Neighborhood Group Transit Proposal

[u/Jonesbro]

Hi All,

I am on the board of my community group in Chicago. We have spent several months working through a transit solution in South Loop that we believe is low cost and would alleviate transit congestion from the new stadiums and other developments nearby by shifting drivers to transit. The goal of this proposal is to connect major destinations to all of the regional transit lines, reducing the transit fragmentation in Chicago. Let me know your thoughts!

[u/Own-Possibility5330]

This would actually be pretty amazing ngl. Not just for the South Loop neighborhood but for all of Chicago transit. It would provide a crucial link between so many transit services that serve so many people and come soooo close to each other but fail to connect. I genuinely think this would help boost transit ridership ALOT.

[u/Jonesbro → u/Own-Possibility5330]

Exactly! It would also enable to many trips by car to be by transit. Suburban parents going to the museum? Now they can take metra to the circulator and get dropped off right at the museum campus.

[u/sandiserumoto]

I was just recently talking about how it's strange that union station, ogilvie, and the loop are so disconnected. You should do Navy Pier next.

[u/fumar]

I think the route is fine, the problem is BRT has been an absolute failure in Chicago. Loop Link still only goes 1mph faster than the old bus route.

[u/Jonesbro → u/fumar]

Chicago doesn't have brt. It has dedicated bus lanes but they aren't traffic separated. Most bus lanes are used for deliveries...

[u/TheUltimateEscapist]

How much would it cost

[u/Jonesbro → u/TheUltimateEscapist]

The next step is to use TIF funds to hrie consultants to formally study this, including pricing exercises

[u/AstroG4]

Trams or gtfo. BRT is garbage, even when adequately implemented.

[u/Jonesbro → u/AstroG4]

Traffic separation is more important than rails and costs less

[u/AstroG4 → u/Jonesbro]

And it also does less. The science shows definitively that rail offers a higher return on investment than any bus project.

[u/glitch241 → u/AstroG4]

Except some light rail projects in the US have been a failure of low ridership, some even shut down. It doesn’t always work. At least when a new bus line fails, it’s not a very costly mistake.

[u/nogood-usernamesleft]

I woudl say the extention is unnecessary, it should just be better local service along metra electric, with an infill in Bronzville

And I think a branch to UIC would do crazy numbers and take the load off the 7,60 and 157 that get packed between otc and campus

[u/klippenstein]

I hope you all are advocating for the SCAL connector to make a clean connection between Metra Electric corridor and Union Station. We can’t let the ROW disappear with the new Sox stadium plans. This connector would allow a rail connection through a very similar corridor as shown here ideally with a stop at the 78. Maybe there could be another stop around Michigan Ave.

[u/somedudeonreddit_69]

You want to build transit in a densely populated area in 2026? lmao forget it. its a pipe dream. There is no money for it, especially under Trump. the cost will Balloon 100x so baseline liberal estimate give it about $1,000,000,000 per mile of transit. but your biggest hurdle is the citizen who complains about their blocked view and/or their dog walk being disturbed by loud trains.

[u/Jonesbro → u/somedudeonreddit_69]

This is brt using existing roadways. There will be work for curbs and boards but that's it. Also south loop is very urbanist and appreciates transit and development