Ryan Richter, AICP
@ryanjrichter.com
Transportation/urban planner. Fascinated with cities, geography and the movement of people and goods. Chicagoan. ryanjrichter.com
The party that can't even fix a pool leak is some real bizarre energy to bring on Election eve.
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · yesterdayI still can't believe this is what he did for the Republican Party's closing argument for the midterms.
Not sure if anyone has bothered to put all these things on the same map before, so here you go. The O'Hare Flyer does not compete with Metra, and as long as the Flyer says they can do it with private money and without taking capacity away from Metra, maybe we should let them.
Ryan Richter, AICP@ryanjrichter.com · 6d agoI don't see what Metra's plans re: O'Hare service is a threat to the O'Hare Flyer. We can have both. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/28/e...
I don't see what Metra's plans re: O'Hare service is a threat to the O'Hare Flyer. We can have both. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/10/28/e...
Editorial: Kennedy Expressway mess demands approval for the O’Hare Flyer
Pols and NIMBYs should not be allowed to sabotage the O’Hare Flyer.
chicagotribune.com
I'm curious to find out what more robust environmental impacts will result in for mitigation effects beyond what Amtrak was already planning.
Thomas Bamonte@thomasbamonte.bsky.social · last wk.The Federal Railroad Administration will conduct a more complete environmental assessment of Amtrak’s proposed new Chicago-area maintenance facility, stepping back from an earlier decision excluding the project from review. 2 public hearings; end of year completion. www.trains.com/pro/passenge...
I always thought Jeff Park should look like downtown Evanston. The bus terminal could support a thousand units above it. At the time, joint development wasn't permissible, but CTA also had no appetite for thinking through what was possible (shrinking the footprint and selling MKE Ave. frontage.
Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · last wk.The burbs have nearly unlimited potential with this but also, there are well over 70 Metra stations in the city that could be turned into proper TOD anchors with thru-running regional rail. #BuildTheTunnel
The Northwest Side could really thrive in this scenario!
Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · last wk.The effects of zoning changes really depend on the neighborhood. Enabling duplexes and triplexes in areas currently zoned for single family homes would add a lot of units on the far NW and SW sides. Enabling more transit-oriented densities would have a bigger effect in areas like North Center.
Nice Sun-Times coverage of NITA's development powers. I didn't realize WMATA has brought 10k housing units online in the DC area. That's incredible. Looking forward to seeing the list of transit-owned properties NITA has on the books. chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
The new transit authority has unprecedented power to develop land. How could this change your neighborhood?
For years, transit agencies in other major American cities have had powers to develop underused transit-owned land. The Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act catches Chicago up to its peers. But it ...
chicago.suntimes.com
I'd buy some luxury watches. Not insane $100k pieces, but I'd like an IWG Mark XX and maybe an Omega Seamaster, or possibly a Breitling Navitimer. All of those are within $10k but are insane for me to buy where I am in life.
Peter@notalawyer.bsky.social · 3w agoquestion for the audience: if you were ultra rich (let’s say $25M), what completely frivolous thing are you buying?
I'd hire accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors stat. Then set up trusts and maintain strict privacy. Of course, this is all a moot point since I never play the lottery.
BeardedVirgoKing 9.5⚜️@jes55.bsky.social · 3w agoIf you hit the lottery….what would be the signs? For me it will be the cars. I would get all my dream cars.
My comment is for Metra to push the STB in the UP-NS merger to get control over the UP-N and UP-NW lines.
Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 3w agoMetra’s soliciting comment on the SNP, by the way www.surveymonkey.com/r/RZBQHFP
Learned from this United Airline captain that United builds into their schedule 30 minutes taxi time to takeoff at O'Hare due to construction.
I feel like I'm sitting on a toilet seat on this airplane. Gonna be a long ride.
Took a break from social media while I was in Scotland, but I wanted to share this picture I took from a ScotRail train over the Forth Bridge. The bridge itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a symbol of Scotland.
I thought the Republican Party was the party of personal responsibility? 🤔
Streetsblog Chicago@chi.streetsblog.org · 2mo agoIllinois Policy: "Chicago speed cameras ticket drivers every 48 seconds." We think they mean, "Every 48 seconds, a driver who is speeding gets ticketed by a Chicago traffic camera."
Sadly, the Milwaukee Lines train frequencies are capped despite owning the lines, by CPKC, who dispatches. This is problematic in light of whatever happened with the UP-NS merger. UP is widely assumed to never give up dispatch control, same as CPKC.
NCS Enjoyer@fixingnorthamerica.bsky.social · 2mo agoThey claim one of their goals is increasing service on weekends. This is only on RI, BNSF & UP-N. Ridership jumped by double digits per station. Turns out that if you run trains people use them. (MD-N still has 2 hourly service)
This is exactly right. The choice is between continued freight rail operations without any local oversight or public railroad ownership that is far more responsive to the community. chicagocitywire.com/if-bridgepor...
