Your New Blue
Fresh off of the opening of the of the Red Line South renovation, which as a result speeds you from the Loop all the way to 95th Street in a mere 30 minutes, Mayor Emanuel and Governor Quinn announced that the O’Hare Branch of the Blue line will get a $492 million station and track upgrade. Called Your New Blue, it’s the biggest investment in the Blue Line in 30 years!
Supply-chain Innovation Network of Chicago
On the freight and logistics front, The City of Chicago and World Business Chicago launched the Supply-chain Innovation Network of Chicago (SINC) focused on increasing Chicago’s competitive edge in supply chain, transportation and logistics. SINC will be chaired by Paul Fisher, former president and CEO of one of the largest freight and logistics hubs in the nation, CenterPoint Properties Trust. It will focus on eliminating freight congestion.
This initiative is strategically important for the region’s economic growth. As I outlined in our article in coordination with the Brookings Institution, Chicago: Manufacturing and freight co-location to drive economic growth, when it comes to moving goods, metropolitan Chicago is a freight powerhouse. Six of the seven largest U.S. railroads operate in the region, handling 50 percent of all rail movement in the country. O’Hare airport is the nation’s fifth busiest cargo mover, fed by an extensive network of roads and waterways. However, new Brookings analyses of global and domestic goods trade show that Chicago doesn’t just move goods, it makes them. The region’s locational advantage for freight helps drive a strong manufacturing sector that gained jobs faster than the national average over the last two years.
You want commute options!
On Friday, Dec. 6, MPC celebrated the culmination of our two-year Commute Options pilot. We presented our recommendations for a regional transportation demand management program in the Chicago metropolitan area, and discussed our findings from the pilot, which surveyed 16 area employers on how to reduce the number of people driving alone to work. MPC's report, Chicago Demands Transportation Management, details the lessons learned during the Commute Options pilot, and explains MPC's recommended strategy for implementing coordinated TDM in the region.
Are you ready to rally for Bus Rapid Transit on Ashland Avenue?
The Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago Dept. of Transportation recently released an Environmental Assessment and are looking for public comments on the Ashland Avenue BRT project! It’s important that they hear from the thousands of people like you that support bus rapid transit on Ashland Avenue. We’re hosting a rally for supporters ahead of the first public meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10 to show them we want BRT.
Will you join us?
When: Tuesday Dec. 10, 2013 (Rally 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.; Public Meeting 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.)
Where: Rally at Punch House 1227 W. 18th Street. After rally, march with us four blocks to the public meeting at Benito Juarez Community Academy, 1450 W. Cermak Road. RSVP today!
If you can’t make the Tuesday meeting, don’t worry, you can learn all about Ashland BRT on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, 1419 W. Blackhawk Street.