CTA Tattler

Wish: for them to re-add stations to and/or re-extend the Green Line to its original Hyde Park/Kenwood usefulness, and hopefully to get rid of the stigma it has and restore some ridership... especially among UChicago students.

Except for the Allstate Arena for basketball prelims. And Northwestern for Soccer prelims. And NIU for other soccer prelims.

I stand corrected BW. My source was the venue map in Sunday's Tribune, which didn't list those sites. Still, and notably, all event finals apparently will be held in the city.

Given that the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line is coming to the end of its reconstruction, the newness of the Orange Line, and the relatively recent Green Line overhaul I don't see CTA's rail operations benefiting hugely from the Olympics.

The Blue Line's O'Hare branch is the only candidate to receive much in the way of assistance. It can be expected that there will be express service introduced from downtown (probably at Washington). Some newer rolling stock might also be procured.

There is currently no money to rehab Howard or Linden branches nor has anything been planned to my knowledge. The Red line in and north of the loop is approaching 50% slow zoned. The lines will continue to deteriorate.

I still question two statements:
*"the very real possibility of federal funds pouring in the RTA to upgrade CTA, Metra and South Shore infrastructure so they can handle the swarms of visitors all over Chicago." What real possibility? And even if it happens, how does it take care of the slow zone problem mentioned by K any time before 2015 (if the International Olympic Committee even gives the U.S. the nod in 2009)?
*"I love how Daley made sure the suburbs didn't get any slice of the events pie!" Although you have taken back that statement, I also note that Blago promised to do his best to have the state legislature pass a guaranty (apparently because Ahnold had the Calif. legislature pass one as part of LA's now unsuccessful bid). The same Blago who said that he wasn't interested in anything, including transit, until he got his Gross Receipts Tax and Health Care plan through. If the legislature is now dumb enough to pass that, now that LA is out of the picture, and expects suburbanites to subsidize what is now Daley's Olympics, good luck.

You have a lot of faith in contingencies.

chessi: I'm sure the people who purchased the new houses on 63rd Street between Woodlawn and Dorchester look forward to your plan to build an L in front of them.

If these Federal funds were to materialize, would it happen only if Chicago gets the nod from the IOC... or would it be part of the effort to sell Chicago to the IOC?

Those of you counting their eggs before they are hatched might want to read the Sun-Times article on why the New York Olympics are being held in London.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/342987,CST-NWS-oly16.article

SLH, maybe that question ought to be addressed to Durbin, Obama, and Emanuel.

I'm with K and JOTB as thinking you need to be taking a much larger grain of salt, unfortunately, Kevin. For reconstruction work on the North Side Red Line to be finished by '16, wouldn't a plan have to be in place, oh, say, now?

Look for more sites around Olympic venues to be turned into TIF districts that drain city money and force higher and higher assessments (your property taxes never go up! just your assessments...). Look for the sales tax to finally break through into the double digit range. Look for those flashing surveillance cameras to pop up on *every* corner because You Just Can't Be Too Careful.

I'm honestly befuddled by the thought that there's anything here but pain for the average citizen of Chicago.

Here's my wish list, based off of Atlanta 1996 getting transpostation extentions for the purpose of getting people TO the venues from any area.

CTA-Red line, complete north rehab/rebuild, all tracks, structure, older stations, extend south line.
Blue line NW-rebuild existing tracks, new O-Hare express tracks along UP NW, extend Blue servce to Schaumburg(through O-Hare western terminal), rebuild oldest Milwaukee Ave stations. Circle line, Orange extension to Ford city, Yellow extension to Old Orchard/Cook Co courts-get it done.

Pace-get all Bus Transit Priorities done(Many feed to CTA end of lines)

Metra-Get all New Start proposals done, STAR line, SE line, UP West and NW overhaul, include all new Metra stations to connect with CTA circle line, and rebuild UP north line bridges to get newer fuel efficient engines on the UP branches.

