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Evanston, Illinois’ City Council approved a planning grant application (see pg. 271 of the .pdf) last week that will provide funding for a Transit Oriented Development Plan at Main and Chicago Avenues.

It is a logical place for TOD given that the intersection is served both by a CTA EL line and Metra’s regional commuter rail.  The neighborhood is walkable, mixed use, and has a nice variety of small businesses.  One problem that the new plan will likely attempt to alleviate is the poor pedestrian connections between the two stations.  As it stands now, folks making transfers have to go around the block and walk under a dark viaduct.  There are no wayfinding signs at either station,  so those unfamiliar with the area often have trouble navigating transfers.  A more transit-friendly plan could open up the space between the stations for transfers.

More intriguing to me in the memo was a desire to explore a “highline” concept for bikes and pedestrians in the railroads’ right-of-way.  The staff memo cites the very popular Highline project in New York which converted an unused elevated rail line into an elevated park.  Chicago is currently planning its own elevated park with its 3-mile Bloomingdale Trail project that will link Logan Square with Goose Island using an abandoned elevated rail corridor.

Evanston would be a great site for a similar project as there is ample space between the Metra and CTA tracks that is currently underutilized.  The photo on the right shows the current state of the space between the two rail lines which offers a few  long-term parking spaces but otherwise is a “dead zone” of activity.  Furthermore, the two rail lines run parallel on a berm roughly from the city’s southern border  two miles north to the center of downtown.

It would be an easy and relatively inexpensive project to have a Highline the entire stretch of rail corridor.  This would improve bike mobility immensely as a safe and convenient North-South connection could entice cyclists who are uncomfortable with riding on Chicago Avenue.

It is not inconceivable to see this project as the opening section of an eventual “bike superhighway” alongside the Metra berm connecting Evanston with downtown Chicago 12 miles away.

The Chicago Transit Authority announced details last week regarding a modernization project for two of its major north side elevated train lines.  The lines at issue are the Red and Purple which serve the Loop, Lakeview, Uptown, Rogers Park and the suburban communities of Evanston and Wilmette.

Like most of Chicago’s elevated rail system, the Red and Purple lines are in dire need of modernization, upkeep, and expansion.  Determining exactly what should be done in the context of limited funds is going to be a challenge.

This month the CTA is presenting various modernization options for public comment.  Here is a thumbnail sketch of what is contained in the Notice of Intent document released last week.

Currently the Purple Line runs local from Wilmette through Evanston and then express to Belmont in Lakeview where it follows the Brown line stops to downtown.  The Purple Line only runs on the weekdays during the rush hours.

Purple and Red Lines Current Configuration

The Red Line is a local train that runs at all hours, seven days a week between Howard St. at the city’s northernmost boundary down to 95th Street on the city’s south side.

Taken together, the lines generate 128,000 trips on an average weekday and are responsible for about 20% of all CTA rail trips.

In addition to doing nothing, one option being considered is the “Basic Rehabilitation Alternative.”  This alternative keeps existing stations and service, but brings the system “into a minimal state of good repair.”  This option entails making a handful of stations ADA-compliant and doing minimal upgrades.

The second option is a “Basic Rehabilitation with Transfer Stations.” option.  This would follow the above model, but would add Wilson and Loyola as transfer stations for the Purple Line.  This would slow down the Purple line for Evanston commuters, but allow two more stops for riders in Uptown and Rogers Park.

The third option is the “Modernization 4-Track Alternative.”  This option decreases the number of stations north of Belmont from 21 to 17.  You would still have the two new transfer stations, but the South Boulevard Purple Line station in Evanston would be eliminated as well as the Lawrence,  Thorndale, and Jarvis stations on the Red Line.

To compensate for the loss of stations, platforms would be extended and new entrances would be built in key stations and there could be “potential expanded hours of express service.”

Modernization 4-Track Alternative

The next option is the “Modernization 3-Track Alternative.”  This follows the station closures of the previous option, but instead of having the expanded express service you actually have a decrease in express service.  Currently the Purple Line operates both north and south during weekday rush hours between Belmont and Howard on two of the tracks while the Red Line operates local service on the other two tracks.  The rationale for switching to a three-track option is to improve stations and make them ADA compliant.  This requires widening platforms–something that can be done within the existing right-of-way if you remove one of the tracks.  The catch is that the express train will only run inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon.

People who commute from the city to Evanston would be negatively impacted by this change.

