If I ran Transit for one day...

[Busjack]

Amazing how something occurs in my work life and the next thing I know it happens in Dilbert. I've wondered whether Scott Adams follows every man, woman, and child around every moment of every day.

Now on to some strategic planning! Wouldn't it be cool if CTA started hot air balloon shuttle service from the Ogilvie Transit Center to the Museum Campus?

I think that the real reason is that the corporate world is now messed up in a consistent manner. My father said "I don't get Dilbert," to which my response was "you retired in 1989."

On your other point, one would have thought that was a job for private enterprise.

[strictures]

Amazing how something occurs in my work life and the next thing I know it happens in Dilbert. I've wondered whether Scott Adams follows every man, woman, and child around every moment of every day.

Now on to some strategic planning! Wouldn't it be cool if CTA started hot air balloon shuttle service from the Ogilvie Transit Center to the Museum Campus?

Instead of the Ashland BRT, how about aerial cable cars above Ashland, like Lima Peru is building? Even Riverview had them for a few years.

Won't it be fun, when after years of deferred maintenance, the cables jam up & they have to rescue passengers stuck over the river.

[Busjack]

Instead of the Ashland BRT, how about aerial cable cars above Ashland, like Lima Peru is building? Even Riverview had them for a few years.

Won't it be fun, when after years of deferred maintenance, the cables jam up & they have to rescue passengers stuck over the river.

That's got more potential than the current plan.

Someone once advocated for monorail. My reaction then was "it didn't work on The Simpsons," but it seems to have more potential than the Ashland BRT plan, and would have less of an adverse effect on neighboring property owners' easements. However, that person's thesis was that it could be built on, essentially, light poles, to which my reaction was "trucks knock down light poles, but smash into L columns."

[rvwnsd]

I think that the real reason is that the corporate world is now messed up in a consistent manner. My father said "I don't get Dilbert," to which my response was "you retired in 1989."

On your other point, one would have thought that was a job for private enterprise.

I was thinking that the close proximity of 567 W. Lake Street to Ogilvie would provide plenty of hot air to fuel the balloons.

That's got more potential than the current plan.

Someone once advocated for monorail. My reaction then was "it didn't work on The Simpsons," but it seems to have more potential than the Ashland BRT plan, and would have less of an adverse effect on neighboring property owners' easements. However, that person's thesis was that it could be built on, essentially, light poles, to which my reaction was "trucks knock down light poles, but smash into L columns."

Seattle's monorail was built with the intent that it could serve as the first stage of a monorail transit system once it was finished serving the World's Fair. That, of course, never happened nor did LA's proposed monorail.

Does anyone remember the RTA's personal rapid transit idea from the 1980's? When I first heard that I thought of aerial cable cars.

[Busjack]

....

Does anyone remember the RTA's personal rapid transit idea from the 1980's? When I first heard that I thought of aerial cable cars.

That was supposed to be in Rosemont, but if I remember correctly, the developers pulled out.*

I guess it was supposed to be something like the O'Hare people mover, but capsules for individuals. The 811 bus seems a more practical solution.

______________

* You can still Google it.

[MetroShadow]

That's got more potential than the current plan.

Someone once advocated for monorail. My reaction then was "it didn't work on The Simpsons," but it seems to have more potential than the Ashland BRT plan, and would have less of an adverse effect on neighboring property owners' easements. However, that person's thesis was that it could be built on, essentially, light poles, to which my reaction was "trucks knock down light poles, but smash into L columns."

But it worked so well for Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook!

[Busjack]

But it worked so well for Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook!

We all know about Springfield, including the one at I-55, exit 100.

[ctrabs74]

I was thinking that the close proximity of 567 W. Lake Street to Ogilvie would provide plenty of hot air to fuel the balloons.

Seattle's monorail was built with the intent that it could serve as the first stage of a monorail transit system once it was finished serving the World's Fair. That, of course, never happened nor did LA's proposed monorail.

Does anyone remember the RTA's personal rapid transit idea from the 1980's? When I first heard that I thought of aerial cable cars.

