Bogotá’s Transmilenio BRT. Could Chicago get something like this? (Photo: the mikebot via Flickr)Today on the Streetsblog Network, we hear about new plans for Bus Rapid Transit from the blog of the Metropolitan Planning Council
(the MPC is “an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization…[that]
serves communities and residents by developing, promoting and
implementing solutions for sound regional growth”).
A few years back, Chicago had a chance to develop pilot BRT routes,
but missed some key funding deadlines. The project was abandoned, but
is being taken up again now — with some interesting new angles prompted
by federal policy changes. The MPC blog reports:
Fast-forward to a few months ago, when the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a $280 million
program to fund streetcar and BRT proposals. This encouraging news has
led to the revival of the CTA’s BRT plan but with a twist: projects
must not only be shovel-ready, they also must demonstrate the
relationship to the six livability principles
outlined by the federal government. These livability principles ask
transit agencies to consider the effects of the service on the
surrounding areas, its ability to improve access to jobs and housing,
and the potential to reduce environmental impacts in local communities.MPC has been working with the Chicago Dept. of Transportation (CDOT)
and CTA on a BRT Evaluation Study to analyze potential BRT routes
throughout the city, based on characteristics outlined by the
livability principles. While current ridership is an important factor
being considered, the study also analyzes potential connections to
existing CTA rail and Metra services, impacts of providing transit
options in underserved areas, and connections to employment centers and
other destinations.
More from around the network: Utility Cycling has part one of an analysis of what’s right and wrong with Google’s bike-there function. Cyclelicious has the story of an 87-year-old woman who is still biking for transportation, 74 years after she got her first bike. And Transit Miami has some pictures of what that city’s traffic looks like when it’s moving about 6 mph.
