brian steele – The Columbia Chronicle

Meet Columbia’s safety specialist

By Alexandra Kukulka

November 12, 2012

As Columbia’s campus continues to expand, a newly created position in the Office of Campus Safety & Security has been filled.Susan Rizer is the college’s new environmental health and safety coordinator, a job created just for her. She has been charged with carrying out the College Safety Plan, which requires her to visit each department and conduct safety assessments, to discover what safety hazards are present.Acco...

Conforming to music

By Emily Ornberg

October 15, 2012

Popular music might only be as trendy as the people who market it.According to the findings of a 2010 study published in the neuroscience journal NeuroImage, many adolescent music purchases are based on the fear of social rejection.“Adolescence is notoriously a time for inadequacy and superiority,” said Jerry Weichman, a clinical psychologist and adolescent specialist at the Hoag Neurosciences Institute in Newport Beach,...

CTA to renew Loop rail

By Chris Loeber

April 2, 2012

Rail passengers may have access to a smoother, more dependable ride on Chicago Transit Authority trains in the Loop following a construction project that will begin later this spring.The CTA’s Loop Track Renewal project, announced in 2011, is scheduled to begin upgrading portions of elevated track downtown in mid-April and will continue through most of 2012.“This is somewhat akin to rebuilding a roadway where you’re pu...

Commuting made easy

By Chris Loeber

January 23, 2012

A proposed addition to the Chicago Transit Authority system would provide rail transportation to the area surrounding McCormick Place and the Near SouthSide community.On Jan. 17, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans for construction of a new CTA rail station on the Green Line at East Cermak Road. The new station will fill a two-mile gap between the Roosevelt and 35th/Bronzeville stations, serving residents who currently lac...

Construction on Michigan Avenue

By Gregory Cappis

October 17, 2011

Kaitlyn MattsonContributing WriterJackhammers and hard hats will be taking up residence along North Michigan Avenue for the next two months.Construction on Michigan Avenue from Illinois to Oak streets, and continuing along Inner Lake Shore Drive to Division Street, began on Sept. 28 and will last until the middle of November.Workers began by removing the old asphalt and will continue with a longer process of readjusting the...

Renovation stations

By Vanessa Morton

October 10, 2011

El riders will see two more changes in their daily travels as the Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago Department of Transportation go forward with a number of large construction projects.Both agencies have worked together for 15 years in an effort to modernize subway stations throughout the Loop.Brian Steele, CDOT spokesman, said the CTA has been working with CDOT on a multi-year program that has been renovating numerous stati...

Chicago Pedestrian Plan takes its first steps

By Vanessa Morton

September 12, 2011

Columbia students have more to fear than homework and increased tuition. Among Chicago’s 77 different communities, the Loop stands out as one of eight areas with the most pedestrian crashes, according to the City of Chicago’s 2011 Pedestrian Crash Analysis. However, the city is in the early stages of devising a plan that will try to reduce the number of such accidents between pedestrians and vehicles.The Chicago Depar...