Bus rapid transit and traffic mitigation
Jake and others who wrote on this topic in other posts:
I'm glad to see you have generated a discussion about
posted by Carole Brown | 5/12/2008 02:04:00 PM
Ask Carole
Welcome! I created this blog to answer some of the questions people have been asking about the CTA's funding situation. We on the board have asked many of these same questions, and we want to help get the word out. So please feel free to send comments or questions to CTAboard@transitchicago.com, and check back regularly for answers and updates to our efforts to increase transit funding. -- Carole
Links
- CTA and Google transit maps begins
- Another voice for capital investment in transit
- Citizens Advisory Board
- Purple Line and the Sheridan station
- Sunday, March 30th
- A historic day
- Hoping in 2008
- Watson and fares
- Fares and transit funding
- 2007 budget draws to a close, 2008 budget deficit ...
33 Comments:
I like the idea, but there's no details of implementation. And there are many details to be worked out. I'm only familiar with Chicago, having driven to and from work often on that road.
Will on-street parking be reduced? There are benefits to reducing on-street parking; the most important of them is that you get a third travel lane (in most areas).
Is 1/2 mile too far between stops?I'm sure this has come up before, and it should come up again.
How quickly will express bus lanes be cleared? It's Chicago - people double park all the time! If every 15 minutes, a bus has to pull into traffic to avoid a double-parker, the bus begins to look more like a slow bus and less like an express bus.
Will there be physical separation between bus lanes and car lanes? (Also, will bicycles be allowed in the lane?) As an armchair road transportation engineer, I imagine this would be the best way to separate buses from cars in drivers' minds, which is what counts.
Good luck with this - I hope it works out!
Rob
Carol Stream, IL
Carole,
Thanks. In particular for the tip about the Wednesday presentation.
Rob, I too am wondering about the 1/2 mile stops. Will there still be locals on these streets? In Mexico City, they got rid of the locals on their BRT route, but the stops are every 500 meters (which might be 2.25 blocks).
In Mexico City, the lanes have bump-up reflectors. You could drive over them, but it's a strong lane ID than just painted stripes and diamonds.
The proposal here suggests that initially, the lanes will be separated only at rush, but ultimately, they'll be all day. I'm not clear how that will work either. If drivers can drive in them at some times, will that affect the consistency with which they avoid them at other times.
There is some suggestion that CDOT may ultimately develop signals (maybe hanging green/red arrow lights indicating whether a lane is available to cars or not.)
Why no BRT on LSD? That would have more impact on improving the commute of more riders than any other route.
The partial-BRT proposal is the most exciting development in Chicago transit in a long time. It has the potential to greatly improve the CTA system and provide an attractive alternative to driving, but implementation and public consultation are what will make or break it.
Enforcement must be strict. Cameras mounted on traffic signals or the buses would be an easy and relatively cheap way to keep the bus lanes clear.
I have mixed feelings about parking. As a biker, parked cars with clueless drivers opening their doors in front of me are my worst enemy (I certainly hope some way to incorporate biking will be worked into the partial-BRT plan). And the sooner we eradicate the idea that free parking is a God-given right, the sooner our addiction to cars can be broken. But there's also something to be said for the calming of traffic and support for businesses that parking allows. Is there any to eliminate parking on only one side of the street?
Finally, I hope the program will soon be extended to Western, and I hope the Mid-City Transitway El will be given the priority it deserves. Chicago desperately needs north-south transit options west of the Red Line to correct the flaws of the hub-and-spokes rail system.
Dear Carole,
Can you find out if it is CTA policy for bus drivers to ask riders to not place their feet on the bus wheel area. I pride myself on being a conscientious rider, more or less. I rode the #60 Blue Island tonight, and placed my feet up on the wheel, as the covering reaches near the seat. The bus driver asks if I can take my feet down. A fellow passenger assumed that he was talking to someone else, so I put my feet back up. And the driver again repeated that I should take my feet off.
I assume that each bus driver has the ability to control things within reason. That said, my feet were not on the seat and my shoes were not outfitted with metal or made of a hard material. If it is unreasonable to control this part of a rider's conduct, can you inform the bus drivers assigned to the #60 Blue Island bus that riders may not place their feet on the seat but can place their feet on the wheel. The CTA should recommend that drivers who have an issue with feet placed on the wheel can be treated professionally.