If Bridgeport stops the Amtrak facility, the rail yard doesn't go away. It goes back to Union Pacific. - Chicago City Wire
Ald. Nicole Lee says the maintenance shop belongs in "an existing industrial area." The Canal Street yard is one. Here are the three most likely futures for the property if the opposition wins — and n...
chicagocitywire.com
All of this deregulation of the food industry started in the 1980s so we can blame a generation of Republican leadership for these consequences.
FactPost@factpostnews.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe USDA has announced a recall of 1,513 pounds of pork contaminated with listeria, warning there is a reasonable chance of "serious adverse health consequences or death" if consumed.
And People Over Parking Act! This is going to be a huge first meeting.
William Skudlarek@willskud.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe agenda for NITA's first meeting for this Thurday is already up. First orders of business: choosing a board chair AND an interim executive director. nita.illinois.gov/uploads/file...
Fiscal decisions decades in the making and now we're on our 12th credit rating upgrade and the Trib just can't take the win. No one is arguing that we've solved the fiscal problems, but it's not going to be fixed immediately. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/08/m...
Editorial: Illinois got another credit upgrade. So why are we still last?
Despite a slew of credit upgrades, Illinois is still dead last.
chicagotribune.com
Happy NITA Day to all who celebrate!
Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · 2mo agoCongrats to the Chicago region for today's launch of NITA, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority, which will coordinate operations by CTA, Metra, and Pace... and hopefully result in better service for riders nita.illinois.gov
The CN angle is interesting since they only allow Metra 10 trains per day on the NCS but are somehow going to allow 4 trains per hour on the flyer? I also assume Metra will ask for a flyover at B-12 given their existing traffic as well as CPKC. Figure another flyover at the Rockwell sub too.
Streetsblog Chicago@chi.streetsblog.org · 2mo agoWe got a full response from the O'Hare Flyer team to transit planner Jarrett Walker's post that the plan "depends on a lot of single track." TLDR, from ORDF's Mark Walbrun, a longtime railroad industry veteran: "That's not actually the track we're using."
Problem is...this is a $3B fix and they're bonded to the hilt on RLE. I'm genuinely curious what the debt service payments will look like post-RLE and CTA's ability to deliver on other massive maintenance/preservation projects not to mention any other rail service expansions.
Laurie! Live!@laurie-merrell.bsky.social · 2mo agoBlue Line slow zones are front page news www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/26/c...
On second thought, @starlinechicago.bsky.social identified the better alignment than O'Hare Flyer for reasons of cutting out the UP and CSX middlemen. NITA could then operate directly using Metra or another vendor operator. starlinechicago.substack.com/p/skys-the-l...
Sky's the Limit
We're approaching O'Hare rail service all wrong
starlinechicago.substack.com
Interestingly enough, the most recent construction in downtown Jefferson Park (39 units at Lawrence/Laramie) is filled with airline worker crash pads.
Michael McLean@michaelmclean.me · 2mo agoPilots, flight attendants, O'Hare staff, consultants, really anyone who frequently travels for their careers would benefit a ton from this quick access. I suspect the land value around the post office would boom.
My gut reaction is that this is the right alignment, but I don't see how a capital cost of $2.25B gets it done using NA construction costs. I also think we're looking at some pretty significant structures like the 1.5 mile viaduct over an airfield (seems far fetched!)...
Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 2mo agoWhether or not the project is actually financially feasible – Toronto’s Union Pearson Express was a similar startup that had some growing pains due to their premium fare model – at least this one gets the alignment right, following CSX along the Ike www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/25/o...
These are big questions, in my mind. Will CTA continue to defer to CDOT and alders on service planning? Will CDOT permit NITA more authority over its public way?
Thomas Bamonte@thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 3mo ago👀 Will NITA flex its statutory authority--long held but all but unused by the RTA--to designate lanes for bus transit improvements such as bus rapid transit?
Huge news for Amtrak and the White Sox over the weekend as Amtrak reeled in two massive Railroad Reinvestment Fund grants ($572M + $87M). This unlocks Ishbia's plan to relocate Amtrak's 14th St Yard to the UP Canal St. Yard in Bridgeport. chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Amtrak's funding boost paves way for White Sox chairman-in-waiting Justin Ishbia's South Loop vision
More than $600 million in federal funding announced Friday could open up a 47-acre parcel that Ishbia has considered for a potential Sox stadium, sources said.
chicago.suntimes.com
Otherwise the risk is studying a project to death. Then you end up with 17k page NEPA reports and $1B per mile construction costs after 50 years of "planning".
Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 3mo agoTL;DR get more projects out the door and use data to optimize them once they’re in service, but don’t let data bog down the launch of the project
This has been my experience in government.
Daniel Kay Hertz@danielkayhertz.bsky.social · 3mo agoIt’s both true that there are a lot of inefficiencies, and that they manifest in money, time, and quality of services; and that it’s not really the case that there’s a big meaningful chunk of the budget that can just be cut without affecting services.