Interagency-transfer ownership of Metra electric line/stations(at least Chicago) to CTA... OR have a completely integrated fare structure that allow Metra electric use for CTA/Pace fare cost, including transfers.

Also on my personal wish list: State to fund transit in Illinois(per ride) closer to other states. -JT

Red line expansion for sure. Long overdue, I think.

My Wish List: No Olympics in Chicago.

Yay....now we can hold our breath until late 2009. Personally, I hope some other city like Tokyo or Sao Paulo gets the Olympics. I don't think Chicago can stand the strain or embarassment.

I'd second everything JT says, plus have two more outer Circle Lines, plus close all diagonal streets to non-bus traffic, plus extend the Cottage Grove branch of the Green Line to Hammond.

My biggest wish would be completion of the Circle Line by then. Of course, I also hope they extend their plans for it past the orange line to the red line (subway under Bridgeport?) for better linkage to the south side.

Geez, where to begin. I guess with the most realistic stuff.

1: Blue line to O'Hare rehab. This'll be necessary.
2: Express to the Airports. I think this is kind of a waste, but it'll happen for sure if we get the Olympics.

Next, the two new lines.
3: Mid-City Line to divert traffic away from the loop. It'd be amazingly useful for the Olympics and beyond, although they'd need to get started pronto.
4: Circle Line looks like it's gonna happen anyway. I'd wish that we get the Ashland corridor of it, though, rather than the Ashland/Ogden.

And the extensions
5: Red Line to 130th
6: Yellow Line to Old Orchard (would actually make that line useful)
7: Orange Line to Ford City. With this one, I couldn't care less, especially if the Yellow Line gets extended, but it's already in the development stages.

And, finally, more Metra/CTA integration. As was mentioned above, the Electric Line is, with the Green Line to the main stadium, one of the two main transit arteries for the games, since McCormick, Northerly Island, Soldier Field, and Jackson Park will be used so heavily. So somehow integrating at least the A/B zones of the Electric Line with the CTA is more or less required. The combined fare card is a start. Now if we could just do dollar transfers from the CTA to zones A and B of the Metra we'd be in business.

Yeah, none of this is gonna happen. But I can wish.

A lakeshore line running the length of the city's lakeshore -- desperately needed on the north side, could use existing south shore line tracks on the southside, and, hey, the lakeshore is the selling point for this olympics bid, right? So why not...

Overall: Fare integration between CTA, Pace, and Metra

For the CTA:
- Green Line - E 63rd Branch extended to Jackson Park (this time for good), Englewood branch extended to Midway, infill station at McCormick Place West.
- Circle Line - Finished, perhaps even expanded to jog over to McCormick Place.
- Mid City Transitway - Finished. Not unreasonable, since there's is already right-of-way which can be used for much of the route.
- Purple Line - Makes express stops at Wilson and Sheridan
- Ashland/Paulina/Ravenswood Line - Using Circle Line and Brown Line trackage, this could be done for less expense than it seems

For Metra:
- Electric Line - New stations at 27th and 35th, extended to Navy Pier, increased frequency of trains
- McCormick Place/Navy Pier shuttle - use freight trackage along 16th St, across the river and up through Union Station, across the north branch of the river and using old track on the north side of the river over to Navy Pier.
- General - More frequent service on all lines, possibly via trains which terminate long before the end of the line.

How much of this is likely? I think fare integration, the Circle Line, Green Line infill station and extension to Jackson Park will be unstoppable. Added Purple Line express stations are already being planned. The Electric Line will run more frequently; and, there will be some creative use of Metra or old freight trackage. The rest... well, a boy's gotta dream.

Not that all you guys don't have good ideas, but I'd settle for power washing and repainting the stations. I don't want people to come for the Olympics and go back to their homes saying "Chicago's such a great town, but why does their entire transit system smell like piss?"

A complete rehab on the north branch between Wilson and Linden.

