CTA Tattler

I didn't see any kind of sign at Bryn Mawr this morning about the bypass. And there certainly weren't any announcements or train placards. Thanks for the heads up.

There was NOTHING at Lawrence as well--thanks for posting Kevin!

There was nothing at Argyle either, thanks a lot CTA.

Thanks for the post.

Rich Miller at thecapitolfaxblog has a post up on the Governor's twisted logic for threatening to veto the RTA funding bill.

From the tribune story Rich links to...
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration pledged a veto of a regional sales-tax increase to help fund Chicago-area mass transit, saying Thursday that legislators should consider eliminating more corporate tax breaks instead. […]

The RTA says the CTA, Metra and Pace need a total of $226 million in additional operating subsidies to erase their deficits, with the CTA’s share being $110 million. Transit officials have said they will have to curtail bus and train service in the Chicago region if new funding is not part of a budget agreement when lawmakers and the governor resolve their stalemate.

Blagojevich officials said the governor remains opposed to sales tax hikes and thinks closing tax breaks would help transit and other budget needs.

Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), who sponsored the transit sales-tax hike, said the governor should approve it because it is a regional tax that supports the Chicago area’s mass transit system. Eliminating business tax breaks further shifts the burden of funding mass transit costs onto the state, she said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-legis08jun08,1,6101719.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

Rod is ruining Chicago. Does he have something against Daley as well as big business?

"Rod is ruining Chicago. Does he have something against Daley as well as big business?"

well, that ought to show he isn't Daley's lap dog like people thought when he was 1st running for governor! What do you think his chances of getting re-elected again are? (so long as his opponent isn't worse than him!)
Doesn't (didn't?) he have strong support from the city's voters, tho? That's what the experts call cutting off your nose to spite your face. Or maybe shooting yourself in the foot.

The Red Line skipping the SB Granville, Thorndale, Bryn Mawr, Berwyn, Argyle and Lawrence stations is listed on the CTA website as "Events Affecting CTA Service Beginning Weekend of June 8-10." It was posted on June 8th. Sometime the CTA website doesn't make things specific. I mean, if a train is bypassing 5 stations I think it deserves its own "What's New" alert and not be put in with event that will occur. There are no event effecting the Red Line SB service between Granville and Lawrence they just felt like messing with us.

The "event" is the maintenance work. An "event", in the context they use it, is anything that's planned to happen, but not necessarily part of a bigger project that's issuing it's own notices. (Although the "events" sometimes include "events" resulting from bigger projects, too.)

In other words, they're not limiting the use of the word "event" to describe something being staged for entertainment. In fact, the entertainment value has nothing to do with whether an event is an event or not. An event is simply, well, an event. A happening.

I agree that no more sales taxes should be added to fund the RTA — or anything else. The sales tax here is one of the highest in the country. They need to fix the broken RTA funding formula. Anything else is a bandaid and a really miserable one too.