Flickr user MTA (cc).
A Select Bus Service BRT bus in Manhattan
In the Loop is your round-up of what’s going on in the transportation world, posted in conjunction with Talking Transit.
@metroplanners news
In May, Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) staff concluded work on the Uptown Corridor Development Initiative in the north-side neighborhood, which MPC conducted in association with Alderman James Cappleman. The initiative, a series of public workshops designed to foster an engaged public through the planning process, focused on two City-owned sites adjacent to the CTA Wilson Station. MPC’s workshops, which will continue in the northwest-side neighborhood of Logan Square this fall, emphasize the potential for equitable transit-oriented development.
MPC also released its public statement on the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP)’s update of the GO TO 2040 regional plan. MPC emphasized that as CMAP continues its work towards the development of a more prosperous, sustainable region, it must connect transportation investments to land use goals, water infrastructure and housing spending.
elsewhere
With the transition to the Ventra card to be completed this summer, riders on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Pace buses and trains will be using one of the nation’s most advanced fare card systems. But riders on South Shore trains will be trying out something even more sophisticated: mobile ticketing. Starting now, South Shore riders travelling from Chicago to Northwest Indiana will be able to use an app on their mobile phones to pay for tickets.
At Howard Station on the CTA Red, Purple and Yellow Lines, the City of Chicago is asking for proposals to develop a parcel that abuts the station. The development could take advantage of the renovations planned for the northern sections of the Red and Purple Lines. So would the renovation of the Main Street/Evanston Station complex in downtown Evanston, with access to the Purple Line and Metra services. Evanston recently completed a study on the future of the station and is looking for funding for a $35 million renovation and expansion project.
Residents of Minneapolis and Twin City St. Paul are gearing up for the opening of the Green Line light rail project, which will occur this weekend. The 11-mile line, which will offer 50-minute trips between the downtowns of the two cities, cost $957 million to complete and has spurred $2.5 billion in new construction nearby. Riders on the trains may want to use Google’s new automatic feature that tells users when they should get off the transit vehicles they’re on.
In New York City, locals are hoping that they’ll be able to hop on and off of bus rapid transit (BRT) vehicles similar to those Chicago has planned for Ashland Avenue. A new coalition called BRT for NYC has assembled universities, foundations, unions, advocates and riders’ groups to articulate the need for better bus service in the city that never sleeps. They hope to convince officials to fund more such lines across the city.