The red line extensions funding from recent federal infrastructure bill

I'm sorry I missed this story about how the recent infrastructure bill which was signed by President Joe Biden into law would affect us in Illinois. Especially how it would affect the south side of Chicago, particularly this Red Line extension through Roseland into Altgeld Gardens.

From the Sun-Times:

President Joe Biden signed the historic $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law Monday, passing to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot — at the White House for the ceremony — the massive job of spending the billions in new money flowing to the city and state in the next five years.

For the first time, there will be a dedicated funding stream in the form of grant programs to make all transit and commuter rail stations in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, a legislative victory for the champion of the measure, Iraq War vet and double amputee Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.

Based on interviews with Lightfoot and Pritzker, expansion of the CTA Red Line from 95th to 130th Street, speeding up lead water pipe removal and rebuilding portions of the Eisenhower Expressway through Chicago and nearby suburbs, the I-190 turnoff near O’Hare Airport and I-80 in Will County have emerged as among the priority projects to be bolstered by the federal spending.

The federal funding will speed up some projects already in the works — removing lead water pipes in Chicago — jumpstart transit and highway projects stalled for years — while helping to bankroll large scale electric vehicle charging networks throughout the state.

Public transit expansion, lead pipe removal, expanding broadband internet access and creating a new support system for electronic vehicles are at the top of Lightfoot’s list.

Lightfoot said there “definitely” will be federal money to expand the CTA Red Line from 95th Street to 130th, though she had no timetable yet for the project.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said at the White House he handed a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging him to support the Red Line South Side expansion to near the edge of the city.

“This transit desert disproportionately impacts Black residents, meaning that the early termination of the Red Line has considerable equity implications. This results in many of Chicago’s African American citizens literally being disconnected from the ‘mainland’ of the rest of the city. It reminds one of the ‘colony’ and the ‘motherland’ divides of a past time,” the Rush letter said.

Glad to see it's a priority for the mayor, however, no timeline yet to begin construction only that  the federal infrastructure money would be used to expand the red line. By expand hopefully she means starting construction, however, I want to see what else is out there by the mayor and governor regarding this extension,

CBS Chicago: CPD Responds To Large Group Of Rowdy Teens Moving Through The Loop

 

[VIDEO] Was caught up in some of this last night. In fact some of the teens you might see in this footage took the Red Line back to the south side and made a lot of noise in doing so. It's very unfortunate that on our local news stations this is the image their viewing audience has of our young people.

CTA cleaning procedures #COVID19

[VIDEO] I already shared a tweet by CTA on March 12, 2020 with regards to their response to the coronavirus. At that point things haven't gotten bad enough where businesses and schools were closed and no stay-at-home order. I also noted that there were personnel at 95th Street where I'd get on the train who will work to wipe down some of the surfaces (seats and handrails) on the train with sanitizer.

I hate to note this but over the weekend it was in the news that a CTA bus driver had tested positive for the coronavirus. For those who do have to work to keep our public transit system running I hope that they will be very careful out there. Especially for those of us who work in essential businesses and depend upon the services provided by CTA.

For those of you who do depend on public transit, do you believe CTA is working dilligently to keep their vehicles and facilities clean for the general public? What do you think the CTA could do better to keep their vehicles and facilities clean?

CTA capital budget includes investment in the Red Line Extension

Got this e-mail this week from CTA regarding the Red Line extension

On November 20, 2019, the Chicago Transit Board approved a $1.57 billion operating budget that preserves existing bus and rail service levels, while continuing the agency’s unprecedented efforts to modernize its infrastructure and improve the CTA travel experience for customers.

CTA’s 2020 capital budget includes a commitment to invest $310 million into the $2.3 billion Red Line Extension (RLE) project, which will extend the Red Line south by 5.3 miles and include four new, fully accessible stations at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 130th Street. This is the single most significant funding contribution that CTA has ever made towards the RLE project, and will fund work efforts, including engineering and design activities, to help position the RLE project to receive federal funding.

