Since we don’t have a schedule of Grid Shots themes to go on, I looked at the latest photos people have added to our Flickr group. This one caught my eye and prompted today’s topic: people on the platform.
[flickr]photo:7418636230[/flickr]
Photo by Mike Travis, who captioned the photo with, “Don’t look at me, Kid. The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is right in front of you!” Continue reading Grid Shots: People on the platform
[flickr]photo:3854713664[/flickr]
A train passes over Lawrence Avenue at the Ravenswood Metra station.
2012 Chicago fatality stats*:
Pedestrian: 6 (5 have been from hit-and-run crashes, the other person was struck by a train)
Pedalcyclist: 0
Transit: 5 (the previous four were from a 30-day period in March-April)
A northbound UP North Metra train struck and killed a person on the platform at the Ravenswood station (4800 N Ravenswood) on Tuesday, May 29. The train was not scheduled to stop there.
The pedestrian was killed in the incident, but officials are not releasing his or her identity Tuesday night, a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said. CBS2
If you find more information, please leave a note or link in the comments. The station is being reconstructed.
* The information is only accurate as of this post’s publishing time and includes only people who died in the Chicago city limits. View previous Fatality Tracker posts.
[flickr]photo:5243266190[/flickr]
Ed. note: Roland Solinski is a graduate student of architecture at Tulane University. “I am a Chicagoan by birth and the city runs in my blood. I’m fascinated by all aspects of urban design and urban systems, but especially transit systems and public space.” Photo is of a southbound Metra Electric train.
In November of 2010, the Chicago Tribune published an article that shocked Metra commuters. In it, Tribune reporters revealed that massive quantities of diesel exhaust were hanging in the air on platforms at Union Station and Ogilvie Transportation Center. Worse, the atmosphere inside each railcar contained the same exhaust at even higher concentrations – 72 times that of a normal city street.
In numerous other cities, commuters do not need to worry about harmful exhaust fumes, because their trains run off of electric power. In fact, many cities installed rail electrification systems at the turn of the last century specifically to eliminate toxic smoke emissions, including the Illinois Central’s line right here in Chicago, now called Metra Electric. Continue reading Put Chicago on the path to an electrified Metra
[flickr]photo:4481783955[/flickr]
The Lakefront Trail will be closed from Balbo Drive to 31st Street.
The upcoming NATO summit will greatly alter how people travel in the Loop, South Loop, Museum Campus, and Bronzeville areas May 19, 20, and 21 (Saturday to Monday). Travel on the Kennedy, Dan Ryan, and Stevenson Expressways will be affected. Transit agencies and other news sources have posted all the relevant information, linked on this page. If you are traveling to these areas, or normally travel through these areas, spend time reviewing the below webpages. This post will be updated as information changes.
How will these changes affect you? Continue reading Summary of transportation and transit changes because of NATO summit
[flickr]photo:7108140981[/flickr]
A new intermodal link at Congress Parkway and Financial Place, leading passengers up to Metra platforms, as viewed from the northwest.
If there were a contest for “best hidden train station in the Loop,” the dubious winner would be Metra’s LaSalle Street station. Have you ever tried and failed to find this station, or had to give extremely detailed directions to help someone else find it? If your answer is “yes,” you’ve got lots of company.
So why is it such a mystery?
Much of the signage directing “potential” passengers is small, placed in mid-block locations far out of visual range from adjacent intersections, and doesn’t follow the design standards of Metra signs. The station itself is tucked and hidden behind the Chicago Board Options Exchange; the platforms are also above ground with a single point of entry. This aerial view gives you a point of reference. Continue reading How LaSalle Street Metra station maintains hard-to-find reputation
[flickr]photo:7114897063[/flickr]
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:
Continue reading CDOT installs new bike parking at six CTA and Metra stations