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Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Checkers on 95th
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Sun-Times: CTA launching 'Frequent Network' bus service on some routes that will arrive every 10 minutes or sooner
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CTA |
The Chicago Transit Authority said it will launch “Frequent Network” bus service that will arrive every 10 minutes or sooner beginning later this month.
Buses on eight routes will arrive every 10 minutes or sooner between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends beginning March 23, the CTA said in a news release.
The first routes to be part of the network are the J14 Jeffery Jump; No. 34 South Michigan; No. 47 47th Street; No. 54 Cicero; No. 60 Blue Island/26th; No. 63 63rd Street; No. 79 79th Street; and No. 95 95th Street.
The program is expected to increase service by at least 25% on the J14, No. 34, No. 47, No. 60, and No. 95 routes, the transit agency said....The service will be added to another 12 routes by the end of the year, the CTA said.
The riders who thought this was good news had often complained about waits for buses. It seems to be an ongoing complaint over the years about service, the wait times for a bus or train. Another issue was safety and I have my own story about that.
If you're a frequent CTA rider do you think this is a good development? Are you riding any of those routes above and have any experience with long waits for service?
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
CBS Chicago: Fire shutters iconic Calumet Fisheries smokehouse
[VIDEO] I don't recall ever visiting this place but I know this is a hot spot.
Calumet Fisheries was in the news already for failing a health inspection, however, today there was a fire and that means it might be a while longer before they're back in business. CBS Chicago was on the scene to speak with a manager for this establishment. He says they will be back!
Amazing they've been in the same building since the 1920s and under the same ownership or at least the same family owners since the 1940s. Located on 95th just before crossing over the Calumet River bridge.
Has anyone ever been there? What do you think about the food they serve?
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Uncontrolled bus almost backs into oncoming traffic on 95th!
[VIDEO] Just had to share this with you all and it seems very scary. An unmanned err sorry not very PC it had no operator driving. It had no driver and it rolled backwards into traffic and had two CTA personnel try to stop the bus from the outside. One of them seemed to be trying to stop the bus from the front. Well bad idea, very dangerous idea.
They were able to stop the bus, anoter CTA driver was able to open the doors to the bus and probably knew what control to activate to finally bring the bus to a stop.
In the description from YouTube channel locoooo
The operator of the bus did not apply the parking brake prior to getting off the bus . When the bus shut off for idling , it began rolling back into oncoming traffic
This video was filmed on May 17, 2023.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
WGN News: Man critical after being stabbed following altercation at 95th Street
[VIDEO] Yikes! Be careful out there on the Red Line.
The stabbing happened on a Red Line train in the 0-100 block of West 95th Street around 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.
According to police, a 28-year-old man was in a physical altercation with a 21-year-old man on a train, when the 21-year-old took out a knife and began stabbing the 28-year-old.
The victim sustained multiple stab wounds to the stomach, head and arms and was transported to Christ Hospital in critical condition.
Police said the offender also sustained lacerations to the hands and was transported to the same hospital in good condition.
Friday, January 20, 2023
McDonald's near 95th & Dan Ryan closed?
I found this photo below on Facebook stating that it's now permanently closed.
Via Joe Myers on Facebook |
This location has been here since the early 2000s and it was shocking within the last week to see that there was no one in the parking lot and drive through within the last two or so weeks. With it's location it's very odd that there was no one there or that it was closed.
On the other hand in the handful of times that I've been there as a customer I found that the customer service left a lot to be desired. One time I ordered something and the cashier said nothing and just pointed as if I knew what she was trying to say or ask. So my first thought was that well people finally got wind of the customer service up there and they started to lose business. Though again, this location was always jumping even if I rarely ordered any food there.
Other explanations I've seen has been about violent crime near this McDonald's say some people got shot. As you see in the above pic there is plywood over some of the windows though I don't know if there was a shooting there that affected the building or anyone inside or not.
Another explanation is that just as was done with the lots on the east side of the Red Line's 95th Terminal which used to have a Jim's polish stand, two gas stations and a strip mall, they also bought the property on the west side of the terminal. Just curious how much of this property CTA bought and can be expected to be demolished in the near future.
Regardless looking for something to eat once you get off the bus or train on 95th Street. McDonald's is now one less place to do so.
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Be careful on CTA
[VIDEO] FOX 32 reports on attacks by a mob (10 or 15) of teens near the 95th Street Red Line terminal. The attack was reported to have happened an hour before the remote by reporter Elizabeth Matthews. Matthews was broadcasting inside Abbott Park across from the terminal.
So an incident happened before Matthews was broadcasting and they reported another incident last night speaking with one of the victims wear a facemask and a bandage over her nose. The victim who was assaulted suffered a fractured nose.
So not only are they punching victims, they're also using pepper spray and engaging in strong arm robbery.
Be careful on the train, getting off the train, and perhaps even on the bus.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Sun-Times: CTA worker charged with shooting man at Red Line station
This incident happened at the 95th terminal at 2 AM Saturday morning
A Chicago Transit Authority employee is accused of shooting a man multiple times during an argument at a Red Line station on the South Side, according to Chicago police and CTA officials.