The 2020 Budget Recommendations book is posted on CTA's web site under Finance & Budget and is available here.

Two photographs were with the email one of which I will show you here. It advertised CTA's efforts to connect with those stakeholders with regards to this future project. You might recognize one face in the photograph long time leader in West Chesterfield Michael LaFargue.

Red line extension update

103rd Street station rendering CTA

The latest update about the future CTA Red Line extension from Curbed Chicago as it's included with a few other updates as far as priority CTA projects in the city.

Chicago Transit Authority fares and service will remain at their current levels next year, according to the agency’s proposed 2020 budget. https://t.co/Y0aWdAbvev

— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) October 28, 2019

The plan will fund design and engineering work for the proposed extension of the Red Line to Chicago’s Far South Side. The study will help the CTA secure federal funding for the massive undertaking, which is expected to cost $2.3 billion in total.

Red Line extension slipping away? #Ward09

I found this article from The Chicago Crusader over at the resource for Chicago transit history - Chicago-L.org

With Trump now in office, the chances of securing federal funds for the Red Line Extension project are slim. And with the lower property values of the Red Line Extension Project area, the Metropolitan Planning Council has estimated that, at best, an RLE transit TIF would raise only $200 million over the next 35 years.

To his credit, Emanuel spent $280 million to rebuild the 95th Street Red Line station that opened last January.

When compared to other projects on the North Side, including the latest Red-Purple Bypass project, the South Side projects looks like peanuts and another example of the inequity of services between the North and the South Sides.

During the mayoral campaign many candidates including Lori Lightfoot, in political forums, acknowledged that federal funding is the only real option for financing the Red Line Extension Project. But none had come up with creative alternatives for a project that has been on the back burner for so long.

Last summer Governor JB Pritzker passed his $41.5 billion capital spending plan, which would be spent on public roads, transit, schools and other public, state-wide projects. Transportation would get $28.6 billion and $3.4 billion will go to mass transit. There was no mention of funds going towards the Red Line Extension project and no one made a fuss about it, not even Black leaders.

Shortly after he was elected, Pritzker said funds for the Red Line Extension project would come from the Illinois Transportation and infrastructure funding bill, which is part of his passed $41.5 billion capital spending plan. Since then, Pritzker has been largely silent. With Trump in the White House and little funding and vocal leadership, Pritzker seems the only leader whose administration can keep the Red Line Extension project from being a dream deferred.

Especially noted was the efforts to secure funding for improvements to the Red, Purple, and Brown Lines on the north side. This was noted as the largest capital project in CTA history... 

Update to the fatal incident at 69th Street from last month

[VIDEO] Here's an update from last month's fatal incident at 69th/State. A CTA Red Line train had fatally struck a commuter who got down to the tracks to retrieve her cell phone.

The video above from CBS Chicago is of the victim's family who spoke out once the news of the CTA motorman or operator being fired from his job as a result of this incident. It aired on the 6:00 PM newscast on Friday.

This report is from the Chicago Tribune which also had video of that said motorman who is seen looking away from the tracks ahead:

Family of woman struck by train at 69th on Thursday speaks out

[VIDEO] The sister of the victim - Felon Smith - of last Thursday's fatal incident at 69th Street on the CTA Red Line speaks out with regards to leaked surveillance footage of this tragic incident. Smith wasn't able to get back up to the train platform after going onto the tracks to find her cell phone.

Also of issue is the evils of social media which the sister also speaks out on. I believe social media is a great tool and certainly allows everyday people a platform unfortunately a lot of awful comments can be said by a variety of people who know very little of the situation itself. With this said I'm glad I never saw any negative comments of this incident and just stop my thoughts on this at a woman got hit by a train looking for her phone.

