7/14/04
Today the Chicago Transit Board approved a contract to perform an alternatives analysis study for the proposed Ogden Transitway Project. The alternatives analysis study is the first planning step in the Federal Transportation Administration's New Start process for the purpose of pursuing federal funding for the project. The study will examine all of the transit options available and a locally preferred alternative will be determined.
The proposed Ogden Avenue Transitway plans involve the Ogden Avenue and Carroll Avenue corridors and would link the North Riverside Mall at Harlem and Cermak to the Chicago Central Business District and Navy Pier. It would connect several Chicago neighborhoods and three suburban communities with the 42,000-employee Illinois Medical District.
?The Ogden Avenue project could serve as a catalyst for further transit-oriented economic revitalization of the communities through which it travels," said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Carole Brown. ?This study will determine the best way to meet the future transit needs of the communities in these corridors."
?Additional transit options along the Ogden and Carroll Avenue corridors would improve travel times for our West Side customers," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?They also would serve the growing West Loop office district and support tourism by providing direct access to Navy Pier and Chicago's leading retail and entertainment district."
The Federal Transit Administration, Illinois FIRST and the CTA will fund the study, which was awarded to the Chicago planning and engineering services firm of Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. The alternatives analysis study will be conducted over the course of nine months.
With an emphasis on program management and technology, Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. provides technical and management solutions for highway and rail links and transit systems worldwide.
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