photos for consideration to our Flickr group; tag it with “art”.