Options during the Dan Ryan reconstruction

Its been posted on the Metra board, but with the upcoming Dan Ryan Expressway reconstruction project just around the corner, its disconcerting that the Chicago transit agencies are taking a wait-and-see approach to see how ridership responds once the construction project gets underway. Especially when the Illinois Department of Transportation are pleaing to motorists to stay off the Dan Ryan and use public transportation. "Excess" capacity exists on both CTA and Metra lines that run in the vicinity of the Dan Ryan.

The CTA has done work to the red line where it runs in the median of the Dan Ryan. However, what can the CTA do to accomodate commuters that may choose to abandon their cars and utilize their services?

One thing the CTA could do is start publicizing the Park 'n' Ride lot at Ashland/63rd, and then put two or three free shuttle busses into service between there and the 63rd station on the Red Line. Someone in the agency should also talk to the people running things at Comisky Park - that could be a huge temporary park 'n' ride lot when the Sox aren't playing, at least for the people in that area (obviously its usefulness is limited due to the fact that it's further north than most Dan Ryan travelers are coming from).

And speaking of the Green line, how about adding a little more service to both branches during rush hours? The capacity is definitely there, since rush hour headways are currently every 15 minutes. It doesn't have to necessarily approach the service levels that existed on those branches prior to the 1993 realignment, but a several additional six car sets could be borrowed from elsewhere in the system. These additional trains could run from the south side to the Loop and back, enabling them to make several trips during the AM and PM rush.

Isn't it ironic that Metra is being more proactive in terms of at least offering Dan Ryan motorists additional options via its website, even though the area of the reconstruction isn't really Metra's core market? What's even more troubling is that transit officials at both CTA and Pace knew about this reconstruction months ago, yet it's apparent now that really isn't any kind of concrete plan to address to provide additional service in the area. No, we'll just "wait and see", and hope the riders come... can't they do better than that?

byte wrote:One thing the CTA could do is start publicizing the Park 'n' Ride lot at Ashland/63rd, and then put two or three free shuttle busses into service between there and the 63rd station on the Red Line.

Or there's the Park 'n' Ride at Garfield. Or South Shore from Indiana/Hegewisch. Or ME from 93rd South Chicago.

Historically, the L went through areas too dense for Park 'n' Rides. So I don't blame the CTA one bit.

Not only do I not blame CTA, I don't want to ride it - I've driven past the Halsted/63rd station, near the park and ride, and that neighborhood scares me - that's Englewood, where Metra shuttered their station. I'm not very afraid of many neighborhoods here, as I work in Chicago Heights and drive through Harvey quite frequently - but Englewood is rough. Metra and CTA need to have contingency plans for park-and-ride in safe, well lit ares; areas that are easy to access from the Bishop Ford or I-57 without actually getting on the Dan Ryan or entering surrounding neighborhoods - Blue Island strikes me as an ideal choice because it's relatively safe and near to I-57, while the South Chicago branch of ME is quite near the skyway. But instead, we've got a "wait and see" approach.

I can understand their motivation behind waiting and seeing though, even if it does make them seem unprepared. A lot of people simply won't give up their cars, and there are obviously some who don't because their schedule or one end of their trip is located far away from whichever mode of transit they'd presumably take. No doubt there will be some people who will, as soon as construction starts, begin taking the RI or MED, and good for them. But it just doesn't occur to a lot of people to take the train. Plan B is to either find an alternate route in the car or leave 45 minutes early. I think the latter option of plan B will be what most Ryan users end up doing, at least at first. Since it's going to be closed for two years, the wait and see approach will probably be okay (not that they shouldn't look into some improvements) because any changes they make are bound to be temporary (gravel parking lots, plywood parking attendant booth, etc,.) and can be implemented in a short amount of time anyway.

byte wrote:I can understand their motivation behind waiting and seeing though, even if it does make them seem unprepared. A lot of people simply won't give up their cars, and there are obviously some who don't because their schedule or one end of their trip is located far away from whichever mode of transit they'd presumably take. No doubt there will be some people who will, as soon as construction starts, begin taking the RI or MED, and good for them. But it just doesn't occur to a lot of people to take the train. Plan B is to either find an alternate route in the car or leave 45 minutes early. I think the latter option of plan B will be what most Ryan users end up doing, at least at first. Since it's going to be closed for two years, the wait and see approach will probably be okay (not that they shouldn't look into some improvements) because any changes they make are bound to be temporary (gravel parking lots, plywood parking attendant booth, etc,.) and can be implemented in a short amount of time anyway.

Point taken. Although I have no idea what CTA's ad budget is like these days, I still think they should do a better job in terms of advertising transit alternatives during the expressway reconstruction, and right now would be a good time to start, before the project begins. Even though CTA isn't going to be the best option for everybody, CTA should focus their efforts in trying to tap into a challenging, but difficult market, mainly comprised of those that wouldn't natually consider public transportation as a travel option, as you stated. As we know, getting folks to change their behaviour isn't easy, but then again, this would only be another way of taking the "wait and see" approach, but at least there would be a plan behind it.

