Star:Line Chicago

Unnecessary transfer is unnecessary, and the bus operators still need a layover facility regardless

One of the best things about proper BRT is that we don't need to build a full BRT "route", decent BRT infrastructure would provide a huge benefit to all those local CTA and Pace routes that feed into Midway, even if they only use it for a mile or two.

Ashland and Western get all the attention but a Cicero BRT between Harrison and 79th, combined with extending both the 54 and the 79 to Midway and eliminating the 54B as a separate route, should be extremely high on our regional radar

Many people are saying this

Yep, same as the CTA

What the CrossTowner vision calls for is changing the northern terminus of the MD-N to Lakehurst (American Place Casino) to shorten the overall trip time to squeeze out more daily Metra trips. Then Fox Lake-Rondout would become a shuttle service (but peak trains would still run thru to downtown).

MD-N is a tough nut to crack given the combination of decent freight volumes, several Amtrak trains, and only two tracks to work with. My personal long-term vision for MD-N is adding a third track north of Mayfair with a connection to the UP-NW to run MD-N along the Kennedy, plus a Cicero Ave 'L'.

You may be interested in Pace Route 379, runs daily from Midway www.pacebus.com/sites/defaul...

2034sight Plan + CRCL Plan = Full CrossTowner vision

#BuildTheTunnel

CrossTowners CrossTowners, or “regional rail”, are a vision to unlock Chicagoland by using our existing passenger rail infrastructure more efficiently for all-day service.

The full archives are on the website, click on either of the two plans and there should be a section of lots of maps and exhibits for each one

www.yard-social.com/crosstowners

YouTube video by Car Free Keith The Massive Transit Fix Chicago Desperately Needs

As an elder Millennial I recommend collaborating with someone better at that kind of media, that's how this one happened www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrCs...

I make them myself. That's one of my "back burner" maps that I've been working on for a bit. You may be interested in this one though, something similar but focused just on downtown. bsky.app/profile/star...

Also, with the Dempster Pulse route directly connecting the Des Plaines Metra with O'Hare Transfer, we should try making that transfer (and fares) work well first

It would, but unfortunately the tracks don't go that way, and the junction as a whole is already a mess and might get worse if the UP-NS merger results in more freight moving through (the diagonal track is a pretty busy freight line that feeds into UP's yards south of the airport).

Since the circulators could be run almost entirely independently, they’d allow us to scale up service as needed downtown without worrying about downstream freight or capacity constraints out in the suburbs

Scenario here would be if we did Ohio-Columbus first, then did Clinton-Roosevelt later. The latter would create a central hub at Union Station for the thru-running trains, freeing up Ohio-Columbus for a downtown circulator to help tie everything together, and can be extended down the MED as needed.

The train directly benefits your community, so it’s up to you if you want to fund it sustainably or if you want your NIMBYs to kick in for it instead

To fund transit we should have a reverse head tax, where wards and municipalities have to pay a particular amount every month to help fund operations unless they have X dwelling units within walking distance of a station

I live in a majority-minority municipality but we have zero outdoor basketball courts, it’s uncanny

Best way to think of it is that I believe Ohio-Columbus is the best route if we’re going it entirely alone as a region, whereas Clinton-Roosevelt is the better option if more regional players (e.g. Amtrak) can all get on the same page, but the latter takes longer and both have independent value.

Great question. The two individual plans (2034sight (Ohio-Columbus) and CRCL (Clinton-Roosevelt)) haven’t changed much. However, since they are ultimately complementary plans, and because I don’t want to negotiate with myself at this stage, lately I’m trying to present the “full” vision more often.

Adding two more windows and transforming the entire floor into a panopticon

Download this map as a printable PDF: https://yardsocial.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2034sight-crcl-line-map-20250803.pdf

You asked, we answered: a north-justified #BuildTheTunnel service diagram.

Print it at home on a legal sheet: yardsocial.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

BWe Next 2025 | The Black Women's Expo Chicago The nation’s largest, longest-running, multi-city exposition targeting the African American consumer. Celebrating 30 Years!

There's a Black Women's Expo at McCormick Place this weekend, which given the demographics of the MED I could see being a bigger draw than Lolla bwenext.com

Maybe a train once every two hours isn't enough

One reason Canadian transit systems perform better than ours is they use this neat trick where they actually allow people to live near them

Also, Chalkbeat/ProPublica says the state moratorium was passed specifically because of strong CTU support www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025...

My understanding of the school consolidation moratorium was to ensure there was time to get the new (elected) board seated, and that state-level moratorium has since expired

Took a bit to get up and running but Metra trains are equipped with automated announcements as well, although some conductors still make manual announcements as well

PA was historically close, if Alleghany County was a darker shade of blue OH + PA is all that would've been needed