I just find it humorous for a driver to prohibit placing feet on the wheel while I have seen riders drink alcohol [from a paper bag or without a paper bag], eat sunflower seeds with shells [which were spat on the floor] and smoke. There is something about the priorities of bus drivers that leaves me scratching my head. (The time I saw someone smoking, the bus, a #94 California, was over its usual capacity and had picked up people from one of the correctional facilities. One of the riders lit a cigarette near an immigrant woman, who was too intimidated to say something.)
What's happening on the Red line at night? All week, the CTA customer alerts have said that southbound Red line trains were being re-routed on the elevated tracks from 9 or 10 each evening until early the next morning.
Tonight at 8PM, I went to the website and checked the details one more time - the "Red Line Alert" said that southbound trains were being rerouted on the Wells and VanBuren tracks. So around 11PM,I walked to Washington-Wells instead of Lake and State. When I got there, I waited thru a few Orange, Green, and Brown trains, but no Red. Finally, I mentioned the wait to a CTA employee who was waiting for a train who told me that the Red Line wasn't being re-routed tonight, despite all the notices all week. The employee suggested I take an Orange or Green to Roosevelt where I could catch a Red train. That was helpful, but still I walked out of my way and waited through several trains - all based on wrong information on the CTA customer alert page.
Of course, by the time I got home at 11:30, the Red line alert had been corrected, but it was wrong when I checked at 8PM. What gives? What's the point of the new alert pages if all the information is wrong?
Frustrated:
I apologize for your inconvenience. I have made our customer communications staff aware that we need to do a better job, especially with the all the construction and maintenance work happening on the system.
I appreciate your patience and the patience of all our customers as we work to eliminate slow zones and improve the system.
Thank you very much for taking the time to address my concern. I know my anecdotal narrative isn't the biggest issue facing the CTA, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one inconvenienced that night. I appreciate you taking it seriously.
Thanks.
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Carole, perhaps you can explain the policy of not having express trains run around the Loop.
I know on the Red Line, if trains are delayed, they run an Express Train skipping six or seven stops to get the trains spaced out.
In the Loop through evening rushes, if trains are delayed, they never run an Express train through the Loop to ease congestion.
I board at the Mart, and there have been occasional evenings where there are delayed Brown and Purple Lines. I have had to wait for 6 trains to be able to board because they were so packed by the time they worked around and make 9 stops.
Why not run an Express train 2/3 around and then another 1/3 around in those cases (or something similar)instead of all trains making all 9 stops in The Loop to space them out during delays? Brown and Purple are on the same tracks now in the Loop, so there should be less switching issues.
Carole - What is the CTA's normal procedure for buses that get off-route due to operator error? I was coming home on the 147 (Bus #7634, Run P684) this evening and the driver didn't exit at Foster, instead getting off LSD at Bryn Mawr. (There was no traffic, so I can only assume it was the driver's lack of knowledge or attention). She turned around, got back on LSD southbound, exiting at Lawrence. Then she turned around again, got back on LSD, and existed at Foster and got back on the normal route. This all took approx. 5 minutes, putting the bus behind schedule and causing another 147 to be very close behind (within a block). This doesn't strike me as the most effective way to handle the situation, but I wanted to know what the CTA's take might be. Thanks!
Carole,
I would really like to express my thanks for the new "Performance Metrics" section and reports. I think that this is a GREAT addition to the website. I feel that this action is the first big step in the right direction as far as the CTA opening up and being honest with the customers. Not to say that the CTA has ever lied to us, but now there will be no more confusion about statements and performance.
I have also noticed as of late, that train stations and bus terminals have been much cleaner. Hopefully this is carried over to the bus's and trains themselves.
Slow Zones, are the other thing I would like to mention. The Addison to O'Hare elimination project seems to be moving ahead slowly but surely. I like how the customer alerts interface has been cleaned up. One suggestion I would make is to get rid of the old customer service alerts. Once an alert is no longer affective it should be removed. For example there are still notices of stations that were reopened almost a year ago. If these could be removed or placed in an "archives" section it would really help to clear things up. As always, thank you and keep up the good work!
I am sorry for the double post, but to clarify, the "Customer Alerts" thing that I gave suggestions for is the one on the front page of the CTA website.
Let me add my kudos also for the cleaning up of the customer alerts page. I think the addition of the individual links for each rail lines (and bus service) is great! They used to do this for a couple of years for all the Brown line alerts, but for some reason stopped it several months ago. I found that link handy because I could see all the Brown line related links in one spot, and didn't have to look at all the individual links. I think it's great that you brought it back and added the other lines!