Sylvester Adams, 53, was arrested moments after the shooting at the 95th/Dan Ryan station early Saturday morning and charged with attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon, police said.
He was scheduled to appear in bond court Sunday.
Cell phone video that was posted to Twitter appears to show Adams arguing with the man just before the shooting, which police said happened just before 2 a.m. Saturday at the 95th/Dan Ryan station.
What led to the argument was not immediately clear.
The man is seen pushing Adams to the ground, who gets up and appears to reach into his pocket and pull out a gun.
The man who shoved Adams then walks away down a set of stairs, and the transit worker follows him, the video shows.
“He got his pipe, boy,” a bystander at the station says before the CTA worker appears to fire one shot from the top of the stairs, pauses and then fires off several more rounds in rapid succession down the stairs, the video shows.
I've seen video of an altercation taking place at 95th which involves a CTA worker being shoved on the ground by a customer. And this Sun-Times article cites that this same video was posted to @CPD1617Scanner. I won't embed that tweet here, however, I will link to it. All I saw was the shove and the worker following the man down the stairs.
CPD1617Scanner shares a lot of videos of things going down around the city and their vids have been shown on such cable outlets as FOX News.
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Hasty Tasty Grill
Found this in a fb group for Harlan High School alumni this building was said to be located east of Michigan Avenue on 95th Street. No indication of how long this business has been on operation, however, it was said that it was where the "coach buses" used to stop. So perhaps this was the old Trailways depot which is soon to become a food pantry?
Thursday, March 18, 2021
95th/State on February 1, 2021
[VIDEO] I shot this video after the snowfall of January 30 & 31, 2021. You see a mini-loader on this day removing snow on the sidewalks around the former gas station and polish sausage stand. Basically shoveling the snow and dumping it onto the vacant lot behind the fence.
You also see what I showed in a video from 2016, the lot along State Street near the 95th Red Line terminal is now vacant any of the longtime structures that were there are now a memory. Now the next question is what's next on that corner.
Monday, March 1, 2021
Food pantry coming to 119 E. 95th Street #Ward09
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119-121 E. 95th St |
This building has been vacant perhaps for over a year it was formerly home to an insurance company, and for many years before that it used to be a Trailways bus depot until that company got bought out by Greyhound. Of course that was at least back in the 1990s. Now it has another hat:
Endeleo Institute, a community group in the majority-Black Washington Heights and Roseland neighborhoods on the city’s Far South Side, received a grant that will allow it to open a food pantry at 119-121 E. 95th St., in a 3,500-square-foot building that once housed an insurance business.
“It’s going to be nothing like a traditional food pantry,” said Executive Director Melvin Thompson. “We really want to dignify the space, to destigmatize this.”
It will be a choice pantry, where people can select what they want. The plan is to offer cooking demonstrations, nutrition education and a financial opportunity center to help people with budgeting.
The building sits on a 12,000-square-foot lot and the hope is to eventually bring a mobile pharmacy to fill a gap left by the closure of several neighborhood pharmacies over the years, Thompson said.
“We really want to take advantage of people coming through the door and fortifying them beyond food but with things that will help them along the way,” Thompson said. He expects to serve 500 to 1,000 people weekly.
West Chesterfield and Roseland Heights Community Associations will partner with Endelo who is affiliated with Trinity Church further west on 95th Street per an e-mail that was forwarded to me.
The main thing is those who aren't able to put food on the table will have somewhere else to go to fill their pantries in their homes.
Thursday, February 11, 2021
My how the streetscape of 95th & State Street has changed #tbt
[VIDEO] It wasn't that long ago that this was the scene from the 95th Red Line Terminal. And the reconstruction is largely done now in 2021. It seems that we're getting ready to see in a new phase in the redevelopment.
Earlier this year the gas station, Ed's Livery building, a currency exchange building, another gas station, and them a Cosmo store have all been demolished. Even the old Jim's Polish stand closed since 2014 were all demolished last month.
So the scene you see here was from back in 2016 and who's have thought all the structures you saw back then would be nothing more than a memory?
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Open House 34th District Office #twill
Want to learn more about state Rep. Nick Smith visit his website at RepSmith34.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Curbed Chicago: CTA completes $280 million 95th Street terminal overhaul #Ward09
CTA completes $280 million 95th Street terminal overhaul https://t.co/TLw6J8IHJ2 pic.twitter.com/sSNLJK4VvM— Curbed Chicago (@curbedchicago) January 4, 2019
Saturday, January 5, 2019
The new 95th terminal is now open... #Ward09 #BuildingwithBeale
The $280 million project replaces the original 50-year-old rail and bus terminal at the southern end of the Red Line, which runs along the Dan Ryan Expressway. The station, one of the busiest on the CTA system, serves 20,000 daily commuters and sees about 1,000 CTA, Pace and Greyhound bus trips on an average weekday, CTA officials said.As for that future CTA Red Line extension:
The four-year station construction was also a necessary step in building the extension of the Red Line south to 130th Street, which is part of the agency’s long-range plan.