Also another issue discussed the above video from CBS 2 is the staffing at these stations. I don't imagine that most stations on CTA are staffed with a lot of people even at peak times. As seen in the stills of the leaked surveillance video there was a K9 security person nearby Smith before the train came, what's not clear if that individual was on duty for CTA at that moment.

I want to reiterate what's stated from the CTA's website that if you drop something of value onto the tracks you should find a CTA employee to retrieve it for you. This tragic incident will keep me off the tracks!

Woman struck and killed by train at 69th

[VIDEO] This incident happened earlier today and you might have seen some tweets about it especially an article about this from the Sun-Times and some CTA updates about the commute on the red line. It's interesting to see CTA only refer to what happened as a medical emergency, however, the news media refer to the real details of what happened.

Metra upgrades and slashing Metra Electric fares...

[VIDEO] As there is a bill being proposed in Springfield that would fares on the Metra Electric line in the city, perhaps I should share this story. This aired on CBS Chicago on May 9, 2019 and was shot at the Metra station at 115th Street or in Metra parlance Kensington. It illustrates the need for upgrades to Metra stations.

The aforementioned bill to cut fares to ride the Metra Electric line within the city limits is designed to make riding that route within the city a more attractive option and was introduced by local state representative Marcus Evans (D - 33rd District). From the Tribune on May 7, 2019:

The bill, introduced by Illinois State Rep. Marcus Evans, Jr., a Democrat, would set fares for Metra Electric trips within the city as equal to CTA rail fares, which are $2.50 at the regular rate. Metra Electric fares within the city currently range from $4 to $5.50 for a single ride.

South Side community activists have long discussed converting the Metra Electric line, which runs from downtown into the south suburbs, into a rapid-transit line with more frequent stops to make up for a lack of rapid transit options on the far South Side.

“It’s a quality-of-life issue,” said Linda Thisted, co-chair of the Coalition for a Modern Metra Electric, which supports the bill. “A lot of people can’t afford Metra Electric fares so they take really slow buses. This could transform the South Side and the South Shore.”
...
Expansion of South Side service through Metra could be less expensive than a parallel expansion of the CTA’s Red Line south from 95th Street to 130th Street, which will cost about $2.3 billion. The CTA is planning the extension, though it does not yet have the money to pay for it.

Metra said it was willing to discuss the proposal, which also would allow Metra Electric riders to use the Ventra card to get on the train.

“We would look forward to working with Rep. Evans and others to determine whether doing this is feasible and affordable,” said Metra spokesman Michael Gillis.

#tbt Englewood branch Green Line August 1993

[VIDEO] At this point the Green Line (Lake-Englewood-Jackson Park) had been created in February 1993 once the Red Line (Howard-Dan Ryan) was created. The original north-south and west-south lines were rerouted according to create the two lines we know today. Thus we see this from 1993 as a Green Line train heads east along 63rd Street.

We see Racine in service before it closed. We also see the closed Harvard stop which would be dismantled later during the two year closure of the green line for rehabilitation.

Also as you see the train approach Halsted you get a different perspective on the intersection of 63rd & Halsted. Buildings that later would be demolished and replaced for Kennedy-King College and then for the shopping center that would later contain Whole Foods Market Englewood.

Hinz: Expand Metra before extending Red Line to 130th Street? #ChiMayor19

Red Line Extension

This is for those of you who would support Mr. Paul Vallas for Mayor of Chicago and especially if you live in the area that could benefit from the red line extension.

Wading into a debate that’s been waging for years over how to best bring more fast-train service to areas of the South Side that primarily have to rely on buses, Vallas says it appears that pursuing the Metra work "may be the more viable alternative" than extending the Red Line south to 130th Street, as outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants.

In an interview after unveiling his overall transportation plan, Vallas said he wouldn’t use the word "shelve" to describe his views on the Red Line project. But the Metra Electric work "is more viable, at least financially," Vallas said. "In the absence of a funding solution for the Red Line, the Metra Electric may be an affordable alternative."