But I disagree strongly with transitking about removing the older links. I notice that all of the remaining 16 links from 2007 show service changes that still are effective currently. They show stations that are open or closed, service that has been added or removed, or service that is impacted - slow zones, 3-track, etc. (Even the remaining 2006 posts are relevant.)
I'm glad to have that information there. It makes it easy to refer back to the start of major activity. For instance, it's helpful to clearly find that the Washington (Red) subway station closure began Monday, October 23, 2006 and is expected to go through Fall 2008. It's not new, but it's informative - and not something I'd remember off the top of my head without a resource.
However, I do think it's good that they remove the short-term postings, such as temporary bus reroutes or rail single tracks. Those really aren't in effect any more and it makes sense that they remove them when they are over.
So, for my two cents, I like the page the way it is.
Anonymous (great name) -
If you are really interested in Carole Brown's background, you could go to the CTA's web site (press release archive) and read all about her.
It's sneakily hidden under the title of THE CHICAGO TRANSIT BOARD APPROVES APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHAIR, CAROLE L. BROWN - 10/7/03
http://www.yourcta.com/news/archpress.wu?action=displayarticledetail&articleid=120999
Carole Brown info
(If your biggest gripe is that she didn't fill in the "complete profile" section - and you don't know how to pronounce Carole - then what a beautiful bubble you live in. Enjoy)
sometimes frustrated,
I never said that the old links should be completely removed completely but they should be moved into an archived section for each of the past years.
Carole:
The NB red line has slowed dramatically between Clark/Division and North/Clybourn. Is this due to construction or deterorating tracks?
I went to the latest slow zone map, but it is dated 5/14 and I really don't think we approach speeds of 35mph any longer.
Come in, JT. You can figure out that for yourself. There are signs at every red line station and on the website that state that the subway is being reconstructed. Also, the very slow zone map that you mention clearly shows that much of the subway is slow zoned due to construction. Common sense might tell you that new areas would have recently started to be worked on. I'll assume also that you don't regularly get on the train at a subway station other than Grand or Chicago because you would have realized the answer to your question by simply looking at the track.
Thanks for the update anon, but the slowzone map (5/14) does not show any construction from Grand to North/Clybourne on the NB Red line.
The only thing the map shows is a slow zone between Clark/Division and North/Clybourne of 25mph - 35 mph - 25mph.
I don't know if you just didn't read my entire post or you are privy to other information, but there is NO construction shown on the CTA map North of Grand, which is the section of track I am inquiring about.
I'm not sure exactly what you are talking about, J.T. I never stated that the slow zone map said anything about construction there. Like you said, it is an outdated map. When I suggested that you look on the website I was referring to the many notices and press releases that state the entire red line subway is being reconstructed this year, with the exception of course of the area that was done last year. So it should be obvious that the only area that had not been previously reconstructed or was in the process of being reconstructed would be so soon. And my suggestion that the map would tell you something was meant to encourage you to realize the obvious fact that if all the other areas were slow zoned for construction, this would as well. I'm sorry I have to spell everything out for you. But just in case it isn't already clear, yes the area you mentioned is under construction. I've seen the track. It is being worked on.
jt and anon -
Both the cited 5/14/08 slow zone map and the more current 5/28/08 map do show slow zones north of Grand in the Red Line subway. More than 7,300 feet (well over a mile) of northbound track is slow-zoned and is being worked on by the track department.
However, that map only indicates where there are slow zones, not where work is actually underway at any time. I think you are ascribing meaning where none exists. The lack of notation doesn't mean work isn't happening there. Similarly, the marking of some slow zones as green (for Construction) doesn't mean those are the only areas being worked on. It means those are the only areas that are undergoing major "construction." Other areas, notably the west end of O'Hare branch, are being worked on every evening and weekend but have no special notations. That map isn't intended to tell you where work is occurring -- only where trains must go slower.
Maybe we should look to Huberman's crack new communication team for info on where work is occurring?
sylvan:
Thanks for the clarification, much appreciated.
But to clarify, like I told J.T., there is currently major work being done North of Division. The most recent slow zone map has not been updated.
Anon (clever and unique name) -
Why do you say the map has not been updated? Of course it doesn't show "work" north of Division - or anywhere. It's not a work map - it's a slow zone map. Sometimes slow zones reflect current work, sometimes they merely reflect the need for work.
