Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/tag/cta/)
Here’s everything you might have missed in week three of the pandemic as conditions remain dire on numerous fronts while promised federal aid may offer some relief.
As confirmed coronavirus cases climb into the thousands for Illinois, state and city officials, businesses and communities rally to fight the disease as questions remain about protecting the most vulnerable residents and workers.
The mayor’s proposal to relieve congestion and boost public transportation will cost solo riders in affluent areas the most, but there are other, more progressive options.
Converting the Metra Electric District main line into rapid transit could be a quicker, cheaper way to improve transit on the South Side than building more Red Line stations, advocates say.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s hybrid proposal lowers the number of privately owned properties that would need to be acquired, but residents still have mixed feelings on how the project could affect them economically.
The Chicago Transit Authority plans to acquire some homes to extend the “L” and affected residents want to ensure they’re fairly compensated in neighborhoods that have been especially slow to recover from the housing crash.
The long-awaited expansion of the “L” could mitigate the impact of historic policies that fueled segregation and disinvestment in black communities.
Cut off from major transit lines, deindustrialized Riverdale has among the city’s highest commute times, contributing to its high unemployment and poverty rates.
A new coalition says improving the rail line would help low-income workers get to jobs and jump start new businesses.
As manufacturing and other jobs decline in the city, Chicagoans who depend on public transportation struggle to commute to the suburbs for work.