D, I'd say Sheridan and Loyola would be better.

stillwaiting, there is nowhere to put a lakeshore line on the north side once you cross the river. It would have to be a subway which is monumentally expensive to construct and would only steal ridership from CTA's existing rail and bus lines.

I'm with DN: "My Wish List: No Olympics in Chicago."
But if they come, I would really settle for basic refurbishment on the Blue Line because that's the one from the airport and on the Red Line because it so desperately needs it. It would also be a good link to all the south side activities. Cleaning would be good--nice, continual cleaning, more often than the 18 days or so I've heard about.
The Circle Line & Red Line expansion might be a plus in this situation as well, but I won't ask for that until the basics are done (& at their current rate of speed, what makes any of us think it would all be done in 8.5 years?)

My wish: tear down the L and replace it with 21st century transportation: essentially automated horizontal elevators on the old right-of-way. Seattle got the monorail, at least. What are we gonna show the world? "Oh look, we washed the L cars and patched the tracks!! Look upon our achievement and weep!!"

dbt: Forgot about Loyola. That's also been mentioned as a future Purple Line stop. But that will take longer; it needs more work than Wilson (refurbish and reopen express platforms) and Sheridan (no work).

Call me a cynic, but I'd put money on that Green Line infill station. Daley loves McCormick Place; the Green Line is right there; the nearby projects will become mixed-income; and, it would allow McCormick to be served by a train that isn't Metra.

As for the Lakeshore line up the North Side: sure we need that. We also need the Mid-City Transitway; lines along Ashland/Paulina, Western, Kimball/Kedzie, and North Ave; restoration+extension of the Green Line Kenwood branch; and, extension of both currently-operating Green Line branches.

Will that happen? Probably not much: it's too expensive. Only what goes near Olympic venues will be 'justifiable'. The screaming you hear is the West Side getting shafted. The more things change...

I'd like to see the '16 Ollympics be the first to be held in a South American country.

Wish list is right. If Mayor Daley gave a shit about the L don't you think he would have done something about that festering shithole that is the CTA before now? Clearly, he can come up with literally BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in funding guarantees damn near overnight for something he does care about(Like the Olympics) but CTA has been in a chronic funding crisis for decades? Keep on wishing!

"Personally, I hope some other city like Tokyo or Sao Paulo gets the Olympics. I don't think Chicago can stand the strain or embarassment."

Ah yes, Brazil, that shining light of clean and efficient government.

Yes, Chicago, Illinois, and U.S. gov't can improve significantly, but it's ridiculous when people get so down on their hometown that they think our administrative abilities are worse than a place like Sao Paolo....

Can the arm-chair transit planners tell me why they want a Dan Ryan 130th extension? Why not increase capacity on Metra Electric, or actually build the cheap, and feasible, CWI extension to Dolton?

What are you trying to service with the 130th extension that would be useful for the Olympics? How many patrons from Roseland can't walk to the ICC tracks to board a train, downtown?

Bob, it's simple, the IC is too expensive for Roseland residents.

PS the Jackson Park el was never really useful for HP - 63rd street is too far to walk from the bulk of Hyde Park. Another useful addition would be to restore the Kenwood el... And while we're at it, the Orange to Ford City.

And the IC doesn't connect with the rest of the system, which the red line does - transfer free.

I'm all for the circle line...maybe creating 2 for that matter.

Also agree with the cleaning of the stations, and might I suggest the trains? Red line especially!

Of course, I'm hoping the Brown Line rehab's will actually be finished by then :)

And since I'm wishing....Blue Line to be cleaned up & brighter...maybe even make our subway stations look modern, you know, bright lights and clean?

If Woodlawn were less abandoned and safer, the 63rd St L would definitely get used by students.

Currently, there are dorms on 60th and some planned for 61st; but, students are told in clear terms that walking down to the Green Line at Cottage is not safe.

If that were an option, and if the IC had a transfer to the L, and if the Ic ran more frequently during the day... well, then Hyde Park would be well served.

Now of course Daley doesn't care about the CTA. But Daley will care about the CTA insofar as he believes he has to to please the IOC. And construction contracts he does care about.