There's still an active "PRT" monorail system in use at West Virginia University's main campus in Morgantown. That was originally built as a demonstration project (read: likely an earmark from the former from WV Sen. Robert Byrd).

[NewFlyerMCI]

1st off, I don't know that much, but I would like to learn.

1st: Return the 11 to full service

2nd: Extend the #155 in some form or fashion to either A) Milwaukee/Imlay terminal, Rosemont CTA, C) O'Hare, either at Terminal 5 or where the pace buses transfer via Rosemont CTA.

3rd: Routes 9, 49, 77, 79, 8, 53, 82, 3 and 4 need to see full 60' at the very least on the weekdays OR see the return of "X" routes

4th: Install bus service on (64) Augusta btwn Harlem and Navy Pier

5th: Install bus service on (31) 31st btwn King Drive and Cicero/24th Pl via King Dr, 33rd, Shields, 31st, Locke, Archer, Western, 31st, Cicero and reverse

6th: Install bus service on (38) Ogden btwn LaSalle St Metra and Harlem/Pershing via Financial Pl, Van Buren, Desplaines, Taylor, Paulina, Polk, Ogden, Cermak, Cicero, Ogden, Harlem, Pershing, Haas, Ogden, Cicero, Cermak, Polk, Paulina, Taylor, Jefferson, Jackson, Wacker, Harrison, Financial Pl

7th: Condense 95W/95E/100 into single (95) route btwn Chicago Ridge Mall and 112th/Ave C and rush hour short turns between 95th/Western and 106th/Mackinaw

[MetroShadow]

Most of these have already been discussed in previous topics, but I'll try to summarize what has been said:

1st off, I don't know that much, but I would like to learn.

1st: Return the 11 to full service Between the Duplicative Service with the Brown Line and the "clout" from the freshman aldercreature of the 47th ward, This isn't coming back. Costly in its own right, The Western - Clark part suffered from On-time performance issues and the duplicative Parts makes this a bad idea.

2nd: Extend the #155 in some form or fashion to either A) Milwaukee/Imlay terminal, Rosemont CTA, C) O'Hare, either at Terminal 5 or where the pace buses transfer via Rosemont CTA. On the forums, we've discussed this as "SuperDawg feeder." As much as it is logical to connect Devon thru Lincolnwood, there's no demand for it. There's Peterson (four blocks south) and Touhy (6 blocks north). Getting that route west of Milwaukee was severed in the 2012 CTA/Pace service adjustments. There was talk in the past to bring 290 to Rosemont (during the NW/NS restructuring, but it already serves Cumberland. Plus, coverage and demand is already handled by 240, 241, and the aforementioned 290. The O'hare portion, again, duplicative of the Blue Line.

Also - Have you been on the 155 at it's busiest times? It's a conga line no matter the time of day.

3rd: Routes 9, 49, 77, 79, 8, 53, 82, 3 and 4 need to see full 60' at the very least on the weekdays OR see the return of "X" routes the X routes were cut in 2010 due to budget cuts. As far as articulateds, they are (rarely) seen where demand is heaviest (and school-trippers). The articulateds would show up where demand is large, but out of 300 buses, assigned to where they need it the most (also: this is based on garage assignments as well).

4th: Install bus service on (64) Augusta btwn Harlem and Navy Pier No through service east of Milwaukee - Two routes (66 and 72) provide enough coverage. Plus Oak Park probably wouldn't want buses west of Austin - there's not much demand to begin with.

5th: Install bus service on (31) 31st btwn King Drive and Cicero/24th Pl via King Dr, 33rd, Shields, 31st, Locke, Archer, Western, 31st, Cicero and reverse Thankfully the 35 Already handles service where it's necessary, especially with the west end extension.

6th: Install bus service on (38) Ogden btwn LaSalle St Metra and Harlem/Pershing via Financial Pl, Van Buren, Desplaines, Taylor, Paulina, Polk, Ogden, Cermak, Cicero, Ogden, Harlem, Pershing, Haas, Ogden, Cicero, Cermak, Polk, Paulina, Taylor, Jefferson, Jackson, Wacker, Harrison, Financial Pl 157 already covers service east of California; Pink Line covers most service west of California; 302 & 305 covers service from Cicero through Harlem (and the 312 was cut ages ago).

