Big plans for bus rapid transit center
Chicago would acquire a surface parking lot near Union Station to build an “intermodal transportation center” needed to bring bus rapid transit to the Loop under an ordinance to be introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
The mayor’s plan would authorize the $5.9 million acquisition of a surface parking lot south of Jackson between Canal and Clinton for construction of a $7.3 million transportation center. Federal funding would cover 80 percent of the cost. The rest would come from funding generated by the local taxincrement-financing district.
A sheltered staging area for CTA buses would include a vertical connection to an existing Amtrak underground passageway. That would allow commuters to access the Union Station concourse crossing Canal and Jackson at street level.
Last month, a 76-year-old woman was killed by a Megabus outside Union Station.
“The new off-street transportation center will improve conditions for CTA passengers boarding at Union Station and transfers to and from Metra and Amtrak trains at the busiest railroad terminal in Chicago,” Emanuel said in a statement.
“It will relieve street congestion surrounding Union Station and improve safety by reducing pedestrian exposure to traffic at the busy Canal and Jackson intersection.”
Emanuel has talked about using revenue from the $2-a-day “congestion fee” imposed last year on downtown parkers to finance express bus lanes linking commuter rail stations to Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier.
The transportation center is viewed as a key component of that downtown system.
The first test of bus rapid transit will come this fall, when the city in- stalls 16 miles of express bus lanes on Jeffery Boulevard that should give South Side CTA bus riders a faster commute to work.
Bankrolled by an $11 million federal grant, the new lanes are a scaled-down version of the Cadillac plan in four major corridors conceived in 2008 by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.
After a frustrating negotiating session with the school board was cut short Monday night, the Ever- green Park Federation of Teachers on Tuesday filed a strike notice, said Deneen Pajeau, field services director for the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
The motion does not mean teachers will strike, she said.
“No one wants to strike. And, again, it’s not our intention. It’s an option. Not that we will invoke that option. But because of the state law, we have to file this notice,” Pajeau said.
The next negotiating session tentatively is scheduled for Sept. 24, she said.
The latest proposals by the teachers and school board will be made public Thursday, she said. Those offers must be posted for 14 days, making Sept. 28 the first day teachers could walk out, Pajeau said.
The union represents about 200 teachers and teachers aides at five schools in Evergreen Park School District 124. They started a school year without a contract for the sixth time in 15 years.
At issue are salary, retirement plans and insurance benefits, Pajeau said. She declined to reveal specifics.
Teachers on Monday night rallied outside Central Junior High School, cheering as their negotiating team entered the building for what was supposed to be a four- hour session. It ended after about 1 hour and 40 minutes, Pajeau said.
“It was clear neither side was going to move to reach an agreement,” she said.
In a statement Monday night, an Illinois Federation of Teachers spokesman said the two sides still are far apart.
“The contract offer the union has proposed contains concessions that will save the district a significant amount of funding,” the release said. “Even with these concessions, the two sides are still far apart.”
Supt. Robert Machak did not immediately respond Tuesday to an e-mail seeking comment.