Agreed. Even without bending over backwards, if they'd like to gain some permanent riders through small, incremental improvements, now is the time. Little stuff - like ridding the red line stations of their godawful urine smell and cleaning the interiors of the railcars more frequently - would give new riders a more favorable view of the system. An added police presence would also help, since a lot of people who don't ride the CTA are afraid to because they think that "only crazies and bums ride it."

I was looking at the alternate map from IDOT on the web for the Dan Ryan Construction.
http://www.danryanexpressway.com/#reroute


I see that they use Ashland to Roosevelt to downtown as an alternate route from I 57 & I-94 and I notice that the ashland alt. goes right by the 63rd & Ashland green line station, which has a park & ride lot, but I would not park there, because of how rough that area is.

And it is a shame that the CTA don't have park & rides on the red line, but instead most of the red line traffic on the south side comes from walkers, and connecting CTA & Pace bus routes.

I am surprise that the CTA either Pace has not talk about service during the Dan Ryan. Metra is during there part, so why not pace & cta.

I am also surprise that the South Shore is not saying anyhting, for the people who uses the dan ryan from Indiana, at the same time those people got South Shore & S. Lake Shore Drives to take to downtown.

James and everyone: With this major construction project why does METRA not really promote itself as an alternate? With the CTA-I understand why people would not park on the S side and take CTA-alot of it is the race card-white suburbanites do NOT want to go into a questionable Black areas to access rapid transit. I recall the mid 70s when I began as a teenager to use the Dan Ryan line-much to the chagrin of family and friends. I realized I was an outsider and I never had any problems with anyone but I realized the potential for them was definitely there. I liked riding the DR over the Englewood line and to this day the only section of the CTA that I have never been on is the Jackson Park spur-which is even shorter today then those days due to the IC truss bridge being removed. I have not seen the Englewood/Jackson Park line re-construction at all myself-I did not ride it during my 2000 visits and I have not been back in CHI since. In my opinion the RT should have been extended S of 95/State either in I-57 or 94. I recall the median was built wide for a stretch to allow this. Lets just see how IDOT handles this major project. Memories and observations from MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote:James and everyone: With this major construction project why does METRA not really promote itself as an alternate

Actually, Metra is promoting itself as an alternate, mainly via its website. Most of Metra's inner city stations are located on the south side within a mile or two of the Dan Ryan, so Metra does present limited options for Dan Ryan users that live in Chicago, even though serving the inner city as a whole isn't really one of Metra's strengths as I stated earlier...

byte wrote:Agreed. Even without bending over backwards, if they'd like to gain some permanent riders through small, incremental improvements, now is the time. Little stuff - like ridding the red line stations of their godawful urine smell and cleaning the interiors of the railcars more frequently - would give new riders a more favorable view of the system. An added police presence would also help, since a lot of people who don't ride the CTA are afraid to because they think that "only crazies and bums ride it."

Exactly. These are the precisely kinds of the image and safety related issues that CTA has to address, because if not, then it's fairly certain that there most of these new riders won't become regulars...

What's the parking situation like on the Electric and the RI (and the South Shore, for that matter, too)? Are there good lots with lots of space for commuters who give up on the highway? That might be one reason to limit how much Metra markets itself -- just like the CTA not wanting new riders' first impression to be in a scary part of town, Metra would want to be careful not to end up with far more riders than there is parking for. Given that most commuter rail systems are limited as much by parking as anything else, its an issue to consider.

That said, if there's anything that could be done to add temporary parking at stations for the duration of the project...

I don't know about RI or ME, but South Shore is pretty much at capacity at the Hegewisch station, and darn near it at Hammond. Neither are convenient to the expressway either.

And with due respect to Mactrax, I wouldn't call my aversion to the south end of Green Line a race card issue - it's a safety issue. Occasionally when the DR is jammed, I would get off the skyway and go thru Jackson Park and Englewood. I have employees that are minority races, and they tell me I'm nuts for going through there. The police also seem much more prepared in terms of cars, uniforms, and gear. I've been to a lot of neighborhoods, and I realize the Lincoln Park bubble can't cover the entire city, but there is such thing as mitigating your risk by avoiding certain areas.

Tadman and Doepack: I stand corrected about METRA-they should do more than just the ads on the website and let many potential riders who do not have internet access or other computer media to use them as an alternative. I agree about certain neighborhoods may have an image as a dangerous place but in reality it is just perceived as bad. I learned from my travels as well as being told what areas to steer clear of. Am I right there is limited parking at most ME stations N of Kensington? How about the BI and SS branches near or at their terminals? Will people use bus shuttles from suburban P/R lots to 95/State or Blue Island,for example? It is all to be seen....stay tuned,folks! MACTRAXX

I can't speak for the MED or the other parts of the RI, but I know for a fact the suburban branch stations' parking lots get filled pretty much to capacity until early afternoon when they start to clear out. They'd have to do some land purchasing and bulldozing to increase the parking there.