7th: Condense 95W/95E/100 into single (95) route btwn Chicago Ridge Mall and 112th/Ave C and rush hour short turns between 95th/Western and 106th/Mackinaw On rumours that I have heard, the east end (95E, 106, and 100) may be restructured next year. As for 95W and 381, that service is already covered (although supposedly a candidate for ART service). 2012's restructuring syncs service to 95th on that portion of the route. 381 does fine on its own (always a top-10 performing route) and doesn't need duplicative CTA service on that portion, especially west of Western).

[strictures]

1st off, I don't know that much, but I would like to learn.

1st: Return the 11 to full service

2nd: Extend the #155 in some form or fashion to either A) Milwaukee/Imlay terminal, Rosemont CTA, C) O'Hare, either at Terminal 5 or where the pace buses transfer via Rosemont CTA.

3rd: Routes 9, 49, 77, 79, 8, 53, 82, 3 and 4 need to see full 60' at the very least on the weekdays OR see the return of "X" routes

4th: Install bus service on (64) Augusta btwn Harlem and Navy Pier

5th: Install bus service on (31) 31st btwn King Drive and Cicero/24th Pl via King Dr, 33rd, Shields, 31st, Locke, Archer, Western, 31st, Cicero and reverse

6th: Install bus service on (38) Ogden btwn LaSalle St Metra and Harlem/Pershing via Financial Pl, Van Buren, Desplaines, Taylor, Paulina, Polk, Ogden, Cermak, Cicero, Ogden, Harlem, Pershing, Haas, Ogden, Cicero, Cermak, Polk, Paulina, Taylor, Jefferson, Jackson, Wacker, Harrison, Financial Pl

7th: Condense 95W/95E/100 into single (95) route btwn Chicago Ridge Mall and 112th/Ave C and rush hour short turns between 95th/Western and 106th/Mackinaw

Instead of extending the 155, I'd rather see in the short term, extending the 53 to Devon Kedzie.

The only reason the 53 ends at Peterson/Pulaski was that the C&NW Mayfair cutoff crossed Pulaski at grade & Surface Lines didn't want grade crossings on streetcar lines except in unusual circumstances. Such as where the 22 crossed the Milwaukee Road Seminary Ave. branch by Wrigley Field.

I would also extend the 50 north on Ridge to Howard/Western. It's mostly a mile between N/S routes north of Foster.

[MetroShadow]

Instead of extending the 155, I'd rather see in the short term, extending the 53 to Devon Kedzie.

The only reason the 53 ends at Peterson/Pulaski was that the C&NW Mayfair cutoff crossed Pulaski at grade & Surface Lines didn't want grade crossings on streetcar lines except in unusual circumstances. Such as where the 22 crossed the Milwaukee Road Seminary Ave. branch by Wrigley Field.

I would also extend the 50 north on Ridge to Howard/Western. It's mostly a mile between N/S routes north of Foster.

The proposed Pace service (211) would've covered Crawford northbound. But I don't think that the density or demand would justify that extension (especially since the 53 is already long as it is). I'd argue that aside from De/Ked being a transfer point, is it really a generator from Rogers Park through the (kinda) Northwest Side?

The 50 extension wouldn't work because of that wicked turn at the Viaduct at Ridge (if riding a 37 ft. school bus 15 years back have any indication, that turn was a pain). That extension is also in excess of 3 miles long, to an area that uses crosstown service. Granted, Western is roughly a mile west of the Red Line.

[TaylorTank1229]

1st off, I don't know that much, but I would like to learn.

1st: Return the 11 to full service

2nd: Extend the #155 in some form or fashion to either A) Milwaukee/Imlay terminal, Rosemont CTA, C) O'Hare, either at Terminal 5 or where the pace buses transfer via Rosemont CTA.

