If you have thoughts on @illinoisdot.bsky.social performance this is an opportunity to share them.

Illinois Department of Transportation@illinoisdot.bsky.social · 22h ago

Don’t miss your chance to make your voice heard! Take the Traveler Opinion Survey and help shape the future of transportation in Illinois. It’s quick, easy, and your input matters. Survey closes Tuesday, Aug. 11: prez.ly/NvLd

A new @smartgrowthusa.bsky.social report finds that communities investing in safer transportation systems see a wide range of economic benefits as well as cost savings from fewer traffic crashes and reduced physical inactivity. wordpress.smartgrowthamerica.org/wp-content/u...

Milwaukee Mayor backtracks on plan to replace this elevated expressway splitting Milwaukee's downtown with a boulevard, freeing up acres of real estate for housing and other uses. usa.streetsblog.org/2026/07/23/m...

It's always wild to me that tolls stop closer to the city. I'd gladly pay for a more tollway-like experience for the few times I drive into the city (tbh I take the train most of the time). The tollway is well maintained and has reasonable traffic. The city hwys…aren't that.

Thomas Bamonte@thomasbamonte.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Chicago region's current roadway pricing structure, which contains a pricing incentive encouraging traffic to use the most congested expressways in the urban core, is a policy failure with adverse congestion, environmental, transit, and equity consequences. bsky.app/profile/thom...

Chicago region's congestion exacerbating road pricing structure--tolling the bypass expressway (I-294) while the expressways running through the urban core are "free"--may not be so unique. 👇 Maybe @davidzipper.bsky.social will collect more examples, explain why + how metros can end policy fail.

Windier E. Megatons@windiermegatons.bsky.social · 2w ago

It was like this when I lived in central Texas too. The toll roads all around Austin are great… mostly because they’re usually pretty empty, while everyone piles onto the free roads like I-35, which was always an absolute parking lot through the central city.

New from me: Mayor Brandon Johnson's top criteria for NITA is not relevant skills. It's better to be a friend than be an expert. He makes a mockery of the positions advocates spent years fighting for. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/19/o...

Nik Hunder: Brandon Johnson shows us again that he doesn’t value transit but rather cronyism

Two of Chicago’s representatives on the Northern Illinois Transit Authority don’t ride the system enough to know its problems.

chicagotribune.com

New York City/MTA congestion pricing program upheld by Second Circuit against challenge by two NYC collar counties. www.courthousenews.com/second-circu...

Second Circuit rejects last-ditch bid to pause NYC congestion toll

Two suburban counties sought to stop the $9 commuter toll, which raised $500 million last year for New York City trains and buses.

courthousenews.com

Chicago US Attorney’s office: “The heads of all seven sections of the Chicago office’s criminal division have left in the past year, as have many of their successors and deputies.” So far, 59 of 62 Midway Blitz assault cases have failed. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/u...

Failed Immigration Cases Leave Chicago Prosecutor’s Office Reeling (Gift Article)

Prosecutors have fled the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, angry about the cases they’ve been told to bring against protesters and immigrants.

nytimes.com

"Climate-driven smoke deaths result in economic damages that exceed estimates of climate-driven damages from all other causes combined in the USA. Health impacts of climate-driven wildfire smoke among the most important and costly consequences of a warming climate." www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Wildfire smoke exposure and mortality burden in the USA under climate change - Nature

Smoke PM2.5 could result in 71,420 excess deaths per year in the USA by 2050 under the SSP3-7.0 high-warming scenario.

nature.com

Showing travel time benefits a great way to pique interest in a big improvement to the Chicago region's public transit rail system. NITA can be more than a caretaker of today's system and learn from international examples--e.g., London, Munich, Paris--for how to truly regionalize a rail system.

Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 3w ago

The #BuildTheTunnel movement is growing: check out @stevevance.net’s new CrossTowner trip planner to see how CrossTowner regional rail could potentially make your life easier. stevevance.github.io/buildthetunn...

New report finds that about half of traffic stops by the Chicago Police Department are not properly reported under state law. www.injusticewatch.org/criminal-cou...

Chicago Police promised to ‘fix’ secret traffic stops. A year later, the problem has only gotten worse.

