Tag: photo essay

Grid Shots: Best and worst intersections

Update December 2, 2011: Mike Stephen asked me for the Outside The Loop radio broadcast some more questions about these choices. 

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Halsted Street and Roosevelt Road (worst)

Because of its proximity to two on-ramps and two off-ramps of the Dan Ryan highway, traffic is very congested through this intersection. Many times it negatively affects bus transit and sometimes semi-trucks are stuck blocking cross-direction traffic. Possible solutions include eliminating some of the ramps or ramp traffic or enforcing a “don’t block the intersection” rule. Continue reading Grid Shots: Best and worst intersections

Grid Shots: Shopping without a car

A large portion of Chicagoans not only take the bus, train, walk, or bike to work, but they also take these sustainable transportation modes to go shopping, for groceries and everything else.

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Two people attempt to cross Western Avenue, with one of them pushing his purchases in a shopping cart. Photo by Joshua Koonce. Continue reading Grid Shots: Shopping without a car

Media gallery from Open Streets on State Street

Photos and one video of Open Streets on State Street by John Greenfield (JG) and Steven Vance (SV).

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A north to south video tour of Open Streets filmed by Brandon Gobel and Steven Vance from the cargo deck of a Bullitt bike. SV

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Families playing in the imagination playground. Adolfo Hernandez at the Active Transportation Alliance described his experience, saying, “I saw people, moms with kids, were instinctively picking up the blocks and putting them together”. JG

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The only time this artist could sit in the middle of State Street to paint the northern view. JG

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Even the kids were breakdancing. JG

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Hula hoops were everywhere. And in use. JG

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People practicing capoeira. SV

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Playing real-life four square. SV

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Mike Garcia of Brickheadz breakdancing for the Illinois Center for Broadcasting camera crew. SV

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This drawing was creating one square at a time by multiple people. SV

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Winners of the three-legged race. SV

More photos


	


	
	






	
	

		
Grid Shots: The view from CTA bridges
	


	

		
Bridges at Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train stations over the tracks are becoming extinct. When the Belmont Brown/Red/Purple line station was rebuilt for the Brown Line Capacity Expansion project, the bridge at the south end was removed.


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I took this photo in 2006 from the Belmont footbridge, not long before it was closed to passengers and then demolished. 


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Adams and Wabash, Brown/Pink/Green/Orange/Purple lines. Photo by Clark Maxwell. 


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Madison and Wabash, Brown/Pink/Green/Orange/Purple lines. Photo by Clark Maxwell. 


View four more photos taken from CTA footbridges.

	


	
	






	
	

		
Grid Shots: People on the CTA
	


	

		
“The subway is the place where denizens of the great metropolis are now forced to face each other. The wealthy, and the poor rub more than elbows here. Often the pot in which we are all supposed to be melting cracks and boils over.” -New York City-based photographer, Dave Beckerman.


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Changing trains. Photo by Mike Travis. 


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Reading a book. Photo by Joshua Koonce. 


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Playing the guitar and harmonica. Photo by Joshua Koonce. 

	


	
	






	
	

		
Grid Shots: A visitor from D.C.
	


	

		
M. Jantzen visited Chicago earlier in August 2011 and recently uploaded photos from his trip.


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Upon arriving at Midway Airport, one is presented with three distinct types of fare vending machines. One takes cash only. Two take credit cards. One dispenses multi-day passes. Two add value to Chicago Cards. O’Hare Airport only has two types of machines and they have small signs above them that say “Cash only” or “Cash and credit.”


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Fifty feet away from the vending machines, in the paid area, are two units of double deck bike racks that can hold 28 or more bicycles. It’s well-used, even in the “less warm” months of the year. 


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You’ll pass the CNA building (333 S Wabash) on any of the elevated Loop ‘L’ lines. I like it because it’s not grey, black, or blue.