The final alternative is called the “Modernization 2-Track Alternative.”  Under this scenario, the existing above-ground Red Line would be transformed into a subway.   The train would go underground north of Belmont and emerge above ground at Loyola.  The elevated stops between Morse and Belmont would be eliminated and essentially be replaced by seven subway stations on the same streets as the “Modernization” options listed above.

It is unclear what would happen to the elevated section, but this option would eliminate ALL express trains.  Apparently this would be compensated somewhat by better track alignment in the new subway section.

Assessment:  First, these lines are in dire need of upgrades.  The CTA is still running a nineteenth-century transit system.  Dilapidated viaducts result in slow zones and many stations are not ADA-compliant and in dire need of makeovers.  This is largely due to decades of minimal investment.

That said, I’m generally unenthusiastic about removing transit stops.  In each of the areas where there are proposed stop eliminations many small businesses are located.  And the more stops you have, there is a higher propensity for people to use transit instead of driving.

It is true that the more stops you have on a train line can result in longer trips since the train stops more frequently.

One curious omission from the proposals is to revert back to the old Red Line configuration which used an A/B “skip stop” system.  This speeds up the Red Line by reducing the number of trains that stop at smaller stations.

Given the shaky economic environment, some of the options presented–like the subway –seem overly ambitious.

Schweizer Platz - Frankfurt

Bike-sharing is one of the smartest trends sweeping urban transportation planning these days. The idea is that you set up kiosks around a city where a number of bikes are parked securely. Riders use a credit card or subscription card to “check out” a bike.  They then ride it to another kiosk and drop it off.

It works great for trips less than a mile.  It is convenient (no waiting for a bus or train) and carbon neutral.

The concept has been around for several decades, but it really took off in 2007 when Paris initiated its Vélib’ system which features 20,000 bicycles and over 1500 kiosks.  Since then cities as disparate as Mexico City, Montreal, and Washington, DC have established programs (for more info on the global bike share movement, I highly recommend the Bike-Sharing Blog).

Beginning Friday, Chicago will be the latest entry into the bike sharing game.  The system has been a long-time coming.   Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley is well known as being a biking enthusiast and advocate of “green” public policy.  After a visit to Paris and testing out their system in 2007, he expressed interest in bringing the concept to Chicago.

Unfortunately the system that will be inaugurated this week is too modest and too geared to tourists to have any significant impact on mobility for the vast majority of Chicagoans.

Last year, I had a group of students look into what makes a bike sharing program successful as part of an effort to give the Chicago suburb of Evanston information on the subject.  Evanston was involved in transportation master-planning and its consultants had recommended bike sharing as a program to possibly reduce congestion.

According to our preliminary research, there are a few essential elements that a bike sharing scheme must have in order to make an impact on mobility choices in a city.

• It should be convenient.  Kiosks need to be placed near activity centers and bikes should be plentiful.  No one will use the service if it doesn’t allow them to go where they need to be and the reliable supply of bikes is essential to get people in the habit of using the service.  The activity centers need to be varied–cultural spots, residences, workplaces, shopping districts.  This allows many potential destinations as well as helps bikes circulate through the system so you don’t have all the bikes at one station during particular times of the day.
• It should be cheap.  Bikes are one of the cheapest and most efficient forms of transportation; however, there are still costs involved (maintenance, purchase of bikes & kiosks, IT infrastructure to keep track of bikes, etc…).  The trick is to figure out a way to keep the price point at a level where it costs less for the average consumer than other forms of transportation (driving, cabs, etc…).  In order to meet these costs, many cities privatize the system.  The operators will put advertising on the bikes or–as in the case with Paris–the bike service will be part of the general outdoor advertising franchise that cities sell to billboard companies.
• It should be integrated with other modes of transport.  Kiosks should be set up next to train & bus stations, car sharing spots, parking lots.  This allows for flexibility in movement for the user and translates into more successful system.  The picture above, for instance, was taken in Frankfurt at a place called Schweizer Platz.  The bike sharing kiosk is located at the top of the steps of a U-Bahn station and at the corner of a tram line.  At this spot you can transfer from bike-to-tram, bike-to-U-Bahn, etc…

So how does Chicago measure up on this metric?  The main problem–at this point–is that the system is extremely small and is not integrated with a wide variety of activity centers.  There are only 6 full-service kiosks where you can drop off and pick up a bike.  Three of them are (more or less) strictly tourist destinations (Buckingham Fountain, the Field Museum, McCormick Place).  For those readers unfamiliar with Chicago, basically these spots are destinations with a single use.  The number of residencies and work places near these kiosks is small.   You are not likely to see the bike share displace many higher-carbon trips since the kiosks are essentially inconvenient.

