Jesse Orr

About 1% of US railway mileage is electrified, with only tiny steps taken to electrify more in recent years (Caltrain) www.fastcompany.com/91178844/ind...

I mean this is probably a CDOT/CTA issue for sure TBH which is a huge point against what I’m saying (would still be a big *time* savings though on getting work started).

I was thinking more future RPM use specifically fwiw - Sheridan and Thorndale + north

As CTA tax district rakes in huge amount of taxpayer money, decision looms over what to do with it A North Side tax district is on track to pay off a major facelift of four CTA stations and the century-old infrastructure connecting them way ahead of schedule.

Whoops

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/22/c...

Baltimore did this with its light rail back in the 80’s to get construction done quickly and cheaply iirc.

Link below:

Given both the uncertainty of federal funding *and* excessive NEPA requirements driving project timelines and costs, one wonders if using this as a funding source could get work done both more quickly and efficiently.

@slucy.bsky.social @stevevance.net @starlinechicago.bsky.social

Read an article about the RPM TIF's high revenue generation (due to seeing it linked in City That Works news roundup @rsday.bsky.social @conordurkin.bsky.social) and it made me wonder... perhaps CTA should just use the TIF funding as a dedicated fund for local capital projects without fed funding.

Malice, incompetence, or a secret third thing There's a saying about bureaucracies that you should never attribute to malice what you can attribute to incompetence. This is typically the axis along which explanations for dissatisfaction with loca...

Malice, incompetence, or a secret third thing: on bureaucracy daniel-kay-hertz.ghost.io/malice-incom...

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Wrong Link - this is the right link:

airtable.com/appd482bRGwK...

North Side folks without plans tonight - come hear me talk about Zoning and Development and tell us what you think we should be doing more [or less]!!

Submit any pre-meeting questions you want answered through the link below:

airtable.com/appd482bRGwK...

Link to piece?

The argument is more that we have have should stops *every other block* so on a given street you’re max one block away from a stop.

Right now with every block is often crazy slow

Stone pavings of Helsinki

I really would like to know the per sqm cost, the construction and maintenance budget, and who funds what and how because the quality of soil treatment in new developments is incredible.

In Montréal, we can't even afford to use stone in our most iconic main street.

Chicago’s Divvy bikeshare shattered records in August:

🥇Highest month in program history: 995K rides
🥇Highest month for e-bikes: 500K+ rides
🥇Highest month for scooters: 200K+ rides

The City's efforts to make Divvy more affordable & accessible are paying off!

I would read this so happily

Odd lots event poster

Just got the hottest ticket in Chicago

events.bloomberglive.com/event/9d5b2d...

Hearing everyone who's anyone will be there!

I remember doing analysis of the tax and I think with those cutoffs you would lose more than 2/3 or more of the revenue.

It was billed as a mansion tax but it was actually just an apartment/office building tax in terms of who paid.

I love it and wish there was more of it in Lincoln Park

Clark/Lake vs. State/Lake is a big mystery to me - why are their recoveries so disparate?

How could you not support someone with such excellent taste in television???

… why are they like that??

Mixed-use development proposed at 4639 S. Wallace A zoning application has been filed for a mixed-use development at 4639 S. Wallace. Planned by Smart Stuff Educational Inc, the project site is located midblock between W. 46th Pl and W. 47th St. The ...

Another 5-story elevator building in Canaryville!

Daycare on first/second floor, resi on 3-5. Surprised they did 10 units and will trigger two ARO instead of doing 9 units and making one larger…
chicago.urbanize.city/post/mixed-u...

When this is done will they remove some of the ridiculous MED schedule padding? Or that’s there to stay?

What’s the scene on the NCID track work up there finishing up?

Only because it’s taking from closed Lawrence and Berwyn though - only looking at August data we’ll get a good 2019 vs 2025 for Wilson <-> Thorndale.

An ancillary point is that *in that these buildings are less “family oriented”* (not commenting on if that’s a good/bad thing) they’re providing a lot of net revenue to the school district vs. SFH’s, not even accounting for the other resident tax base benefits.

Wtf.

“It is significant, but we could have 5,000 units and we could fill them, so this is not, to me, a big moment in affordable housing for Evanston the way that you might feel,” Mabadi said. “What my concern is, what is this actually costing us?”

Chicago builders get away with a lot of shenanigans thought by ensuring that even the ground floor is stair-dependent and inaccessible, right?

RM5 benefits are mostly MLA rather than building size/bulk - and the added bulk is usually just a smaller rear setback - which means at scale less natural light and green space vs. converting the extra FAR to height :/