CHICAGO — New renderings of planned separated bike and bus lanes for the Loop were released Wednesday.
The drawings — put out by the Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago Department of Transportation — show the proposed changes to some downtown streets that will start with the 2014 Bus Rapid Transit system.
Two miles of streets on Madison, Washington, Canal and Clinton will have bus-priority lanes marked by brightly colored pavement, according to a statement. There will also be new shelters, digital displays and sidewalk improvements.
Along Washington, bike lanes will be protected by bus lanes and boarding platforms. A westbound protected bike lane on Madison would be relocated to Randolph.
“Washington and Madison are two of CTA’s most traveled bus corridors with buses arriving every two to three minutes,” CTA President Forrest Claypool said in a statement. “The new configuration will speed up six routes on these busy streets and fifteen total routes throughout the entire Central Loop BRT corridor."
The project is being financed by a $24.6 million Federal Transit Administration grant and $7.3 million in local TIF funds.
The agencies also unveiled renderings for a new off-street transportation center just south of Union Station.
