Ryan Richter, AICP
@ryanjrichter.com
Transportation/urban planner. Fascinated with cities, geography and the movement of people and goods. Chicagoan. ryanjrichter.com
Pinned
Ryan Richter, AICP
@ryanjrichter.com
· Jun 13
Me, yapping about the benefit/cost and community mobility improvements of the CREATE Program.
This should be built by right. All of Lincoln Park should be dramatically up-zoned.
Neighbors are raising parking and density concerns about a proposed Clybourn apartment project. blockclubchi.co/4rQb1EB
February 11, 2026 at 10:44 PM
This should be built by right. All of Lincoln Park should be dramatically up-zoned.
Does anyone have a contact for Operation Lifesaver? Looking to connect a local school with someone who can discuss rail crossing safety in Chicago.
February 11, 2026 at 10:41 PM
Does anyone have a contact for Operation Lifesaver? Looking to connect a local school with someone who can discuss rail crossing safety in Chicago.
I still am shocked that the Maroun family is allowed to privately own a border crossing. They have single handedly driven up the costs and delays of the Gordie Howe Bridge for years.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...
Bridge Owner Lobbied Administration Before Trump Blasted Competing Span to Canada
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:12 AM
I still am shocked that the Maroun family is allowed to privately own a border crossing. They have single handedly driven up the costs and delays of the Gordie Howe Bridge for years.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...
Anyone know if the Honolulu Skyline goes anywhere worth going to as a tourist? I'll be there next week and need to "research". My understanding is it doesn't reach downtown yet.
February 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Anyone know if the Honolulu Skyline goes anywhere worth going to as a tourist? I'll be there next week and need to "research". My understanding is it doesn't reach downtown yet.
I'd take that deal. Nothing is named forever. With the caveat, of course, that it's a deal with the mercurial devil.
You want your Gateway project funding? Here’s the price. 🤡
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
punchbowl.news/article/whit...
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
punchbowl.news/article/whit...
February 6, 2026 at 1:39 AM
I'd take that deal. Nothing is named forever. With the caveat, of course, that it's a deal with the mercurial devil.
Who would want to work in the federal government given all this? We're rapidly going back to the spoils system.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...
Trump Strips Job Protections From Thousands of Federal Workers
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Who would want to work in the federal government given all this? We're rapidly going back to the spoils system.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...
Former election judge here. This is vitally important. The best way to secure the integrity of the voting process is to be an election judge. Many, many areas are desperately short of EJ and pay. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners pays up to $230 for the day.
anyway i know how many of you hate that i’m so vocal about this and think it makes me a naive shitlib or whatever. but again, i think the best thing you could do for yourself here is to get involved in election administration where you live.
February 5, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Former election judge here. This is vitally important. The best way to secure the integrity of the voting process is to be an election judge. Many, many areas are desperately short of EJ and pay. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners pays up to $230 for the day.
I am a bit unclear what the author's CTA Blue Line issues are in this op-ed: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/02/o...
Yunus Emre Tozal: Blue Line is failing in its mission to be a vital link between O’Hare and the city
Technically, the Blue Line from O’Hare is operated by the CTA. But its current condition is not the responsibility of a single agency.
www.chicagotribune.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:52 PM
I am a bit unclear what the author's CTA Blue Line issues are in this op-ed: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/02/o...
I like the framing of the missing middle for transit. For too long we've had a commuter rail system that supported 9-5 weekday commutes in traditional commute patterns. That system no longer works. Regional rail unlocks the legacy system to greater ridership markets.
Urbanists talk about the “missing middle” of housing all the time, but Chicagoland rail transit also has a missing middle that results in a bifurcated system that leaves millions of Chicagolanders with substandard transit.
CrossTowner regional rail is the remedy. open.substack.com/pub/starline...
CrossTowner regional rail is the remedy. open.substack.com/pub/starline...
The Missing Middle of Transit
An introduction to regional rail
open.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:43 PM
I like the framing of the missing middle for transit. For too long we've had a commuter rail system that supported 9-5 weekday commutes in traditional commute patterns. That system no longer works. Regional rail unlocks the legacy system to greater ridership markets.
Never let Chris Christie off the hook for this, regardless of what happens. If Christie would have allowed ARC, this tunnel would have been open by now.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/n...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/n...
Work Will Stop on Critical Tunnel Project Unless Trump Restores Funding
www.nytimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Never let Chris Christie off the hook for this, regardless of what happens. If Christie would have allowed ARC, this tunnel would have been open by now.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/n...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/n...
OMG I could live right next door to work!
A proposal to transform a sixth Loop office building into new homes with the help of a $57 million city subsidy is one step away from approval.
https://to.wttw.com/3LDnhsl
https://to.wttw.com/3LDnhsl
Plan to Transform 6th Loop Office Building Into New Homes Advances
The City Council’s Finance Committee endorsed the $135 million project from Golub & Co to transform 16 floors of the 44-story tower at 30 N. LaSalle St. into 349 homes, including 105 units set aside f...
to.wttw.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:27 PM
OMG I could live right next door to work!
