Quote:
Originally Posted by left of center
Yup, they definitely do. They extend past Western for sure, but I'm not sure where their terminus is.
*EDIT*
Found an article on this:
https://news.wttw.com/2020/09/21/cit...-2-busy-routes
Apparently they are only temporary in an effort to reduce crowding on buses during the pandemic. For Chicago Ave, they run from Ashland to Laramie. 79th between Western and Cicero has also been given bus only lanes. I think they are a great idea, and wouldn't be averse to them sticking around on a permanent basis, although I guess we would have to see how people react once the pandemic is over and vehicular traffic goes back to pre pandemic levels.
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The red-painted bus lanes are permanent infrastructure (more or less) and they only extend from Michigan to Milwaukee to speed buses past the traffic jams leading to the Kennedy.
West of that to Laramie is a temporary pandemic bus lane that's a lot more janky. CDOT just painted a solid white line between lanes, and a few "BUS ONLY" pavement lettering signs. I think the "BUS ONLY" signs are fewer than one per block. No red paint, no large overhead gantry signs, no signal priority at intersections. The few times I've driven on it, drivers are using that lane freely. Same for the similar lane on 79th St.
Honestly buses flow pretty freely across most of the city, especially during off-peak times. There are a few bad intersections where bus lanes are needed, but CTA would get a lot more bang for their buck if they did prepaid boarding or POP, and allowed people to board through the rear door.