X119 Michigan/119th Express

[cta6085]

I Wish They Would Make A X119 Michigan/119th Express Route

[Busjack]

On what part? Is there that much traffic on 119th? The Michigan part they eventually want to replace with a Red Line extension.

Again, how much traffic does 119 have? Is it part of a crosstown grid that doesn't have L service (the main criterion for an X route)?

[cta6085]

On what part? Is there that much traffic on 119th? The Michigan part they eventually want to replace with a Red Line extension.

Again, how much traffic does 119 have? Is it part of a crosstown grid that doesn't have L service (the main criterion for an X route)?

It Could Make Limited Stops Between 95th,via Michigan,Down 119th And Go To Its Terminus At 119th/Western

[Busjack]

That doesn't answer what the need for it would be, or how it would materially increase ridership. See the prior discussion regarding the criteria for a serious discussion of new bus routes. Some people in the city think that suburban taxpayers should pay for anything, and by asking for a change in the formula, the CTA President wasn't far from this perspective a couple of years ago.

Being from the suburbs, I could theoretically endorse a report presented to the Hamos committee for an extensive expansion of suburban routes. I have also seen similar reports asking for a bus every 1/2 mile in the north surburbs, but anyone rational knows that no one will pay for or ride it.

Maybe this has potential as a local route to replace routes 111/119 if and when the Red Line is extended.

[Chi-town Kid]

Here's the only way a X119 route could work: The X119 would keep the exact same route as the 119, but would make limited stops between 95th and 111th or 115th or so. This would get people living on 119th to the 95th and Dan Ryan station quicker and the 34 could pick up the more local trips along Michigan. However, as the 119 sometimes only goes to Morgan, I'm not sure how much sense this would make. Also, if THIS X119 were implemented, I don't see a need for today's normal 119.

Anyways, the 119 SHOULD NOT be extended west from Western as west of there you run into a bunch of cementaries and golf clubs where no one lives. The density is not great enough west of there to even support a bus route.

However, if the Red Line were extended to 130th (why not Hegewisch even?), a massive retooling of the bus routes should take place to take the stress off the 95th station, which is overcrowded. The 119 should go to the 111th/115th station, the Pace 353 should go only to the 111th and 115th stations, the 3 and 4 should be extended down their respective streets to the same stations, and the 111 should go to these same stations again. This would divert A LOT of traffic away from 95th and make things a lot easier.

Hope this helps.

[MetroShadow]

Personally, the whole southside needs to get revamped and realigned. If you want to get the one route, you might as well redo everything else.

Despite the fact that you want to get people from 119 faster to 95, you might as well bring back the 104, which was practically the X34 (from Altgeld to 95/Red Line). By sending people from 119/Western to 95/Red takes awhile, you have to account for the fact that those resources needed and if there are passengers generated period...not just from Morgan to Western, but whether or not that extra mile and a half is worth it.

To be honest, there really should be more organization with the southside (or at least with the buses out of 95th), because there has to be a way to free up those resources out of 77th and 103rd, and still maintain the service held now (as well in the past). Regardless of a red line extension (although that sounds better than the circle line, to be honest), that should be the next thing the CTA should do to improve transit.

[Chi-town Kid]

Personally, the whole southside needs to get revamped and realigned. If you want to get the one route, you might as well redo everything else.  

Despite the fact that you want to get people from 119 faster to 95, you might as well bring back the 104, which was practically the X34 (from Altgeld to 95/Red Line). By sending people from 119/Western to 95/Red takes awhile, you have to account for the fact that those resources needed and if there are passengers generated period...not just from Morgan to Western, but whether or not that extra mile and a half is worth it.

The 104 only served the housing project down by 130th and didn't cover the same areas the 119 covers. The fact that 104 only served this tiny area along with some of the route the 111 already covers led to its discontinuation in the 1997 service cuts. The 104 was rush-hour only anyways.

[MetroShadow]

exactly.

but the concept of bringing back the 104 was because the fact that if you want to give the X119 a shot, you might as well bring that Pullman/Altgeld back so that it gives passengers a fair shake to get the buses from the end of the lines to 95/Ryan. Its a long way from 130th anyway (just as long as starting from 119/Western) and you want to have faster service to deliver people to the ryan? This is an addition to make as well.

(or at least fix the 104 to go to 138th/Indiana)

[Busjack]

Personally, the whole southside needs to get revamped and realigned.

According to CTA, that's supposed to be next, once the west side shakes out.

Some of your other comments also affect Pace 353. Maybe pace2322 can clarify this, but it appears that the Riverdale (as opposed to the Homewood) runs serve basically only King Drive and Roseland, and not a suburban clientele (they go only one block into Riverdale). 34 and 353 basically swapped the ends of their routes (34 used to go to 138th-Leyden and there used to be the South Suburban Roseland-Altgeld bus).

104 originally was Cottage Grove-Pullman, and 111 was just the 111-115 loop. At some later point (I don't know when), 104 was extended express from 115th to Altgeld Gardens, and still later became as DSorrell wrote.

Because of the location of the end of the Red Line, there are basically two corridors: S. Cottage Grove in Pullman and S. Michigan in Roseland. If the Red Line is extended, you could cut down the number of buses using S. Michigan to get to the 95th station.

[Chi-town Kid]

The problem is, I don't see how you easily revamp the Southside if you don't extend the Red Line to 130th.

Does anyone have any idea what changes the CTA would make? Because I sure don't.

[Busjack]

All I know is that the eventual intent is to get to Red Line to the vicinity of 130th & Stony Island (actually Doty) to interchange with the South Shore and to cut back the transferring at 95th. Also, at the alternatives hearings on the Circle Line, it was reported that the activists complained that the Red Line extension should come first.

There was some undocumented talk that it wouldn't make sense to route it over the Bishop Ford expressway, since there could be no walk-up traffic, and a better route would be along the railroad r.o.w. roughly around Stewart. However, that would conflict with an alternative for the the Metra Southeast Service plan (which Cong. Jackson insists be built).

One would infer that E-W lines would intersect the Red Line and would not have to go to 95th. It might also support feeders to Hegwisch and Altgeld, and (even more speculative) cutting back Pace 353, 355, and 359 to 130th.

Since the alternatives study hasn't been completed and published, one can't definitively say what, if anything, CTA has planned.

[RIPTA42]

All I know is that the eventual intent is to get to Red Line to the vicinity of 130th & Stony Island (actually Doty) to interchange with the South Shore and to cut back the transferring at 95th.

This was the subject of a Chicago Reader