3rd: Routes 9, 49, 77, 79, 8, 53, 82, 3 and 4 need to see full 60' at the very least on the weekdays OR see the return of "X" routes

4th: Install bus service on (64) Augusta btwn Harlem and Navy Pier

5th: Install bus service on (31) 31st btwn King Drive and Cicero/24th Pl via King Dr, 33rd, Shields, 31st, Locke, Archer, Western, 31st, Cicero and reverse

6th: Install bus service on (38) Ogden btwn LaSalle St Metra and Harlem/Pershing via Financial Pl, Van Buren, Desplaines, Taylor, Paulina, Polk, Ogden, Cermak, Cicero, Ogden, Harlem, Pershing, Haas, Ogden, Cicero, Cermak, Polk, Paulina, Taylor, Jefferson, Jackson, Wacker, Harrison, Financial Pl

7th: Condense 95W/95E/100 into single (95) route btwn Chicago Ridge Mall and 112th/Ave C and rush hour short turns between 95th/Western and 106th/Mackinaw

1.) I would suggest if the CTA would restore service but not to Clark/North Ave, Then To Atleast The Fullerton L' Station, With Extended Hours.

2.) I would say for 155, go to Central/Caldwell, or as far as the Harlem Blue Line station, or just have owl service on the 155 between Kedzie & Morse Red Line. But I Could Also See The 53 Pulaski Bus Going To Devon/Kedzie To Connect To 11, 82, 96, & 155.

3.) Those Routes Can Use Artic Routes As Well, But I'm pretty sure they be putting artics on 79, & 82. The think the 49 had them for one day. And yes they should restore the "X" routes or most of em. The X28 didn't really need to be removed, just given fewer stops along Stony Island Ave.

4.) Did they have an Augusta route? Plus how would it if going east Augusta ends At Milwaukee Ave/Interstate 90+94 entrance.

5.) I mention that idea too, but eastbound should terminate at Mercy Hospital, during the route serves Red Line at Sox-35th, & Orange Line at Archer Ave./35th Street, run from 5am to 12am or 1am, and maybe owl service between Red Line & Maybe Central Park Ave. or Kedzie Ave./26th Street To Connect To 60 Blue Island/26th.

6.) Keep that for continuing thoughts.

7.) Hmmmm...

[artthouwill]

11.... 11.... 11. Am I being too vague here... bring it back between Fullerton and Western.

Other thoughts...

X routes that could stand returning/being made...

X80: Saved time traveling from Lake Shore to Harlem/Irving with reduced stops

X9: This route should be brought back as Irving Park to 95th is a long ride for a local route

X49: I could see this route returning, but it'll need to be rethought as the bus terminated at 95th/Evergreen Plaza. Maybe it can terminate at 79th with the local 49 or perhaps another location that this bus can terminate

X56: I can see this route coming as Milwaukee is a long route and it would save time having service that doesn't stop at all locations.

X77: This route should be looked at as it would make service faster on Belmont, and this route can continue straight on Belmont and not go to pick up the 500,000 people who cram the bus at the Kimball Blue Line stop. Leave that for the local bus service, and as long as the 77 is being discussed, put some 60' buses on the route... maybe every other bus or every two buses idea(40', 60', 40' or 40', 40', 60', 40' 40'...).

BRT's I don't see workable in Chicago anywhere, especially when you need to order special 60' buses with exits on both sides. That's a waste of money, and what if the service is cut due to funding, ridership, etc...? Those buses can be used, but might need to be rebuilt to eliminate the extra left-hand doors. Extra $$ the CTA doesn't have here. The Express routes can work with BRT technology perhaps where they can change lights at intersections with a sensor that will start a 15 second countdown as the bus is about 1/4 mile from the light(provided no emergency vehicles are present-running with lights and sirens will deactivate the sensors until they leave the area. Railroads will have priority as well, so cars aren't dumped onto railroad crossings as they are activating causing them to be stuck between the gates causing a possible fatal situation.)

If anything.... Lincoln should be returned fully.

X77> Are you serious? With the amount of traffic on Belmont, there would be no time saved between the X and the local.

[Busjack]

X77> Are you serious? With the amount of traffic on Belmont, there would be no time saved between the X and the local.

There was some yap about that, but it seems to have faded away.

