UP|Illinois

[Chicago] Then and now

tSlater — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:41:17 +0000

I love how that shows how much Chicago has grown without sacrificing much of its history.

[Chicago] Then and now

Neo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:35:18 +0000

I stumbled upon the following site with images of yesteryear and today. It's interesting to see just how much the Windy City has changed...and how much it has stayed the same!

Here's an example of my favorite then and now:

Here is the link to the rest: http://www.bergwithfries.com/2009/11/then-and-now.html

[Chicago] Apple spending $4M to renovate subway station

Neo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:22:24 +0000

Apple just signed an agreement with the CTA to spend $4 (of Apple's money) to renovate the North/Clybourn (red line) subway station as it is in close proximity to a future Apple store. I don't believe there are too many instances where a company pays to renovate a public transit station for this purpose. It may happen with bus shelters, but to renovate a subway station?

Here's what will get renovated:

A run-down triangle piece of land next to its future Halsted Street store
The subway entrance building
The underground train platform
The bus turnaround

...and here's what Apple is getting out of the deal:

Apple is leasing the bus turnaround from the CTA free for 10 years
Apple gets 'first rights of refusal' for naming the station and for advertising within the station

This is a winning situation for the cash strapped CTA IMO and wish more deals like this would be made. Everything should be done by September 30, 2010.

Chicago 2016

Neo — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:20:59 +0000

LynchMob, on Oct 2 2009, 11:54 AM, said:

Chicago and Tokyo were just eliminated. Sorry.

I would have liked to see Tokyo get it just because of the 'green' aspect of making their Olympic structures 100% environmentally sustainable.

In the end Rio de Janeiro got the bid...a first for South America. Congratulations to them!

Chicago 2016

LynchMob — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:54:21 +0000

Chicago and Tokyo were just eliminated. Sorry.

Chicago 2016

skylinefan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:16:09 +0000

We are routing for you guys!!!!

Chicago plans $15.5 Billion in transportation infrastructure improvements

tSlater — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:02:56 +0000

Haven't had any issues since the above.. it was like a single-day sort of thing.

Chicago plans $15.5 Billion in transportation infrastructure improvements

Neo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:19:50 +0000

tSlater, on Jul 5 2009, 09:58 PM, said:

Keep having problems with UP giving errors when I post, and I have to retype. Really don't feel like retyping it all, so in short.. I like the rivalry, element of days gone by that still persists, and competition is healthy.

Hmm, if you continue to have errors posting please PM or e-mail me and we'll see if we can't get them resolved.

Regarding the rivalry...it is certainly healthy. Just as we benefit from companies who compete with one another, we also benefit with cities compete with one another.

Chicago 2016

tSlater — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:08:30 +0000

I'm really hoping for Chicago because for one I love the city, and secondly, because of the 1904 bid. Seems to me Chicago deserves a game since it's already won a bid in the past but never got the games.

[Chicago] Elevated linear park in Bucktown

tSlater — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:04:02 +0000

So Chicago, as I would expect, isn't just imitating New York but outdoing them on this proposal. The High Line in NYC is only 1.5 miles. Even if Bloomingdale Trail were to be only 2.1 miles long, it's still bigger than New York's.

Chicago plans $15.5 Billion in transportation infrastructure improvements

tSlater — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:58:06 +0000

Nashville_maestro, on Jul 5 2009, 07:54 PM, said:

What's with New York and Chicago always trying to one-up each other?

Anyway I would like to see some of the money spent on resurfacing the Dan Ryan. Last time I was there it was pretty horrific but then again, traffic is usually so bad on it that you can't go fast enough to feel the bumps/potholes anyway. I AM glad that Chicago is spending serious money on transit though.

Chicago plans $15.5 Billion in transportation infrastructure improvements

Nashville_maestro — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:54:55 +0000

Neo, on Apr 1 2009, 06:07 AM, said:

This is amazing if they can pull it off financially. Regarding the high speed CTA line to the airports, I assume they would be using the existing lines? There really isn't a way to have an express line on either of those corridors unless they put down additional track and I'm not sure that would be possible in many areas. It takes ~45 minutes from O'Hare to downtown and I think about 30 minutes from Midway to downtown. I've never thought those times were that bad to be honest.

