Like many transit agencies across the country, the economic recession has limited the capacity of Chicago's CTA to maintain itself. Governing talks with the man tasked with saving -- and recreating -- the troubled system.
"Chicago's transit system--the country's second largest with an average 1.8 million riders every weekday--faces some of the nation's most dire challenges. It has more than $7 billion in unfunded maintenance needs. On parts of the system, for example, trains engineered to speed along at 70 mph now must slow to a 15 mph crawl because the fragile rails can't handle faster speeds. 'They're going at the speed of a horse and buggy because the rails are literally eroding and coming loose from the ties,' says Ben Forman, research director for MassINC, a nonpartisan, Boston-based public policy think tank. 'When transit breaks down as it has in Chicago, cities lose a big part of their core.'
Puentes is more blunt about the Windy City's problems: 'The system in Chicago needs to be rebuilt almost from scratch.'"
Governing profiles the new head of the CTA, Richard Rodriguez, about the challenge he faces.
Read the full story: Chicago's Transit Chief
Chicago Transit Increasing Rail Service to Pre-Pandemic Levels
The Chicago Transit Authority is close to returning both rail and bus service to pre-pandemic schedules, with some adjustments for new travel demand.
Chicago Announces First Five ‘Better Streets for Buses’ Corridors
The CTA will develop a series of options for improving bus service on key transit corridors.
Study: Loss of Public Transit in Chicago Would Have ‘Severe’ Mobility, Economic Consequences
The first-of-it’s kind study found that without public transit, Chicago would lose an estimated $35 billion in economic activity annually and the quality of life of residents, particularly women and low-income groups, would take a major hit.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority