Will it Ever End?

Construction, that is. We've been enjoying a couple of summer construction projects on and around Columbia's campus, and wanted to share the love!

Those of us who regularly cross Congress Parkway have been suffering through a project begun in 2010 to make the Parkway more pedestrian-friendly. The construction has of course made things quite a bit less pedestrian-friendly, but we may be turning a corner. Major work has ceased, and it looks like we are just awaiting some decorative metal trellises (illustrated above) to complete the friendlier look.

As the project is slated for completion in "late 2012", we look forward to an easier and more aesthetically pleasing crossing soon. For more information, check out this glossy brochure from the City and slideshow about the Congress Parkway Improvement Project.

An interesting campus project is centered on the front of the 618 S. Michigan building: a facelift to take its look back to the past and forward to the future at the same time. The late '50s metal-and-blue-rectangular structure has been removed, and the underlayer of bricks is being repaired. Once the brickwork is finished, a glass wall will be installed on the front of the building that features a "ghost image" of its original 1913 terra cotta façade.

For the time being, the building looks like it's on life support, with windows removed, dessicated masonry on display, and a scaffold to end all scaffolds gracing its front. Here's hoping the finished product provides that blast from the past that takes us back to the future. For pictures of what the finished building may look like, see the Chicago Tribune's Cityscapes blog.

Summer transportation

Without your U-Pass, you might feel like you're stranded in your apartment this summer. Hopefully with a few tools we can remedy that situation.

1. Use the CTA's many resources.
The website itself, http://www.transitchicago.com/, is completely full of helpful advice including information on closures/reroutes and links to their apps. Two things I use regularly on my smartphone- train tracker, I just have it bookmarked on my phone, (http://www.transitchicago.com/traintracker/) but you could use an app instead, and bus tracker, which I use both the web and text versions (http://www.ctabustracker.com/bustime/home.jsp.)





2.Car sharing: i-Go/Zip cars
i-go (http://www.igocars.org/) cars are parked throughout the city and great if you just need to make a few random day trips. Columbia even participates in their University and College program, when you sign up you can get a discount: http://www.igocars.org/!
Zipcar (http://www.zipcar.com/) is a similar car sharing business and they also have a University discount program: http://www.zipcar.com/universities/.



3. Bike!
Chicago is a very bike friendly city, get you wheels tuned up, grab a helmet and check out some of these resources. Google will map the best route for you to take on your bike if you need some help with directions. For example, I mapped a route from Columbia College to Wrigley field, and here is a link to the suggested route: http://g.co/maps/nuwwe. The CTA is also very bike friendly and if you need to you can bring you bike on a train during certain hours, or on a bus at any time (http://www.transitchicago.com/bikeandride/). The chainlink is a Chicago-specific bike community with tons of info about biking in Chicago, if you sign up, their weekly email updates are great to keep an eye out for Chicagoland bike tours and events (http://www.thechainlink.org/). And last but not least, Chicago's Bike to Work Week takes place June 11-15, but the event is kicked off on June 9th. Here are two sites to get your fill of information about Bike to Work Week: http://www.activetrans.org/bikepitstops and http://ow.ly/aV9cr.