As Chicago’s top cop steps down, police are making fewer traffic stops. But our new investigation finds half of stops are still not being reported to oversight agencies, despite a state law mandating ...

injusticewatch.org

CTA launched a new problem statement through its Innovation Studio, seeking proposals that enable CTA to proactively improve the fare payment experience in rail stations through new faregates or other innovative fare entry features. www.transitchicago.com/cta-innovati...

CTA Innovation Studio Announces New Challenge to Test Faregate Technology

Today, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) launched a new problem statement through its Innovation Studio, seeking proposals that enable CTA to proactively improve the fare payment experience in rail ...

transitchicago.com

Just going to put this out there: but @mayorofchicago.bsky.social told transit advocates yesterday they need to compromise. Today Chicago is covered in wildfire smoke, a direct result of climate change warming. Transportation is the single largest source of GHG emissions in Illinois. SMDH

Micheál Podgers@michealpodgers.bsky.social · 3w ago

Overall, just a really disappointing display from @mayorofchicago.bsky.social. He’s taking way too much credit for wins he didn’t achieve. He struggled to answer questions off-the-cuff. He seems to have no clear vision for the city.

Wake-up call for state and local DOTs to fill USDOT road safety vacuum: FHWA has stripped bike lanes, speed cameras and several other best practices from a list of "Proven Safety Countermeasures," as they're known, that have been shown to reduce crashes and save lives. www.npr.org/2026/07/16/n...

Bike lanes and speed cameras disappear from the DOT's list of proven safety measures

The Federal Highway Administration quietly stripped bike lanes and other safety recommendations from a key list of best practices. Critics say those measures are proven to cut crashes and save lives.

npr.org

“She cited a failure to plan a Metra station for the site where the future CTA Red Line Extension will cross its tracks [...] 'Everybody’s just sort of planning for themselves and not having any coherent, holistic plan.'" www.chicagotribune.com/2026/07/16/p...

Toni Preckwinkle backs Red Line extension connections, wins approval for transit picks

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s picks for local transit boards — including her first two Chicago Transit Authority board selections — won sign-off from the county board Thursday.

chicagotribune.com

Chicago's hazardous air quality should put to rest sanguine notion that Midwest will be insulated from the effects of climate change and repopulated by climate refugees. Bad air not livable. Midwest must do the work of adapting housing/transportation/energy/etc. to lessen climate impacts too.

Chicago AQ@chicagoaq.bsky.social · 3w ago

At 6 AM the AQI was 417 , the dominant pollutant was PM2.5 and the air quality is hazardous PM2.5 = 417 or 254.42 µg/m³ PM10 = 218 or 366.7 µg/m³ NO₂ = 13 or 14 ppb SO₂ = 1 or 0.7 ppb O₃ = 48 or 52.08 ppb CO = 2 or 0.2 ppb

"Despite the fact that the federal court order requiring CPD to reform itself has been in effect for seven years, CPD has fully met just 25% of its requirements, according to the most recent report by the team monitoring the city’s compliance with the reform push."

Heather Cherone@heathercherone.bsky.social · 4w ago

NEW: Chicago taxpayers spent nearly $259 million in 2025 to resolve lawsuits alleging CPD officers committed a wide range of misconduct — including wrongful convictions & improper pursuits, according to a city report required by the federal court order known as the consent decree. @wttw.bsky.social

The equity argument against the weird Chicago region congestion (creating) pricing system extends to suburbanites too. They get charged for driving but often have no transit alternatives. City residents get "free" x-ways but US-worse congestion that impedes their bus service and quality of life.

Star:Line Chicago@starlinechicago.bsky.social · 3w ago

We charge motorists for driving on belt and suburban expressways with ~no transit alternatives while keeping expressways in and out of the urban core – each flanked by high-capacity, frequent, publicly-subsidized rail transit – free. Stop subsidizing transit’s competition. Toll the expressways.

The Illinois Tollway's coming toll rate hikes will further entrench a congestion pricing system in the Chicago region that may be unique--and not in a good way--among global metros. 🧵 www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/i...

