Transportation Plan and the Olympics

Since our main gripe about the 2016 Olympic bid book was about the transportation plan, we didn't want to lose sight of this article in the Chicago Tribune. It looks like they asked experts and bid officials about the specifics of the plan. Of most interest was the part about 'unfunded projects' that potentially could be sped up if Chicago wins the Olympics:

Opportunities for more transportation improvements exist, but officials were not permitted to include them in the Chicago 2016 proposal to the International Olympic Committee released Friday because the projects currently are not funded.

There's no guarantee holding an Olympics will yield buckets of federal money. But the promise of millions of dollars for Chicago-area mass transit emerging in the economic stimulus package, plus a reauthorization of multiyear transportation funding for the nation in the fall, could hardly come together at a better time for a city competing to host an international event.

Add to that synergy a new president who's from Illinois, and urban planners are picturing some projects springing into the construction phase after having been stuck on the drawing board for years.

"We anticipate there will be significant transportation projects that will be accelerated by 10 to 20 years if we were lucky enough to win the games," Arnot said.

We sure hope so!