Hyde Park resident launches signature campaign to rebuild the CTA's demolished Green Line to connect downtown Chicago with the future site of President Obama's Library.

In 1997, the city of Chicago elected to tear down a one-mile stretch of the CTA's Green Line rather than restore it. Some argued that the noise of the train and its look were making the neighborhood less attractive. Today much of the Southside is difficult to reach by public transit, especially CTA train, the Jackson Park area is struggling, has lost about 15 percent of its population since 2000 and, notably, is to be the home of a future Obama Presidential library it seems that those arguments were short-sighted.
Reuben Lillie, a musician and resident of the neighborhood, created a petition to try to undo what he sees as a 20-year-old mistake. "It argues that rebuilding the ‘L’ is essential for improving economic opportunities for residents and workers in Woodlawn, which struggles economically in spite of its proximity to prosperous Hyde Park and the University of Chicago," Michael Podgers reports in Streetsblog Chicago.
FULL STORY: Petition to Extend Green Line to Obama Center Has Hundreds of Signatures. What’s Next?

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
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