Regardless, both the current map and recent others show slow zones just north of Division/Clark to north of North/Clybourn. It's almost a mile and a half of slow zones on the northbound track. Why do you persist in saying it's not there?
Carole,
I wanted to share with you what happened to me on my way home after seeing a movie in Hyde Park. I walked north on Kimbark to 55th Street and walked one block west to a bus stop, thinking that I would take the 55th Street bus to Western. I arrived there are 9:20 pm. At 9:55 pm, an eastbound 55th Street bus arrived across the street. When the buses finally came to our corner, it had been 45 minutes since I arrived. Some of the other riders who waited said that they were there for an hour. The effects of not having the bus run on time is that near the train lines, a large number of people were waiting, particularly the Red Line stop. After all the people waiting for the bus at the Red Line got on, the bus was beyond capacity.
I would ask that the supervisor of the 55th Street bus create a manner to eliminate waits of more than half an hour for the 55th Street bus. If two buses on 55th Street are near each other, perhaps one driver can inform the passengers that it is going to the end of the bus line and the passengers will need to depart, and in this way the passengers waiting for a bus will not need to wait over half an hour for one. If there is a fire or another emergency, perhaps the CTA supervisor or supervisors can go along the line to inform riders of their options or what the CTA may be able to do in the next half an hour.
Thanks.
Lake:
Do you ride the red line in that area? Trust me. I know what I am talking about. On the northbound tracks, every other tie (or whatever they are called) has been taken out and something temporary was put in. At least that is the case at the two stations in the area. Anybody who takes the train from those stations can easilly tell you that. I don't know about the middle. And it is fifteen miles an hour the whole time, as opposed to some minor slow zones previously(I have no idea why you say "why do you persist in saying" that slow zones were not there when I never said such a thing. I was responding to J.T. who mentioned correctly that it had recently slowed farther). I wouldn't neccessarally expect a slow zone map dated 5/28 to reflect this. My recollection is the work started at roughly that time.
Belmont/LSD Bus Stop construction: Yesterday I was walking on the innter drive towards Belmont and saw that the temporary stop at LSD/Melrose was packed with people but two southbound #145 buses didn't stop there to pick-up the people. Both buses proceeded down to the Belmont stop (under road construction) so people were frantically running to catch the bus, even a little old lady with a cane. This morning my southbound #145 bus stopped at the temporary LSD/Melrose stop and did not proceed to Belmont stop. Instead it took a left turn onto Belmont at the intersection (no one was waiting at the bus stop under construction). Shame on the CTA and the bus drivers for leaving riders to scramble to try to reach the bus yestereday!
Franks never goes away:
CTA halts over-budget Loop superstation
By Greg Hinz
June 11, 2008
(Crain’s) — Chicago Transit Authority officials Wednesday finally conceded that the “superstation” under construction beneath Block 37 in the Loop is way over budget — “in excess of $100 million” — and announced that the half-completed facility will be indefinitely mothballed while they search for a private partner to finance its completion.
At an occasionally testy board meeting, CTA President Ron Huberman blamed inflation in building materials, logistical woes and the unexpected difficulty of relocating a century’s worth of utility lines on the block, located between the Daley Civic Center and Macy’s State Street flagship store.
But angry board members asserted they’d been misled for years about soaring expenditures on the superstation and, without naming him, made it clear that the problems arose during the tenure of Frank Kruesi, whom Mr. Huberman succeeded as president last year.
“Time after time, we were told everything is great, everything is on time and on budget,” griped board President Carole Brown. “Ron and his staff have done the best he could in carving a solution to a very, very bad situation.”
Mr. Kruesi was not available for comment.
Under the plan approved Wednesday, work will be completed only on the “shell” of the station and a tube linking the Red Line underneath State to the Blue Line under Dearborn Street. The shell then will be shut off and not used, much like an unfinished basement in a home whose owner ran out of money right after pouring concrete.
That means the city, CTA and Joseph Freed & Associates, which is developing a mixed-use project over the superstation basement, will have spent about $250 million on what so far is an unusable, half-finished facility that was supposed to anchor express train service to O’Hare and Midway airports and funnel commuters to retail outlets upstairs.
That project has been a priority for Mayor Richard M. Daley, who has hoped that express trains would help Chicago land the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Mr. Huberman declined to provide any estimates on how much more it would take to build out the station and tube connection and make them usable, rather than shelving the project in midstream. But he said he has concluded that the job overall is “in excess of $100 million” over budget, and argued that the CTA’s best course now is to mothball the station complex and search for a private firm that might finance both it and the express train service, which might charge premium fares of $15 or $20 a ride.