The Red Line extension would cost an estimated $2.3 billion, money the CTA does not have. Emanuel hopes to get some funding in a new state capital bill that Gov. J.B. Pritzker and lawmakers are working on, but the CTA has other huge capital needs, including likely billions to finish reconstruction of the Red Line north.

In comparison, upgrading the Metra Electric service to CTA-like frequencies—perhaps every 10 or 15 minutes rather than every hour—could cost as little as $400 million by some estimates. And it possibly could occur more quickly, since a line already exists.

Read the whole thing 

CTA's north terminal reopened at 10 AM Friday... #Ward09

[VIDEO] I shared a photo (twitter & ig) of a flyer handed to me this AM rush by CTA personnel noting that the revamped original terminal of the red line terminal at 95th would reopen today. CBS 2 did a quick story on this and saw that the Mayor of Chicago did a quick live stream. Hope to have more later now that both sides of the 95th station is now open!

BTW, I just have to ask. A swanky DJ booth? Really? At a CTA station? Aren't there more worthwhile amenities worth having at a transit hub than a DJ booth?

Here's a pic of the flyer

Were you caught in the AM delays on the CTA Red Line?

I was on the train early this morning and was told by a motorman that someone got hit by a train  at 63rd and we should head upstairs for alternate service. There were loud speaker announcements with regards to a medical emergency at 63rd. Power was said to be turned off due to this incident from 63rd to 95th Street.

I made sure to retweet this CTA update.

[Significant Delays] Red Line trains are standing near 63rd due to a medical emergency on the tracks. Crews working to restore service.

— cta (@cta) December 12, 2018

Service was restored by 8:30 AM according to this Sun-Times article. Trains started rolling by 6:40 AM. So if you were already on a train and I saw one at 69th that had just pulled out of the station and was stopped there, they may have had to wait almost an hour. Anyway the Sun-Times article below.

UPDATE: Normal Red Line service has been restored. https://t.co/n5fyTNv2JV

— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 12, 2018

I'm sorry to report according to the Sun-Times the person who had been hit by a train was killed. The incident was said to have occurred at 5:30 AM, however, by the time I heard about this incident I was already on the train by 5:10 AM.

If you were caught up in the delays this morning how was your commute? Did you get to where you needed to go on-time?

The progress on the 95th terminal

This is really old news to most of us as it was shown on the local news last month. The connecting bridge between the north and south terminals at 95/Dan Ryan had been installed and work continues on that bridge and the new north terminal on 95th Street.

In the ig post below CTA shares some of their own photos from the continuing project.

View this post on Instagram

Recently, our 95th/Dan Ryan Terminal Project on the South Side reached a significant construction milestone! Structural elements of a unique pedestrian bridge, spanning 150 feet across 95th Street, was installed between the north and south terminals of the new station, which is being completely rebuilt to better serve transit customers. Installed in three sections – each weighing more than 73,000 pounds – the new pedestrian bridge will create a safe, accessible and weather-proof way for customers to travel between the two terminals of the new 95th/Dan Ryan Terminal. Here are some pics of the installation! #cta #chicago #transit #construction #ctaredline #steel #publictransit #infrastructure #publictransport

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Dec 7, 2018 at 3:04pm PST

Did you see the pedestrian bridge over 95th?

[VIDEO] Well this is old news, but for the last week if you've been driving along 95th Street across the Dan Ryan Expressway you see a bridge over the street. It's a pedestrian bridge that will connect the new south terminal with the original north terminal.

I did a quick snapshot when I noticed the bridge and finally posted it to our IG page. I think some of the structure for the bridge was staged at the old service station at 95th & State before it was eventually put up.

Thanks to the continuing work at 95th according to WGN:

Drivers along 95th Street will notice lane reconfigurations for the next 2-3 weeks as crews work to put the glass enclosures and flooring in place. For the latest details, visit transitchicago.com/alerts.

