April 2, 2013 – chicagoist.com – Let’s face it: Bus Rapid Transit is going to expand in Chicago beyond the Jeffrey Jump. Plans are already in place for a BRT project in the Central Loop district to connect Union Station, Navy Pier and the Ogilvie Transportation Center, and BRT projects are planned for Western and Ashland Avenues.

Bus Rapid Transit is the focus of the 2013 Burnham Prize competition, sponsored by the Chicago Architectural Club and the Chicago Architecture Foundation. “NEXT STOP – Designing Chicago BRT Stations” aims to find innovative designs to seamlessly integrate BRT station designs into existing Chicago architecture and street layouts at three planned intersections: 18th Street and Ashland Avenue; State and Madison Streets; and on Western Avenue at the O’Hare Blue Line Stop in Logan Square.

CAF and the Chicago Architectural Club are working with the Chicago Department of Transportation, the Chicago Transit Authority and a coalition of groups called the Chicago Bus Rapid Transit Steering Committee that includes the Metropolitan Planning Council, Active Transportation Alliance, Urban Land Institute, Civic Consulting Alliance and the Institute for transportation and Development Policy (in addition to CTA and CDOT) to find the best designs for Chicago’s BRT projects to succeed. Active Transportation Alliance director of campaigns Lee Crandell told Chicagoist the planned stations “are a critical element of Bus Rapid Transit.”

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