Tag: Metra

Commuter ales: take a car-free road trip to these Metra-friendly brewpubs

[flickr]photo:206186905[/flickr]

Photo by C. Blatchley

[This article also appears in Active Transportation Alliance’s Mode Shift newsletter.]

A cozy brewpub serving house-made craft beer and hearty fare can be the cornerstone of a thriving retail district, and a magnet for out-of-towners seeking memorable drinks and eats. That’s especially true when the brewery is located a short walk from, or even right next door to, a commuter rail station. Chicagoland is fortunate to have a growing number of snug brewpubs a stone’s throw from Metra stops, making them ideal destinations for a car-free suburban safari. Here’s a guide to some of the best ones, including feedback from the staff about why brewpubs and transit go together like beer and pretzels.

Continue reading Commuter ales: take a car-free road trip to these Metra-friendly brewpubs

Grid Bits: State of the Union address, transit news

[flickr]photo:6723430539[/flickr]

Photo of a Blue Line train at UIC-Halsted. This train has the oldest cars in the system, noticeable with their “butterfly doors” that are inaccessible to people using wheelchairs, or customers with bicycles. Photo by David Wilson.

In this edition of Grid Bits, five transit stories, and an update on President Obama’s State of the Union address last night. First, the transit news.

(1) CTA overtime

The Chicago Transit Authority uses an employee’s overtime work to calculate their pension amount, and analysis from the Chicago Tribune finds that the CTA reports overtime in an odd way: Continue reading Grid Bits: State of the Union address, transit news

The plan for Union Station

[flickr]photo:6523080023[/flickr]

Accessing Union Station is done by many modes, but each has its own challenges and annoyances. 

Over 50 people attended the 4:30 PM presentation of the Union Station master plan in the Union Gallery on Thursday. The Chicago Department of Transportation is the lead agency on this project even though it may have less at stake in the plan. It’s more likely to lead a fair planning process than if Amtrak, the station’s owner, or Metra, the station’s busiest user, led the master plan. After the presentation, visitors were able to speak directly with staff from the stakeholders and partners (see full list at end).

The plan divides goals and objectives into short, medium, and long term ideas.

Two short term projects are already in the works and each has received funding. They are the “Central Area East-West Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project” and “Union Station Transportation Center”, which I’ll also call an intermodal center, as it gets people from buses onto trains and vice versa. The BRT project includes bus priority lanes and intersection priority (buses can go before other traffic) on Canal, Clinton, Madison, and Washington (see embedded map). The BRT application also indicates a Madison Street bike lane will be installed (which already happened) and an eastbound bike lane will be “considered”. The intermodal center will include stair, elevator, and escalator access to an existing underground walkway into Union Station. Continue reading The plan for Union Station

Union Station master plan public meeting is Thursday

[flickr]photo:5702829105[/flickr]

Photo of Amtrak and Metra trains at Union Station by Eric Pancer. 

Read the event review for this meeting.

Come to the Great Hall at Union Station on Thursday, December 15, 2011, from 4 to 7 PM, for a presentation and open house on the Union Station Master Plan. The Great Hall is in the original Union Station building, at 210 S Canal Street – the meeting will be in the southwest corner. Continue reading Union Station master plan public meeting is Thursday

Vote on the best apps for metro Chicago

[flickr]photo:6047856885[/flickr]

The Grand Challenge of the Apps for Metro Chicago Contest starts today. Everyone will have the opportunity to vote for the best apps that take Chicagoland data and make it more useful, interesting, or engaging. Apps can be for the web, or specific smartphone operating systems. Winners get recognition and cash prizes.

I’ve re-submitted the Bikes on Metra app my friend and I worked on. We weren’t finalists in the first round, about transportation, and I didn’t make any changes in the re-submission because I’m working on so many projects (book club being the latest).

So browse the gallery and leave your votes at 4 PM. Voting ends Monday, December 12, at 4 PM. I hope things go better this time around than in the first round, after the rules changed and the first batch of votes were invalidated. Continue reading Vote on the best apps for metro Chicago