Again. She is so good at this.
AOC: I want everybody to understand that the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face.
January 13, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Again. She is so good at this.
She is really good at this.
Rep. @AOC: I understand that Vance believes shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not. That is a fundamental difference between Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.
January 9, 2026 at 10:50 PM
She is really good at this.
Holy hell, huge, if passed.
Indiana State Rep. Doug Miller (R) introduced one of the strongest pro-housing bills in America:
📐 Caps minimum lot sizes at ~5,400 sf
🏘️ Allow 3 townhomes on most lots
🏠 ADUs by-right
🚗 Caps parking mandates at 1
🪜 Single-stair mid-rise
🛗 Right-sizes elevator requirements
📐 Caps minimum lot sizes at ~5,400 sf
🏘️ Allow 3 townhomes on most lots
🏠 ADUs by-right
🚗 Caps parking mandates at 1
🪜 Single-stair mid-rise
🛗 Right-sizes elevator requirements
January 9, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Holy hell, huge, if passed.
Traffic jam at Tower 18.
January 9, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Traffic jam at Tower 18.
My take on this is because for CTA's entire existence, they have been an agency managing decline. People are fearful of stop consolidation because they're fearful of route consolidation and eventual elimination.
A terrific article, although I admit I'm a bit surprised at how many people when asked "if you could walk an extra block for a faster, more frequent bus, would you do it?" apparently say "no"
New from me! Chicago has far too many bus stops to provide efficient service for its riders—nearly twice the national standard. I reimagined what Chicago's bus network could do to make it look like its peers.
citythatworks.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
citythatworks.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
January 6, 2026 at 5:11 PM
My take on this is because for CTA's entire existence, they have been an agency managing decline. People are fearful of stop consolidation because they're fearful of route consolidation and eventual elimination.
A billion dollars per mile for a bike path makes the CTA's Red Line Extension look like a model of fiscal restraint.
LA Metro announces community meetings for the $1.2 billion LA River bike path mynewsla.com/business/202...
Metro Solicits Community Feedback for Proposed 8-Mile River Path - MyNewsLA.com
Metro is seeking public comment for the draft environmental impact report on a proposed eight-mile bike and walking path along the LA River between Elysian Valley and Maywood through downtown Los Ange...
mynewsla.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:18 PM
A billion dollars per mile for a bike path makes the CTA's Red Line Extension look like a model of fiscal restraint.
With the amount of money they are spending on this station there should be a real bar inside.
The CTA will finally have a leaning bar in the new State/Lake station!
But, if you're on the tall side, using the bar or the seats might mean hitting your head on the station signage, thanks to the inward-curving outer walls of the station's enclosure.
But, if you're on the tall side, using the bar or the seats might mean hitting your head on the station signage, thanks to the inward-curving outer walls of the station's enclosure.
December 24, 2025 at 12:00 AM
With the amount of money they are spending on this station there should be a real bar inside.
Goddamn I love Paulina Meat Market. That is all.
December 23, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Goddamn I love Paulina Meat Market. That is all.
I did not realize that New Orleans is one of three cities where all six Class I railroads interchange (Chicago and St. Louis being the others, with Memphis at five and Kansas City, MO at 4). Given the extremely challenging geographic constraints in and around NOLA, this is fascinating.
December 23, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I did not realize that New Orleans is one of three cities where all six Class I railroads interchange (Chicago and St. Louis being the others, with Memphis at five and Kansas City, MO at 4). Given the extremely challenging geographic constraints in and around NOLA, this is fascinating.
Happy birthday NITA, to all who celebrate. Congrats to everyone who had a part in it.
We did it, JB.
@govpritzker.illinois.gov has signed SB2111 into law.
Transit is funded, NITA will be arriving shortly.
@govpritzker.illinois.gov has signed SB2111 into law.
Transit is funded, NITA will be arriving shortly.
December 16, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Happy birthday NITA, to all who celebrate. Congrats to everyone who had a part in it.
I'm a big fan of the wall clock myself.
December 10, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I'm a big fan of the wall clock myself.
As of October 2025, Illinois has a credit rating of A2 or A+ on this scale.
This image below is far out of date.
This image below is far out of date.
December 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM
As of October 2025, Illinois has a credit rating of A2 or A+ on this scale.
This image below is far out of date.
This image below is far out of date.
Please see IL SB2111. Page 169. NITA Law Enforcement Task Force. Safety is the utmost concern among all the transit agencies, municipalities, counties and labor unions.
Cutting federal funding does nothing to improve safety.
Cutting federal funding does nothing to improve safety.
Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed back Tuesday against the Trump administration’s threat to cut off federal transit funding unless the Democratic leaders “take immediate action” to bolster CTA security.
Pritzker rejects Trump administration threat to cut funding over CTA safety issues: 'Action has been taken'
chicago.suntimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Please see IL SB2111. Page 169. NITA Law Enforcement Task Force. Safety is the utmost concern among all the transit agencies, municipalities, counties and labor unions.
Cutting federal funding does nothing to improve safety.
Cutting federal funding does nothing to improve safety.