BusHunter Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 1 hour ago, Busjack said: If Harlem north of Higgins can barely support 423, and couldn't support both it and 90N, how is it going to support an express bus overlay? #423 ridership is quite decent, in comparison to #209, it probably has 20 times the ridership. They really need to have a study on how much local ridership the #423 carries. Maybe they could cut back the south leg of it or scale it down, but they would definitely leave the school runs as #423 gets quite popular in the afternoon seeing 3 or 4 buses in a pack is not out of the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pace831 Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 9 minutes ago, BusHunter said: #423 ridership is quite decent, in comparison to #209, it probably has 20 times the ridership. They really need to have a study on how much local ridership the #423 carries. Maybe they could cut back the south leg of it or scale it down, but they would definitely leave the school runs as #423 gets quite popular in the afternoon seeing 3 or 4 buses in a pack is not out of the question. According to RTAMS data, only 2.7 times the ridership (October 2015). Unless you're referring to specific segments of those routes, which data isn't available for. Probably the solution is to split 423 into two routes again, so the Harlem and E-W legs can have different frequencies with some trips interlined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 30 minutes ago, BusHunter said: they would definitely leave the school runs as #423 gets quite popular in the afternoon seeing 3 or 4 buses in a pack is not out of the question Which has nothing to do with whether an express bus is justified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 8 hours ago, Busjack said: Which has nothing to do with whether an express bus is justified. Well it does, because the students from the school will mostly get off at local stops not the express ones. If it's any consolation the pilot on that street would only go to Touhy, so points north would be unaffected until the extension came out. This would raise questions also on the 63rd to 95th street corridor. Would they continue service to Midway when that is going in a totally different direction from the ART. What could prove interesting is if they made a little cutout on the shoulder for the I-55 buses at harlem to pull in and make a service stop. They could actually make the I-55 buses as main line express' to the loop that could compliment the ART. This could actually compete with the "L'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pace831 Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 1 hour ago, BusHunter said: Would they continue service to Midway when that is going in a totally different direction from the ART. If Pace keeping local 270 sets a precedent, 386 would still go to Midway (and Tinley Park, for that matter). If not, there's still a connection with 63W or one of a few other routes. 1 hour ago, BusHunter said: What could prove interesting is if they made a little cutout on the shoulder for the I-55 buses at harlem to pull in and make a service stop. They could actually make the I-55 buses as main line express' to the loop that could compliment the ART. This could actually compete with the "L'. I don't think that's necessary, maybe even counterproductive. Probably not much of a market from suburban I-55 stops to Harlem, and the Blue/Green/Orange lines have enough capacity to get people from Harlem to the Loop. Besides, I doubt there's enough room to widen I-55 enough to put that kind of facility in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 10 hours ago, BusHunter said: If it's any consolation the pilot on that street would only go to Touhy, so points north would be unaffected until the extension came out. The school runs are from Notre Dame and Maine East, so that also makes it irrelevant, and the students are undoubtedly still unborn. 8 hours ago, Pace831 said: Besides, I doubt there's enough room to widen I-55 enough to put that kind of facility in the middle. There was talk in the Daily Herald about putting in an HOV lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 4 minutes ago, Busjack said: The school runs are from Notre Dame and Maine East, so that also makes it irrelevant, and the students are undoubtedly still unborn. That's only if this is 13 years off, you think this is 13 years away? Maybe stuff not on the short list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 8 hours ago, Pace831 said: If Pace keeping local 270 sets a precedent, 386 would still go to Midway (and Tinley Park, for that matter). If not, there's still a connection with 63W or one of a few other routes. I don't think that's necessary, maybe even counterproductive. Probably not much of a market from suburban I-55 stops to Harlem, and the Blue/Green/Orange lines have enough capacity to get people from Harlem to the Loop. Besides, I doubt there's enough room to widen I-55 enough to put that kind of facility in the middle. The expressway option could really be done anywhere. Pace could think of the expressway buses as their "L". You have to admit it's an option, sometimes #63W's and #386's get stuck by the RR crossing at Harlem/63rd, this would negate that. As far as being counterproductive it depends on whether the buses are already full or not, but they could always