"If Woodlawn were less abandoned and safer, the 63rd St L would definitely get used by students"

Oh yea? Then why didn't it get used when the area was "safe"?

It's too far from Hyde Park, and HP is already well served by express busses and university busses to downtown. I really don't understand the idiotic students who take a bus over to the red line and then take that downtown when they could just hop on an express bus to the loop and get there a LOT quicker.

I say, make no small plans:

Buy the Chunnel boring machine and bury the some of the Brown, Red and perhaps other lines. Then turn it into a large above ground park. Down the road, parts of this new found green space could be sold to displaced people from Lakeview who can longer afford their rent & gas bills (like me. Parts must be retained as public spaces.

At the very least, review and augment this Brown line renovation before it jumps the tracks. Going from 6 to 8 cars is nice; but for the hassle and incremental cost I would rather go for broke and make it a ten car train.

Do something, anything, about the Blue line which is a travesty.

Buy some more space heaters for the stations. I mean, really!

And, since I free lancing here; can the cars be stainless steel and washed once a week with no cell phone coverage. Recycling stations at the stops would be swell.

Wider doors so that more rude people with no manners could fit through at once. And I never understood why there are not some CTA fare machines on the track levels.

So, actually read some of the other comments. Very inspiring-and many are so obvious and doable!

Well done tattle tellers.

Express buses faster than bus to the L? Not according to the RTA or my experience. But I'm one of those 'idiotic students.'

The 6 and X28 are tragically pathetic. They take 45 minutes to get to the Loop; 20 minutes of that being 57th-47th. I can only assume that's why the UofC pays money for the CTA to run the 173 and 192 buses. And while those buses are packed, their service hours are limited.

Metra takes at most 15 minutes -- but only runs once an hour midday. 55 to the Red Line also takes 45 minutes to the Loop; but, the 55 comes much more frequently. 55 (or 174) to Green Line is usually your best bet.

No students took the Green Line in the past? Right now we are told explicitly not to walk to the Green Line; but, some students still do it. If students were not warned against it (and knew it was safe), more would walk to the Green Line.

Wait: WHEN was Woodlawn safe? Not during my lifetime. Does usage pre-1980 have much relevance to today? The line now has no slow zones.

The east 63rd branch line needs to return to its original length going all the way to Jackson Park (I remember riding it in the early 80's.) Why not have it loop back north to the Museum of Science and Industry while you're at it?

There has to be a Garfield 55th line going to the stadium; why not extend it to the U of Chicago?

SERIOUS upgrade work needs to be done on all South Side CTA rail lines. If local folks (over half of Chicago residents) don't feel safe on them, how are visitors from all around the world going to feel safe on them?

The projects need to star t now if you are going to finish on time.

This is a huge opportunity for the city to get past the "blight" years of the second half of the 20th century and reclaim the "World City" status of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

When I was on the campus between 1976 and 1988, the boundaries we were given were 61st, Hyde Park, 51st, and Cottage. We were told that if we walked to the North-South (Howard/Englewood/Jackson Park) train, we'd get mugged. There were no U of C routes, and the 2 only went to Drexel Square, so most of us took the Jeffery Express.

Progress? Just got a mailing from Alderman Fioretti about a McCormick station - there is a meeting this Tuesday 8/19 at 6:00 p.m. about a new Green Line Station at 18th and Cermak. At McCormick Place W190

"I really don't understand the idiotic students who take a bus over to the red line and then take that downtown when they could just hop on an express bus to the loop and get there a LOT quicker."

I was a student at UC between 1981 and 1989, and lived at 57th and Ellis for a few years, and later had an office at 57th and University. The trip to the loop was almost always faster via the 55 bus and L than via the 6 bus. If you lived east of Kimbark and were traveling to somewhere east of State, the 6 bus might have been faster, but from west Hyde Park to the west loop or Metra stations the 6 bus killed a lot of time.