CTA Tattler

I hope even just a fraction of the people that complain about the C.T.A. will come and participate.Unfortunately the C.T.A. has taken to tightly controlling comments.We already know what they are going to say,but they don't want us to really hear what other members of the public have to say.

Having participated, I don't find Ask Carole to be the great idea that Blogspotting seems to indicate. There were a few times when it resulted in something, including the CTA posting its appraisals, and the "Second Update" to the Three Track Service Update thread. I also got a quote from her on CTA-Pace cooperation (or more truthfully, the lack thereof) that I was able to use in a letter to my state representatives, and, in fact, coincided with one of the points made by the state Auditor General. Nonetheless, I really doubt that the blog has any effect on CTA management decisions. We also should remember that it was initially part of a PR campaign for "transit funding," but that has been taken over by "Moving Beyond Congestion." However, the Auditor General's report sure took the shine off the latter.

In conclusion, it seems to be a good forum for sparring, but not really for two-way communication with results.

The meeting at Lane Tech was sparsely attended.Especially compared to the other transit meetings I have been to.Maybe you should post the transit meeting schedule in giant letters in this blog.Kruesi,Carole Brown,Mell,Matlak,Tunney,Schulter,and Vi Daley were all in attendance.It is unlikely that as many political heavyweights will be at the other meetings,so if you had something to say you should have said it then.

I'm not understanding why these meetings are happening now. They should have happened way before the project started. It's started. Disruptions are inevitable. Nothing will change because of any comments we make so why bother? Using the meetings as a resource to provide riders with information about alternate options is nearly useless too. It's not as if there are many bus routes serving the same areas the disrupted trains do. No official at the meetings will be able to tell anyone which will be best to take. It's going to be trial and error for everyone. The situation is terrible but we're stuck. We have to buckle down and deal with what we have. Next time the CTA comes up with a project that actually has a chance of getting off the ground I hope people expend the same amount of energy that they have with the Ravenswood expansion.

I'm going to use Monday's Truman College public meeting (7pm) to ask why the RTA's trip planner website doesn't reflect the "proposed alternate routes," for one thing. It's really important to turn out to these meetings with ideas & solutions as an alternate to the complaints. See you there.