add more buses. I-55 has that center island no one uses, if the ramps were in the way just put it on the outside. This sort of seems the concept with the I-90/barrington stop. They plan on having a bus going from the Elgin Metra to that station. Probably because I-55 was the pioneer project they didn't get around to that, but they could always put a stop in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 19 minutes ago, BusHunter said: That's only if this is 13 years off, you think this is 13 years away? Maybe stuff not on the short list. Probably. I had cited Dempster Pulse, not that it couldn't be done, but that CMAP shoved it back a couple of years. Cermak, S. Halsted, and probably 159th get priority over this. Harlem seems to have more technical problems, as I indicated above. Also, Pulse isn't just putting up some X307 signs. There are also all the stations (similar to the work on Washington), TSP (some done on Cermak and in Harvey), new buses, and the like. You brought up that there are problems siting the station at Milwaukee and Central; again figure the problems on Harlem between Gunnison and North, as well as around the Lake St.-Eisenhower area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 6 minutes ago, BusHunter said: Probably because I-55 was the pioneer project they didn't get around to that, but they could always put a stop in. I-55 was dealing with existing conditions, and all that was available was the wide left shoulder. The Addams Tollway is being built to new traffic management standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 9 minutes ago, Busjack said: Probably. I had cited Dempster Pulse, not that it couldn't be done, but that CMAP shoved it back a couple of years. Cermak, S. Halsted, and probably 159th get priority over this. Harlem seems to have more technical problems, as I indicated above. Also, Pulse isn't just putting up some X307 signs. There are also all the stations (similar to the work on Washington), TSP (some done on Cermak and in Harvey), new buses, and the like. You brought up that there problems siting the station at Milwaukee and Central; again figure the problems on Harlem between Gunnison and North. There will be problems everywhere, they just need to find the workaround. Really I see no problems between Gunnison and Irving Pk. It gets more challenging Irving to North though. Alot of the problems with traffic is there's just not enough room to stack cars at the lights, I would propose that the city make the approaches to those lights no parking. That could really help with the traffic backups whether they would need 100 feet or 200 feet depends on each intersection as each is unique and poses different issues. Ask yourself why there is no problem Nb on Harlem at Belmont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 42 minutes ago, BusHunter said: I would propose that the city make the approaches to those lights no parking. That would have to be done just for queue jumping. The other thing one has to figure is that the west side is River Grove south of Belmont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 32 minutes ago, Busjack said: That would have to be done just for queue jumping. The other thing one has to figure is that the west side is River Grove south of Belmont. Elmwood Park, but ART installation seems to be going alright with Niles officials, so I don't quite see your point here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 1 minute ago, BusHunter said: Elmwood Park, but ART installation seems to be going alright with Niles officials, so I don't quite see your point here. Yes to the first. But your comment was on banning parking. Niles has been behind this for about 12 years, which, if nothing else, reinforces my point about the time line, since it isn't going to be put in place until 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 2 hours ago, Busjack said: Yes to the first. But your comment was on banning parking. Niles has been behind this for about 12 years, which, if nothing else, reinforces my point about the time line, since it isn't going to be put in place until 2017. Well Pace just got on the bandwagon. No way are the Art installations going to be 12 years apart each. Depending how successful this is, it could come quicker then we would expect. I don't know why the Dempster Pulse is not getting the extra support the Milwaukee one is. (It might be tax dollars mean something in Niles more than convenience) This is an airport express service for the northern suburbs and north shore, it would seem to have priority to me. The timeline might be 5-10 years realistically for the short term plan ones, but an entire network would take time. CTa seems to be making deep strides on the Red line so anything is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 1 hour ago, BusHunter said: . I don't know why the Dempster Pulse is not getting the extra support the Milwaukee one is I said before that CMAP said demonstrate that Milwaukee works before coming back for more CMAQ funds. 