I believe New York has a similar plan for an underground transit center.

Chicago 2016

RegalTDP — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:32:05 +0000

Neo, on Jun 17 2009, 12:00 PM, said:

As much as I love Chicago, I feel the amount of money required to lure in the Olympics shouldn't be on the table right now considering the state of the American economy. I realize it is also the world economy that is having some issues, but IMO, let this one go to Tokyo.

Meh, Tokyo's had it once already. Put it somewhere new, IMO. If you're going by the current world economy, then definitely put it in Rio, since the Brazilian economy has been resilient.

Chicago 2016

jdkacz — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:51:11 +0000

I realize the economy is poor now, but the Olympics are 7 years out and the city and country could be booming or even on a steady growth pattern when they actually come to fruition. I just think you have to take the chance to host the Olympics if you can win them. I suppose this is all a moot point if Chicago fails to win the bid.

Chicago 2016

mgman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:54:06 +0000

Neo, on Jun 17 2009, 11:00 AM, said:

I think it is a tough call one way or another whether it is a good idea to put city money on the line, so I see both sides of the argument. I liked the bid better when there was a limit to government covering any shortfalls as opposed to the new blanket guarantee. With that being said, one of the reasons I support a Chicago Olympics is because I feel that the risk that taxpayers will have to pay for any part of the Olympic bid is extremely small and if worst case scenario happens, that the total amount of money required to cover any cost overruns will be relatively small. Meanwhile the rewards of having the Olympics overcome this, at least for me, I ran track and field in high school and college and I am a big sports freak, even for things like sailing, rowing, etc. I would be extremely thrilled to have a world class tennis arena, velodrome, and other venues in the city once the games are over.

Things like transportation improvements, etc. that are necessary to carry the games and are not part of the Olympic bid is where the taxpayers will feel the burn, not the blanket guarantee provided to the IOC. Even if we do not get the Olympics though, I want many of the projects in the central area action plan to be completed and would prefer to see more money spent on other expansions (except the STAR line but I probably will lose that one).

Chicago 2016

Neo — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:00:29 +0000

Chicago 2016

jdkacz — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:22:49 +0000

Chicago leads off bid presentations

The article mentions Chicago as being a favorite, but I think Tokyo is a strong competitor. Unfortunately for Madrid, London as the 2012 games and I think Rio de Janeiro is the third wheel looking in on Chicago & Tokyo.

[Chicago] Subway tunnels getting AT&T service

roningreensboro — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:29:30 +0000

Neo, on Jun 11 2009, 12:22 PM, said:

I assume this goes for the entire length of Chicago's subway tunnels and not just the stations themselves, but AT&T is rolling out cell service by the end of the year. Now you can browse the net on your iPhone on your way to work.

That sounds good. Any chance of T-mobile offering service through the tunnels?

[Chicago] Subway tunnels getting AT&T service

Neo — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:22:36 +0000

[Chicago] Elevated linear park in Bucktown

Neo — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:57:01 +0000

It looks like Chicago may get its very own version of New York's High Line linear park. Along West Bloomingdale Avenue in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, there is an unused elevated rail line that a group wants to remake into an elevated linear park. It would be called the Bloomington Trail and would run for a little over two miles, but I'm not sure if they would utilize the entire length of the line and it looks like part of the tracks are being used on the western most end. The project's site says three miles, but I could really only see 2.1 miles of available track to use for this. Perhaps they're going to go more west than I mapped out:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&am...35db33f8bee4fa9

Photos of the current condition:

The organization heading up the project has some renderings on their site, but they're not a very good representation. Looks like a five year old was handed a water color set so I won't bother posting them here. It is an interesting project and would be fairly unique (other than New York's version obviously).

You can get more information on the project here: http://bloomingdaletrail.org/