Busting congestion in Chicago

[Stephane Dumas]

I spotted this article from Reason magazine
http://reason.com/blog/2011/08/03/reasontv-busting-congestion-in

[Anthony_JK]

Ahhhh, Reason Foundation logic: convert every freeway to tolls, price them out of the reach of average drivers, and force them onto unfunded surface streets, and then let the money flow to Cintra and other foreign interests.

And, I guess, tear down the El and other alternative means of transport.

Sorry, but some of us prefer our public roads remain public. We paid for them, we should be able to use them.


Anthony

[wh15395]

Or here's another reasonable solution....take the train.

[Brandon]

While I like the idea of tolling the expressways for maintenance purposes, they should be handed over to ISTHA, not Cintra or some other crackerjack outfit.  They should not be tolled for the purposes of congestion.  That's as idiotic as HOT and HOV lanes.  Expand the rail system here.  God knows we've got a good one.

[Revive 755]

Or here's another reasonable solution....take the train.

Which is not reasonable because:

1) If I'm driving out of town from Chicagoland, the train will likely not take me there.

2) Too long of waits between Metra trains - an hour or more between trains is not a reasonable waiting period.  Some of the routes don't have weekend service at all, yet there is still congestion on weekends.

3) Picking up a CTA train requires a long bus ride or driving quite in most of the way to the loop

4) The system is too oriented to the loop; why should I have to first go to the loop to go to O'Hare?  Or go loopward for an Arlington Heights to Downers Grove trip?

5) Transferring for a cross-loop Metra ride can involve a decent walk.

6) The trains don't look very fast from their schedules.

A better route for relieving Chicago congestion is to get a loop bypass inside of I-294, better use of auxiliary lanes, and more stacks instead of cloverleafs.

[hobsini2]

Simple solution. Double deck the expressways. This solves two problems in congestion. First, if there is an accident on the SB lanes, by doubledecking, you eliminate the rubber necking going NB. And second, you could make 6 lanes in each direction if you double deck.  Yes it would cost a lot of money, which if you tolled it only for the construction period, it would be bought for in 10 years or so after the project is completed. Eliminate the toll and wow you have a 12 lane expressway.

[pianocello]

Or it could be doubledecked a la GW Bridge with the express lanes on top. While this wouldn't help the crash situation, it wouldn't cost as much as the interchanges (save for the Interstate-Interstate connections) wouldn't have to be reconstructed