Source: http://t4america.org/

Here’s another call for improving our country’s transportation system by Transportation for America. They are encouraging people to contact Congress to support five major points:

1. Build to compete with China and Europe by modernizing our rail networks and reducing our need for foreign oil
2. Make green investments through fuel efficient vehicles and and the cleanest forms of transportation – walking, biking and public transportation
3. Fix broken infrastructures like highways, bridges and transportation systems
4. Stop wasteful spending and re-evaluate projects that could offer little economic return or increase our oil dependence
5. Save Americans money by giving more options for housing and transportation

Visit the association’s website to ask the government for at least $5 billion in investment towards improving our nation’s high speed rail network.

I have taken Megabus once between Cincinnati and Chicago and I have to say, it was really a pleasant bus trip. It might beat waiting at the airport come this holiday season.

This is down the street from Obama's office. Source: kapgar on Flickr

Whether you are on the bus, in a car or walking on the sidewalk, avoid the area around Clark and Jackson in the evening until Obama moves out in January (or perhaps stick around if you want to try and get a picture – good luck, though).  The Secret Service has been blocking off surrounding blocks every weeknight around 6 p.m. when he’s done with work at the Federal Building.

I waited 10 minutes on the Clark Street bus yesterday about a block away. Traffic has been diverted on Clark to turn on Monroe or Adams instead of continuing south.

Source: Mark 2400 on Flickr

The collapse of AIG is now taking its toll on Main Street, or in this case, the CTA Green Line.

The CTA holds a contract with organizations to leaseback property to run the Green Line. The payments were formerly guaranteed by AIG, but now that the insurance giant got its credit rating slashed, the CTA now has to find another backer within 30 days.

If the contract is terminated, the Green Line service could end. The situation is made worse by the fact that finding credit these days is quite difficult, so the CTA may not be able to find financial backing quick enough.

Transit leaders in California, Atlanta, and D.C. are also finding themselves in similar positions.

The CTA is now asking a Cook County judge to give them more time and declare it has not defaulted on its contract. More on the story at Chicago Business.

A book for people who own a car and need advice on cutting down driving or living without it.

Living car-free like Steve Carell’s character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin may not seem so bad after reading this book by Chris Balish.

It’s a good introduction for people who would never think it is possible. It puts in stark terms the amount of time and money you spend owning a car versus alternative modes of transportation. It also talks about other benefits for your health and the environment while giving you other options for getting around.

He outlines six criteria for a good candidate of non-car ownership:

1. You can get over your own ego.
2. You can reliably get to work without a car.
3. You live in an urban development or mixed-use area.
4. You have access to public transit.
5. You live close to amenities.
6. You are flexible to changes.

I find number one the most interesting. Why is it that car ownership seems like a requirement of adulthood rather than an option? Advertising. Public policy.

You know what? The 40-year-old virgin got one thing right.

The city is cutting free trolley service to ease its budget deficit. (Source: nowicki.l on Flickr)

Tourists who were previously transplanted around the city on the free trolley service will have to find their way on CTA or take a cab. The city is cutting the trolley rides after experiencing a $420 million budget deficit for 2009.

The trolley service will run until Jan. 4. After that, only one will continue operating between Navy Pier and the Red Line Grand stop.

But will this stop the bachelor and bachelorette drunk party trollies? I’m thinking no.

In an effort to save money, the CTA has cut back on construction features. The overhead canopy that was supposed to cover the platform to the length of four rail cars is now only two long. The Rockwell station has no heat lamps. Other stations lack the necessary wind shields that protect riders from negative five degree wind chills. Wood is already starting to splinter and some metal parts are already rusting.

Some are now asking whether the $530 million project was really worth it since the line was only experiencing problems during rush hours. The new stations are supposed to last 40 years.

Read more about it at the Chicago Tribune.

The crowd awaits Obama's speech.

Hundreds of thousands of people gather on the streets after the rally. Traffic was completely shut out of the area starting earlier in the day.

Getting home after the event was a challenge, but worth it.

Well, the results are in and the world is getting ready for a new U.S. administration. Thankfully, I was able to get a ticket to the Obama rally and what an event it was! If you want to see what it was like throughout the day, check out my video:

Since my blog is about transportation without a car, I will tell you what it was like getting home. I thought biking would be the way to go, but unfortunately, the city was horribly unprepared to give proper instructions for bikers who were depending on getting home by Lake Shore Drive.

I was on my way to Hyde Park, where Obama lives, and when I tried getting on the path at Roosevelt a cop said to go to the next entrance at 18th Street. Went over there and was stopped by two cops with flashlights asking what I was doing. They said the Secret Service was in the area and we would have to go to the entrance at 31st Street. So onward I went to that entrance and of course, I was stopped by transit officials who said the path was closed. Boy, I wish they had just said that from the beginning…

Biking to Hyde Park was ironic in that while the Secret Service had shut down Lake Shore Drive, I literally biked blocks away from Obama’s house on Hyde Park Blvd. It was almost surreal thinking that I just biked home the way Obama just went after he became President. Amazing!

The election brought good news for transit in California. Proposition 1A passed giving $10 billion in support of a statewide high speed rail network! Will the Midwest be next?

Source: Chicago Humanities Festival

While Election Day continues, organizations prepare for change in the Midwest in regional travel.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning is hosting an event to discuss the possibility of a high-speed rail service as part of the regional GO TO 2040 transportation plan.

The discussion is part of the Chicago Humanities Festival and will be held on Sat. Nov. 8, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Chicago History Museum Auditorium at 1601 N. Clark St. Tickets are free for educators and students, and $5 for everyone else. One of the speakers is Rick Harnish, the executive director of the Transit Riders’ Alliance, a project of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, which works to improve transit systems in Illinois. You may remember them campaigning for more funding from the state during the recent CTA Doomsdays.

While you are at the museum, check out the exhibit called Burnham 2.0 curated by the Chicago Architectural Club. It is a display of new plans for the city based on the vision of Chicago’s original urban planner, Daniel Burnham. Featured in the exhibit are the top entries in the club’s Burnham Prize international design competition, which are ideas for a transit terminal in the West Loop where a regional high-speed train hub will connect with local highway, metro and riverway networks. Sounds futuristic, but feasible!