I said about the same about X79 east of State, but that was part of the grant application that died. I'm still somewhat surprised that 66 is still slated for improvements.

[NewFlyerMCI]

1.) I would suggest if the CTA would restore service but not to Clark/North Ave, Then To Atleast The Fullerton L' Station, With Extended Hours.

2.) I would say for 155, go to Central/Caldwell, or as far as the Harlem Blue Line station, or just have owl service on the 155 between Kedzie & Morse Red Line. But I Could Also See The 53 Pulaski Bus Going To Devon/Kedzie To Connect To 11, 82, 96, & 155.

3.) Those Routes Can Use Artic Routes As Well, But I'm pretty sure they be putting artics on 79, & 82. The think the 49 had them for one day. And yes they should restore the "X" routes or most of em. The X28 didn't really need to be removed, just given fewer stops along Stony Island Ave.

4.) Did they have an Augusta route? Plus how would it if going east Augusta ends At Milwaukee Ave/Interstate 90+94 entrance.

5.) I mention that idea too, but eastbound should terminate at Mercy Hospital, during the route serves Red Line at Sox-35th, & Orange Line at Archer Ave./35th Street, run from 5am to 12am or 1am, and maybe owl service between Red Line & Maybe Central Park Ave. or Kedzie Ave./26th Street To Connect To 60 Blue Island/26th.

6.) Keep that for continuing thoughts.

7.) Hmmmm...

2) I did look and see that Devon had service past cumberland, but why not to cumberland blue on the blue either via devon, cumberland or Devon, Courtland, Higgins, Cumberland then blue line.

3) The 79 and 4 actually had artics, but I no longer see them anymore. I live in the square btwn 75, 3, 79 and 4 and I ride them all the time. Only difference is that 3 and 4 seem to be receiving the novas, with them being more prevalent on tne 4

4) Where Augusta ends does turn into the ramp onto 90/94. If it continues, the bus would exit/enter on ohio/ontario, then con't to fairbanks whereupon it follows 66 routing. The bus would be on the expressway for such little time, it would literally enter onto and then exit off a ramp

5) Mercy Hos? Would the end point be where the 21 currently is? I proposed the ending at 33rd/Dan Ryan because I was under the impression that there was still an entrance there. Was exploring an end point at 35th/Cottage Grove an idea? And would 35 resume original service if the 31 was implemented?

6) I asked a couple of friends, they said that possible ending points could be Og/Union, Congress Plaza, Harbor/Randolph (60) or Illinois Ctr (4, 20 and technically the 6, 60 and 124)

7) I also heard something about merging 124 and 157 routing, would that even be viable?

@MetroShadow and Strictures: Thx! I would've suggested artics for 155, as i ride it 2 every week, but it seems so short. I also heard an idea from my friend about merging the northern portion of 147 and 155 so that the 155 went to Howard. Would that be duplicate service or not, seeing as the 147 and technically the 151 serve that portion of sheridan?

[ajm522]

2) I did look and see that Devon had service past cumberland, but why not to cumberland blue on the blue either via devon, cumberland or Devon, Courtland, Higgins, Cumberland then blue line.

3) The 79 and 4 actually had artics, but I no longer see them anymore. I live in the square btwn 75, 3, 79 and 4 and I ride them all the time. Only difference is that 3 and 4 seem to be receiving the novas, with them being more prevalent on tne 4

4) Where Augusta ends does turn into the ramp onto 90/94. If it continues, the bus would exit/enter on ohio/ontario, then con't to fairbanks whereupon it follows 66 routing. The bus would be on the expressway for such little time, it would literally enter onto and then exit off a ramp

5) Mercy Hos? Would the end point be where the 21 currently is? I proposed the ending at 33rd/Dan Ryan because I was under the impression that there was still an entrance there. Was exploring an end point at 35th/Cottage Grove an idea? And would 35 resume original service if the 31 was implemented?

6) I asked a couple of friends, they said that possible ending points could be Og/Union, Congress Plaza, Harbor/Randolph (60) or Illinois Ctr (4, 20 and technically the 6, 60 and 124)

7) I also heard something about merging 124 and 157 routing, would that even be viable?