Crain’s first reported in November that the superstation was running $100 million to $150 million over budget, and that the city was considering looking for a private partner to pick up costs.
Mr. Huberman said expenditures to date represent “well-spent money” because of “tremendous” potential value from the station, if it is completed.
But even getting this far has come at a cost. Mr. Huberman conceded that the CTA has shifted about $45 million from other capital accounts to pay station costs, and Freed has agreed to absorb up to $15 million in cost overruns.
Freed released a statement predicting its new retail space will do well at Block 37 despite the superstation delay because it will directly connect to the revamp city pedway system beneath Loop streets.
In addition, the CTA on Tuesday announced it is getting about $20 million in tax increment financing subsidies from the city. While the money technically is for work on the Loop elevated structure, it will allow the agency to shift funds it would have had to spend on the Loop el to Block 37.
Mr. Huberman said the city and CTA hope to begin advertising for bidders to take over the Block 37 project and develop express train service “within a year.” But Ms. Brown conceded that nothing will happen quickly on express train service, which CTA consultants have said could cost $1.5 billion or more to develop. Any public/private partnership is “years away,” she said.
One board member voted against the plan to finish the station shell and then halt construction.
Susan Leonis said she’s still not sure the truth of the “disastrous project” is fully known. “We’ve probably spent about $250 million for this lovely shell we have in the heart of the city,” she sighed.
Carole,
I want to point out I was one of several people here about a year and a half ago that was VERY vocal with our opposition to the Block 37 project. Many of us knew that there was simply no chance of enough funding to complete such an enormous project for the already cash-strapped CTA. Shame on you for not listening to more people and not doing your own research! You and the board should be ashamed that you blindly voted to spend hundreds of millions of precious capital resources on the Block 37 project. I would expect more from a board that has the responsibility of monitoring and approving majoring spending projects for the CTA.
I'll just say if the board of our company made a judgement error to the tune of a couple hundred million dollars, each of you would have been voted out of your position very quickly by the votes of our shareholders. But this is Cook County, a lot of good voting would do for the CTA board! Might be even worse.
Carole,
It is sad that you were one of the people who was left holding the responsibility for the mayor and Frank Kruesi's megaproject. Ron Huberman should have DEMANDED that Kruesi be present for the announcement this week or that the mayor make the announcement himself. Huberman and you should not be expected to claim full responsibility for this megaproject, because I am sure that it was approved with the understanding that this is what the mayor wanted. I hope that the station is completed at a later time so that we can see what a superstation actually looks like.
What happened to BRT plans for Lake Shore Drive? That's where the plan would have actually made a major improvement in bus transit time and discouraged driving.
This idea has been implemented elsewhere already. Why waste several years "testing" it on smaller routes where the impact will be marginal?
Does Chicago always have to be so timid in urban planning?
The $250M that the CTA has wasted on the Block 37 plan probably would have been enough for the CTA to entirely self-fund some or all of the red, yellow, and orange line expansion projects.
So rather than a big, pointless station shell, by now we could actually have had expanded rail service in areas that need it.
What a waste.
Carole,
I notice Jake's mention of the Mid-City Transitway El. That put me in mind of vague rumors of a subway up Western Avenue and Craig Berman's "CTA Map for 2055" (http://www.gapersblock.com/detour/a_cta_map_for_2055/). OK, I know it's pie in the sky, but I hope the CTA has not completely abandoned plans to expand rail service. Bus transit is important, but rail transit, I suspect, really makes a difference in how a neighborhood and a city develop.
First and most obviously, rail transit gets riders and their vehicle out of traffic (whereas bus riders are still at the mercy of congestion, idiot drivers, and ill-timed traffic lights, and however welcome it may be in the big picture, to drivers a bus is another big, slow-moving vehicle to maneuver around).
Beyond that, a rail line marks a certain level of commitment to a neighborhood and to those considering moving or establishing businesses there. A bus route can be, literally, here today and gone tomorrow, as many of us learned to our dismay in the 90s.
Four-dollar-a-gallon gas isn't going to go away. Well, no, actually, it is; in a year or two we're likely to be reminiscing about the days when you could get a gallon for only four bucks or so. It seems clear to me that for the foreseeable future, ommunities with a robust level of public transit and with walkable destinations (which tend to grow up around subway and el stations, not necessarily so much on bus lines in my observation) will be the ones that thrive.
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