Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/tag/transportation/)
As Rahm Emanuel courts flashy projects amid a slew of scandals, it seems the mayor is more accountable to big-money donors than to neighborhood constituents.
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.
Mayor Emanuel says his proposed changes to taxicab regulation would help the industry at a time when hundreds of taxi owner-operators face foreclosure on their medallions.
The costly projects will add to the exodus of jobs to the suburbs making employment out of reach for low-income Chicagoans who rely on public transit.
Norfolk Southern, a publicly held railroad company, has filed condemnation proceedings against three last holdouts blocking completion of their project, which they argue is for public benefit.
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.
By directing gas tax revenue from criminal justice to roads, Cook County may add millions to next year’s transportation budget.