The cost is another factor.  A temporary pass costs $10 for the first hour and $5 for each subsequent 30 minutes.  You can also get a monthly membership that costs $35 which gives you the first hour free and charges $2.50 for each subsequent 30 minutes.

This is way too expensive and is further evidence that the scheme is designed primarily for tourists who may be willing to pay more for a pleasant bike ride on the city’s lakefront.  Most schemes that are designed to be integral parts of a city’s transport system have a very small up-front cost.  London’s new bike share program (which also starts on Friday) is not only much bigger, but only charges 1 pound for a single day pass with free usage for the first half hour.

As a point of comparison, in Chicago, lets say I work at the Daley Center and want to eat lunch at the Field Museum (no one would ever want to do this by the way, but that’s where the kiosks are).  I would check out a bike for $10, ride the mile or so to the museum in about 15 minutes.  I would check the bike in at the Museum.  After my hour lunch, I would have to check out a new bike for another $10 at the Museum for the return trip to Daley Plaza.  Twenty bucks to go out to the museum for lunch!    Of course, if I had a monthly pass, the $35 that I pay each month would cover both rides.  But because there are only 6 kiosks, I would not be likely to buy a monthly pass.

In London, lets say I get off a train at St. Pancras.  I pay £1 access fee and check out a bike, ride it the 1.5 miles to the British Museum in about 15 minutes.  I hang out in the museum for an hour, check out another bike and take another 15 minute ride to Hyde Park.  Later on, I can check out another bike and ride up to Kensington, etc… For that initial £1, riders get unlimited short rides.

Finally, Chicago’s scheme comes up short as a practical transport alternative because of the lack of integration with the city’s public transit system.   There are a couple of kiosks that are within a block or two from the city’s subway system, but the major Metra commuter rail stations are about a mile away from the nearest kiosk!   The system will be useless for the thousands of commuters who travel into the city center from the city’s western and northern suburbs.

I understand that this is essentially a demonstration project.  However, because it doesn’t even make an attempt to link with the destinations that everyday residents use, it is hard to get too excited about it.  A better model for the city to follow would have been Washington DC, where a small program began in 2008 that linked a couple of select neighborhoods with the city center.  The program was so successful that the District of Columbia is expanding the system to include all of the wards in the city as well as neighboring Arlington, Virginia, creating the first regional scheme in the United States.

Chicago could also learn from Mexico City, which recently started a small neighborhood system in Condesa.  The first stage of the scheme in Condesa began with 85 stations with plans for expansion.

At this stage, it is a bit premature to call Chicago’s experiment a proper bike-sharing scheme in the sense that it will enhance mobility options for the city’s residents.  Rather, it is a nice tourist amenity to help our visitors enjoy the lakefront and our cultural assets.

Update [28 Jul. 2010 1:23pm]

After my initial post, I came across this article by the Active Transportation Alliance explaining the origins of the scheme.  It is not a municipal project.  Rather it is an outgrowth of Bike Chicago–a private firm that rents bikes at various locales along the lakefront.  [They also run the dreaded Segway tours that clog downtown sidewalks & bikepaths--please, no Segway sharing schemes!]

I assumed the city was involved given the fact that they issued an RFP for a bike share program in 2007 and Mayor Daley apparently presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday for the project.

In reality this scheme is an expansion of the existing bike rental infrastructure targeting tourists and leisure users.  It is premature to call it a proper “bike sharing” program.

Chicago artist Joe Baldwin just received approval to deploy his conceptual project, mobile garden, on the city’s mass transit rail system.

Image taken from themobilegarden.org

The idea is to configure a Chicago Transit Authority rail car into a mobile garden, which would visualize the possibilities for enhancing green space in the city.  Additionally, Baldwin promises to plant native plants in the mobile garden, educating Chicagoans about varieties that have historically flourished in the region.

Baldwin’s project seems to be a kindred spirit to Park(ing) Day where citizens commandeer metered parking spaces, lay down sod, bring out lawn chairs, and literally remake the parking space into a park.

These are great examples of creative efforts to get city dwellers to reflect on the human-environment connection and explore the possibilities of using a city’s infrastructure to get us to think critically about nature and the urban landscape.