“This is a huge, huge accomplishment for the city of Chicago and the Far South Side,” said Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th. Beale said the station will be more user-friendly for bus, rail and pedestrian traffic and will draw business to the area.
The south terminal was completed last spring. Having two terminals eliminates the conflict between eastbound and westbound buses on 95th Street, allowing eastbound buses to use the south terminal and westbound buses to use the north terminal, CTA officials said. Previously, there was only a north terminal.
The new station includes a heated, glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge over 95th Street, connecting the north and south terminals and cutting down on conflicts between cars and people walking. The number of bus bays has increased to 26, from 12, CTA officials said.
The station also will have more turnstiles and Ventra vending machines, a longer train platform to reduce overcrowding, additional bike racks, and new signage.
“I think it’s a great lift to the community,” said Ald. Howard Brookins Jr., 21st. “It’s a beautiful station. It will spur additional economic development down 95th Street, and it will ease traffic going down that corridor.”
The construction of the new station needed to be done before the Red Line can be extended to 130th Street, CTA officials said. Last year, the CTA picked a route for the extension, which will include four new rail stations. The agency is now preparing to complete the preliminary design and engineering work needed to pursue federal funding for the project.You want to know the financial scale?
The cost of the station exceeds that of two recent big projects: the $203 million Wilson Street station rebuilding on the Red Line’s north branch and the $75 million Washington/Wabash station in the Loop. The 95th Street station construction was larger than the other projects and included track work in the rail yard at 98th Street, CTA officials said.Finally seems like an unnecessary expense:
The new station, which has a distinctive red roof, will feature two new public art displays by Chicago native Theaster Gates. The south terminal will have a pair of tapestries made from the strips of decommissioned fire hoses that are sewn together, and the north terminal will include a radio station and DJ booth that will broadcast over the station’s public address system.A DJ Booth and a radio station, really? Though I hear that there will be public bathrooms available. Still not sure about that idea of DJ at a transit terminal.
Regardless can't wait to see the finished project...
Monday, November 26, 2018
Did you see the pedestrian bridge over 95th?
I did a quick snapshot when I noticed the bridge and finally posted it to our IG page. I think some of the structure for the bridge was staged at the old service station at 95th & State before it was eventually put up.
Thanks to the continuing work at 95th according to WGN:
Drivers along 95th Street will notice lane reconfigurations for the next 2-3 weeks as crews work to put the glass enclosures and flooring in place. For the latest details, visit transitchicago.com/alerts.Here's our ig post
Friday, July 6, 2018
A New Abbott Park Advisory Council
49 E 95th St |
A New Abbott Park Advisory Council
The Chicago Parks Consortium, West Chesterfield, Roseland Hts and Red Line Extension Coalition (RLEC) helped organize a New Abbott Park Advisory Council and invite your to attend its 6:30 p.m. meeting July, 18, 2018 in the Abbott Park Field House.
These organizations thank the Chicago Park District (CPD) for addressing many Abbott Park operation service requests since the September 19, 2017 CPD Budget Hearing Meeting. The community would like Abbott Park and the 95th Street area to be a “Preferred Point of Destination” that has good business neighbors, level 1 schools, a great park… all of which will improve area walkability and the use of public transportation within the ¼ mile to ½ mile transit-oriented development area of the at the $280 million 95th CTA Terminal.
Since 2017 the CPD planted 140 new trees at Abbott Park, installed Exterior Lights on the field house, trimmed Low tree branches, planted 1040 trees, install a new sink and water heater and drain pipe in the cultural center, repaired park benches and under ground pipes have been repaired in the center field of the.
Michael LaFargue, Chicago Parks Consortium president, congratulates Ms. Lori Burns and Sharon Banks Pincham, Co-Chair’s of the Park Advisory Council for Abbott Park. The PAC is working on its by-laws and goals for the next year.
All the same, there is finally a plan to turn this former playlot into a dog park that should've been debated at the last Roseland Heights Community Association meeting in June. I should ask for an update although unfortunately I didn't attend this meeting to observe the results. Though I hope to talk more about this soon and I'm sure this is a topic of conversation at the Abbott Park Advisory Council also.
I even took some more pics recently of the playlot close to 10 years after snapping some shots there as the future of this lot was still uncertain!
From Playlot on 98th/Michigan |
Saturday, April 7, 2018
The new 95th street is coming along
Here's a post from ig that includes the above pic and additional shots with some video.
Friday, January 26, 2018
Scary police chase on Thursday
As you will see the chase went through West Chesterfield at one point then all the way up to 87th by the Jewel Store off the Dan Ryan and then back west along 95th. Ultimately the chase ended at 93rd & May.
Video courtesy of CBS 2 Chicago. And a map of where this chase ultimately ended.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
The Walgreen's on 95th & King Drive is closing
The flyer you see below is seen on a table as you enter the store and signs are posted in that location alerting customers of the impending closing. This particular space had only been open for roughly a decade.