77th lost their artics before start of last pick so no way to see them. Before they left they were on 3,4,8 and 79.

[Tcmetro]

I think the X routes are still necessary, especially the ones that operated all day, which were Ashland, Western, Cicero, and Irving Park, IIRC.

I wonder if changing the stop distances from 1/8 mile to 1/4 mile could alleviate the need for the X routes in most corridors. If stops are consolidated, travel times would improve, which in turn would allow better service frequencies with the same amount of buses.

If we're gonna throw out new route suggestions, I think a good new route would be along Elston from Jefferson Park to either Western/Milwaukee or Fullerton Red/Brown/Purple.

[NewFlyerMCI]

I had an idea for an (89) Elston/Clybourn route

1) Milwaukee/Imlay Terminal to North/Clark via Milwaukee, Elston, Belmont, Clybourn, North

2) Forest Glen Garage to North/Clark terminal via above routing except Milwaukee

3) Either above routing to North/Clybourn Red Line

4) Either above routing to Dearborn/Walton

If combined, there could be possible Mon-Sat service btwn either northern terminus to what would most likely be North/Clark with rush-hour short-turns at North/Clybourn Red Line

-----

Was there any possibility of combining the 51 and the northwestern portion of the 15 and just having them both end at 47th/Lake Park or Mus. Sci/Ind? Also, 15 should be renamed Jeffery/Hyde Park, I think people know that it is local, especially considering that the J14 is there now. Are they going to rename the 9 "Ashland Local"?

-----

Why didn't the first Novas go to Forest Glen, seeing as they are all 6400's? Was it because more high-frequency routes need them first?

[Busjack]

I had an idea for an (89) Elston/Clybourn route

1) Milwaukee/Imlay Terminal to North/Clark via Milwaukee, Elston, Belmont, Clybourn, North

2) Forest Glen Garage to North/Clark terminal via above routing except Milwaukee

3) Either above routing to North/Clybourn Red Line

4) Either above routing to Dearborn/Walton

If combined, there could be possible Mon-Sat service btwn either northern terminus to what would most likely be North/Clark with rush-hour short-turns at North/Clybourn Red Line

-----

Was there any possibility of combining the 51 and the northwestern portion of the 15 and just having them both end at 47th/Lake Park or Mus. Sci/Ind? Also, 15 should be renamed Jeffery/Hyde Park, I think people know that it is local, especially considering that the J14 is there now. Are they going to rename the 9 "Ashland Local"?

-----

Why didn't the first Novas go to Forest Glen, seeing as they are all 6400's? Was it because more high-frequency routes need them first?

Your idea of Elston-Clybourn isn't new, there was a 41 Elston Clybourn to Elston Milwaukee. At one time it went downtown, then it apparently was limited to Chicago-State, then it died. There was a JARC proposal for Elston from Diversey to downtown, but like most of the JARC proposals, CTA didn't come up with the matching funds.

11 Lincoln got killed because apparently CTA doesn't like running running buses on diagonal streets, so it is going to like it even less on Elston.

In that Forest Glen didn't get the first Novas, it was because (1) 77th always gets the first buses unless Archer did, and (2) it was a brain phart because the plan seemed to be that service age would be equalized by garages either having 5300s/Novas or 4400s/5800s/6000s but FG traded its 5300s to K for 6000s because the 5300s didn't have preheaters. Maybe FG was going to get Novas anyway because of the preheater issue.

In effect, the current allocation is also a brain phart, in that maybe someone assumed that 77th still had its Novas, but somehow was able to dump them on other garages, to FG's detriment.

[strictures]

The proposed Pace service (211) would've covered Crawford northbound. But I don't think that the density or demand would justify that extension (especially since the 53 is already long as it is). I'd argue that aside from De/Ked being a transfer point, is it really a generator from Rogers Park through the (kinda) Northwest Side?

The 50 extension wouldn't work because of that wicked turn at the Viaduct at Ridge (if riding a 37 ft. school bus 15 years back have any indication, that turn was a pain). That extension is also in excess of 3 miles long, to an area that uses crosstown service. Granted, Western is roughly a mile west of the Red Line.

