Chicago Public Transit Renovation

[Allyson]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-blue-line-renovation-me...

In keeping with much of the recent class topic of traffic and transportation, Chicago boasts a very efficient public transit system of comprised of buses and the rail system, the “L.” According to the article, Chicago’s CTA – Chicago Transit Authority – is planning a renovation of the blue line. This renovation is on the heels of the summer’s work on the red line and will cut about 10 minutes from the route from O’Hare, one of the country’s largest airports, and stops downtown. The CTA has a plan to reduce the inconvenience of construction by using more buses and shuttles along the route.

While 10 minutes may not seem like much time, to a rushing commuter, time is money in a city like Chicago. In fact, the CTA says that there has been a significant increase in blue line traffic over the last several years. This would indicate that more people are using public transit and shorter trip can only benefit CTA customers.

Visiting Chicago myself this summer during red line renovation was a bit of a hassle. The red line goes past one of Chicago’s most famous attractions, Wrigley field. We almost exclusively used the blue line to travel from Logan Square to downtown, so I personally cannot imagine the hassle that would be daily for a local blue line user. However, the simple fact that more and more urban dwellers are depending on public transit for their daily commute is worth noting.

Not only will the project, called “Your New Blue,” focus on replacing old part of the blue line track, but it will also be optimizing the track to allow trains to operate at their maximum speed of 55mph in more places in order to achieve the 10 minute time cut. Although the project will cause inconveniences to daily users, it will overall benefit the city.