Here's our ig post

Washington Heights Visioning Session - Red Line Extension Coalition

Red Line extension

This invited with an attached newsletter was sent to us via the West Chesterfield Community Association with regards to the red line extension.

• THE FOURTH AND FINAL WASHINGTON HEIGHTS VISIONING SESSION BY ENDELEO INSTITUTE.
  
  6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  Thursday October 18th, 2018
  Woodson Library Auditorium
  9525 S Halsted, Chicago

#tbt 95/Dan Ryan - 1971

Before sharing with you a CTA's ig post from earlier this week I wanted to give you all a history lesson. Many of you who read this blog may already know this if you've been riding the CTA's Dan Ryan branch for its 49 years of operation.

So the Dan Ryan branch of what we now call the CTA red line was opened on September 28, 1969. Originally this route was connected with the Lake Street branch to Harlem/Lake via the 18th Street connection and eventually along the south side mainline through the Loop elevated. On February 21, 1993 the Dan Ryan branch would be redirected to the Howard branch through a tunnel into the State Street subway created the red line as we know it today!

In 1971, the trains you see at 95/Dan Ryan in post below with one departing and the other arriving are on what they would call the west-south (aka Lake-Dan Ryan) route. With all the changes to the Dan Ryan due to various construction projects especially the 5 month shut down of the Dan Ryan (aka red line south) and the current reconstruction of the 95th terminal it's cool to see this look back to when it was like new.

View this post on Instagram

In this 1971 photo, a Lake-Dan Ryan A train of 2200-series cars departs 95th/Dan Ryan with open track ahead alongside bumper-to-bumper traffic on a weekday morning. To the left, a train of 2000-series cars arrives in the terminal station. The Dan Ryan line turned 49 on Friday! When the line first opened, the West-South Route (Lake-Dan Ryan service) went between Harlem/Lake and 95th/Dan Ryan via the north and east sides of the Loop while the North-South Route, or Howard-Englewood-Jackson Park service) used the State Street Subway. The south portions of these two routes were flipped in 1992 with the opening of a new, short segment of subway in anticipation of the Orange Line coming, creating the modern Red and Green lines' routings. #cta #chicago #oakpark #forestpark #transit #traffic #rapidtransit #trains #railway #tracks #railroad #publictransit #expressways #freeways

A post shared by Chicago Transit Authority (@chicagocta) on Oct 1, 2018 at 1:00pm PDT

RELATED

• Old Dan Ryan line photos found on Flickr 
• Back In The Day BW Dubs CTA "L" South Side 

Red line extension project

This meeting features speaker Dr. Lou Turner, University of Illinois and African American Leadership & Policy Institute who is also a foremost expert on the red line extension project.

This event will take place on

Wednesday, September, 26, 2018
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Carter G. Woodson Regional Library Auditorium
9525 S. Halsted Street

h/t to the West Chesterfield Community Association for letting us know of this event!

If you're commuting on the CTA red line this weekend...

Once I saw a sign at 95th which I had posted to ig, it was important for me to share this with you all. At least for those of you who commute to downtown Chicago on the weekend. Thankfully if you're leaving 95th street or from any of the stops along the Dan Ryan there will be no disruptions from this, just that if you go downtown trains will be rerouted to the elevated tracks.

When you think about it, the routing is almost like how the Dan Ryan branch was routed before 1993 when it was connected to Lake Street. With the work on 95th some rush hour trains on the red line are rerouted onto the Englewood branch of the green line to Ashland. Though in this case red line trains from 95th through the Loop from the loop to 95th are elevated only for this weekend.

Here's an alert from CTA below

And Red Line riders: Don't forget that, 9pm Sat thru 9pm Sun, 95th-bound Red Line subway trains will be rerouted via the elevated lines thru downtown to allow for various maintenance work in the State Street Subway. https://t.co/JNlO2XIXr1 pic.twitter.com/tFL94TpeC7

— cta (@cta) September 21, 2018