The viaduct is going to get replaced once Metra finishes the current bridge project in Lakeview & the south part of West Edgewater, so buses wouldn't have a problem negotiating a new, angled viaduct. Plus, the Red Line is only a mile away from Western at Howard, most of the rest of the way, it's 1.75 miles away.

So they should really speed it up, but instead of Metra's piecemeal plan of replacing one track at a time, do all three tracks at once, the same way the CTA has done the two track Evanston bridge replacements.

CTA has managed to do them in a weekend & even managed two in one weekend a couple of years ago.

I know the people on the North Shore would scream bloody murder, but if I was running the bridge replacements for Metra, I'd shut down the UP North for 30-45 days & replace every single bridge at once, especially that insanity at Ashland.

[artthouwill]

I had an idea for an (89) Elston/Clybourn route

1) Milwaukee/Imlay Terminal to North/Clark via Milwaukee, Elston, Belmont, Clybourn, North

2) Forest Glen Garage to North/Clark terminal via above routing except Milwaukee

3) Either above routing to North/Clybourn Red Line

4) Either above routing to Dearborn/Walton

If combined, there could be possible Mon-Sat service btwn either northern terminus to what would most likely be North/Clark with rush-hour short-turns at North/Clybourn Red Line

-----

Was there any possibility of combining the 51 and the northwestern portion of the 15 and just having them both end at 47th/Lake Park or Mus. Sci/Ind? Also, 15 should be renamed Jeffery/Hyde Park, I think people know that it is local, especially considering that the J14 is there now. Are they going to rename the 9 "Ashland Local"?

-----

Why didn't the first Novas go to Forest Glen, seeing as they are all 6400's? Was it because more high-frequency routes need them first?

Part of the reason for the current routing of the 15 is twofold. First, there is a high school ()Kenwood) at the intersection of Hyde Park and Lake Park, which has a high ridership along Jeffery Blvd, The 15 maintains that connection that was once provided by the former 6 Jeffery Express. The other reason is that it kept intact service from the 47th St Red Line station southeast that the 28 Stony Island once provided when it ran on 47th before the 2003 restructuring. This is one seat ride service that would otherwise require an additional transfer. The 1 provided rush hour service but was scaled back to Drexel Square and the 51 51st was extended to Lake Park before being scaled back to 47th/Red Line with the introduction of the 15. CTA appears to have gotten this one right in that the 15 seems to have done the best job with ridership along East 51st/Hyde Park Blvd.

[NewFlyerMCI]

1) DISCONTINUE VENTRA!!! (sorry for caps, but it was necessary)

2) Make proposed train extensions on Orange, Red and Blue

3) Merge Orange and Brown Lines OR Brown and Pink Lines

4) Merge Purple and Pink lines

1) Reroute 67 along Marquette, keep western Terminus

2) Build some sort of lake shore transit center on the North Side (lol, no landspace unless Chicago gives up Cricket Hill, Wilson Skate Park or something)

3) Order 235 NF XDE60's 2300-2535

4) Order 120 NF XD40's 9000-9120

[artthouwill]

1) DISCONTINUE VENTRA!!! (sorry for caps, but it was necessary)

2) Make proposed train extensions on Orange, Red and Blue

3) Merge Orange and Brown Lines OR Brown and Pink Lines

4) Merge Purple and Pink lines

1) Reroute 67 along Marquette, keep western Terminus

2) Build some sort of lake shore transit center on the North Side (lol, no landspace unless Chicago gives up Cricket Hill, Wilson Skate Park or something)

3) Order 235 NF XDE60's 2300-2535

4) Order 120 NF XD40's 9000-9120

The only idea here that I like is the Purple/Pink combo. I would only expect the combo to operate during rush periods. At all other times. I would only expect them to operate in their current separate states (54th to Loop and Linden to Howard). If nothing else, it frees up a color.

[NewFlyerMCI]

1) Would merging the 84 and 85A be viable? Or extending the 85 to Central/Caldwell?

2) Service on Kedzie from Howard/McCormick to Ogden/Washetnaw?