1 hour ago, BusHunter said: CTa seems to be making deep strides on the Red line so anything is possible. No evidence for that. Rahm was making statements about a groundbreaking for the south extension in his first term, and while the federal transportation bill was passed, no mention about RPM money in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 12, 2015 Report Share Posted December 12, 2015 Well just in the past few years there's been a metamorphosis on the Red. Look at all this The Red line track structure totally rebuilt Dan Ryan branch, several south side stations have become accessible, practically all subway stations have been rebuilt and become accessible, the fullerton and Belmont Red line has been rebuilt, Addison has been rebuilt, 95th and Wilson are getting the royal treatment with lavish spending, (CTA is not related to the Ricketts are they?) The whole north side main has had the bridges rebuilt, new ties and tracks and stations rebuilt with planning to rebuild that whole area again even better this time. Howard station has been rebuilt, Howard yard has been rebuilt. That has to be in the neighborhood of 3-4 billion dollars in improvements. Now if Pace had cash like that, they would be building this entire network right now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted December 13, 2015 Report Share Posted December 13, 2015 13 hours ago, Busjack said: I had cited Dempster Pulse, not that it couldn't be done, but that CMAP shoved it back a couple of years. The Pace website claims the Dempster pulse study has began already with the timeline basing completion in 2019. http://pulse.pacebus.com/index.php/pace-begins-pulse-dempster-line-study Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Daily Herald article that Pace intends to lease a warehouse in East Dundee for a temporary bus garage for I-90 overflow, but eventually wants to run that service out of a new NW garage. I think I said somewhere Pace would have to rent somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 3 hours ago, Busjack said: Daily Herald article that Pace intends to lease a warehouse in East Dundee for a temporary bus garage for I-90 overflow, but eventually wants to run that service out of a new NW garage. I think I said somewhere Pace would have to rent somewhere. Interesting, the garage is slated to have 40 buses. So that sounds like what is needed to run the I-90 service. Whether that is 40 MCI's, I don't know, but if so maybe there is a bus order in the works as it says the project startup is now 12 months away. I would think this has the potential to eliminate a few buses from NW's fleet. If they don't do the #600 anymore and possibly the #606, that should further eliminate some Orions. They claim they have 127 buses in the NW fleet. I'll have to see how that compares with the Pace roster. I need to remove those Orions that have been eliminated anyway off it. The same concept above would pertain to River also. If the new Dundee garage handles all the low #600's then maybe they don't need the 8 NABi's and they will just fizzle away to another garage , maybe SW or N. That being said the few remaining Axess' off the '15 order may just go to NS, further eliminating some NABI's over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 I wouldn't put too much overthinking into it, because it is temporary. More interesting probably will be whether it will have the same union local and picks as NW, as it is supposed to be part of it, even though it is closer to Elgin. The other thing that hits me as strange is that it was not on the meeting agenda. With all the computer problems I just resolved, I don't think I'll bother to go through the stream to see if it was mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pace831 Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 31 minutes ago, Busjack said: The other thing that hits me as strange is that it was not on the meeting agenda. With all the computer problems I just resolved, I don't think I'll bother to go through the stream to see if it was mentioned. I watched the whole thing, and I don't remember it being mentioned either. I'm sure I would have paid attention if it was. Yet the Daily Herald article says it was mentioned at the board meeting "this week". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 5 hours ago, Pace831 said: I watched the whole thing, and I don't remember it being mentioned either. I'm sure I would have paid attention if it was. Yet the Daily Herald article says it was mentioned at the board meeting "this week". They could have discussed negotiations about the lease in executive session, but authorization for a lease would have to be in open session (similar to the 2 resolutions to authorize purchasing the NW Hwy and Salvation Army sites). However, I'm not bringing an open meetings act suit. Something will have to show up in the minutes at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pace831 Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 11 minutes ago, Busjack said: They could have discussed negotiations about the lease in executive session, but authorization for a lease would have to be in open session (similar to the 2 resolutions to authorize purchasing the NW Hwy and Salvation Army sites). However, I'm not bringing an open meetings act suit. Something will have to show up in the minutes at some point. I had the same thought about the executive session, so the Daily Herald reporter must have spoke with one of the board members while the cameras weren't rolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 Various stories about a study to put HOV or congestion priced lanes on I-55. The WGN one notes the Pace service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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