Illinois Tollway proposes highest rate hike in history: How much rates could go up and when

If approved, tollway rates could change starting January 1.

nbcchicago.com

Wildfires are bad but one of Chicagoland's leading sources of air pollution is transportation: namely, car and truck exhaust. Mode shift or die.

Block Club Chicago@blockclubchi.bsky.social · 3w ago

Chicago’s air quality is among the worst in the world as wildfire smoke hits. blockclubchi.co/4pHdrpf

The transportation sector is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Illinois. GHGs accelerate global warming that triggers wildfires and ozone alerts. Meanwhile, Chicago's MPO seeks approval of a long-range plan that accommodates faster growth in vehicle miles traveled than population.

New @ilepi.bsky.social study concludes that the Rebuild Illinois funding--which is going primarily for construction on roads and bridges--delivers a $1.79 return on each $1.00 spent. How does this bang for the buck compare to investing in transit? 👇 mailchi.mp/illinoisepi/...

"Bicycle traffic in Paris increased by 240% 2018-2023, driven not by a single bike lane or policy, but by a coordinated strategy that combined protected cycling infrastructure, restrictions on car traffic, better public spaces, and sustained political commitment." momentummag.com/paris-cyclin...

"Supporters of the [NITA reforms] plan are optimistic that a strong regional governing body will improve efficiency in administering transit in the region, planning fares and levels of service, and improving coordination between the CTA, Metra, and Pace." www.railjournal.com/in_depth/us-...

US transit: a case of Long Covid

Ridership on rail transit services in cities across the United States has largely failed to return to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, leading to a funding shortfall for operations and a fiscal crisis fo...

railjournal.com

Munich S-Bahn and London’s Crossrail are probably two of the best comparisons to how the tunnel could transform Chicagoland. 🇩🇪: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...

Munich S-Bahn - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Protect Bridgeport Bicyclists@stevevance.net · 4w ago

Learn more about the CrossTowner Regional Rail vision, which relies on a new, short in tunnel downtown Chicago Cities the world over have built train tunnels that puts more destinations in acceptable travel time distances

Asking for a friend: Other than a desire for good, neighborhood-friendly design on the part of developers and/or their architects is there anything that deters more of this kind of fortress wall design dead zoning on streets in transit-rich Chicago neighborhoods with lots of pedestrians?

One would hope that NITA (and CMAP/IDOT) will build on this good work and focus on advancing transformative rail projects rather than continue the traditional focus on adding low-performing line extensions to accommodate more low-density sprawl and add significant long-term maintenance expense.

Protect Bridgeport Bicyclists@stevevance.net · 4w ago

I’m doing some #BuildTheTunnel trip analysis using R5 and a synthetic GTFS based on the map and schedules that @starlinechicago.bsky.social created… There are some incredible findings, like a 20% travel time reduction (and reliably so) between Arlington Heights and Hyde Park

The head of NHTSA cautioned autonomous vehicle developers in a letter Wednesday about what he called an “unacceptable” pattern of driverless cars interfering with the work of law enforcement and other first responders. www.wired.com/story/self-d...

Self-Driving Cars Are Interfering With First Responders. Feds Aren’t Happy

NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morris called reports that self-driving cars had driven into emergency scenes and blocked ambulances and firefighters “unacceptable.”

wired.com

CTA will soon equip 46 additional buses (up from 6 today) with technology aimed at enforcing and deterring illegal parking in dedicated bus/bike lanes and bus stops. www.transitchicago.com/chicago-tran...

Chicago Transit Board Approves Expansion of Automated Bus Lane Enforcement Program

The Chicago Transit Board today approved an expansion of its Automated Bus Lane Enforcement (ABLE) program. By scaling the program from six to 52 camera-equipped buses, the CTA in partnership with the...

transitchicago.com

The takeaway for cities: “The best bang for your buck is protected bike lanes,” Moran told Bike Talk‘s Nick Richert. “Really focus on bike infrastructure that’s protected. That’s how you grow ridership. That’s how you diversify ridership.” sf.streetsblog.org/2026/07/08/s...

Study: Only Protected Bike Lanes Cause a Real Increase in Cycling - Streetsblog San Francisco

"The best bang for your buck is protected bike lanes... That's how you grow ridership. That's how you diversify ridership."

sf.streetsblog.org