CTA Tattler

All of these new stgations look like prisons to me!

Now, Now Kevin, you'll be accused of whining by pointing out the turnstile that's broken....

KevinB

Not at all, KevinB. Remember the roof up here at Montrose that leaked like a sieve for months after reopening? Makes me wonder how much pressure the contractors got from the CTA to hurry along, and how long (short) it's going to be before they need major repairs because of rushed construction...

However, on a positive note, at least they finally fixed the clean, smooth concrete floors that turned into a slip-n-slide as soon as they got wet. I think the finishing they put down made it look nicer. Hopefully they'll take some of the mistakes from these first stations and fix them before the second and third round stations are reopened.

I heard this morning Ritchie is over in China riding the subway. I'll bet that's the first time he's been on public transportation in his life. I hope when he comes home he takes a ride here and sees the crap he's made us put up with for years.

He only rode it for 2 stops, according to a Sun-Times columnist, who also pointed out a number of times that transit may be the city's downfall when it comes to the Olympics. It's apparently the weakest link.

(pause while I search)

I can't get the article to reopen for me, but it turns out it was Mariotti; article called "In Beijing, is Daley taking ride to nowhere?" Even though I don't follow sports, I know Mariotti's supposed to be opinionated and all, so take it as you will.

From Matt -
However, on a positive note, at least they finally fixed the clean, smooth concrete floors that turned into a slip-n-slide as soon as they got wet. I think the finishing they put down made it look nicer. Hopefully they'll take some of the mistakes from these first stations and fix them before the second and third round stations are reopened.
~~~~~

First round? I don't follow you. This is the 11th reopened/completed station of 18. By my figuring, and the info on http://ctabrownline.com/, it appears Diversey station is part of the 5th of about 8 rounds of closures/work. At 11 stations, they are more than halfway through the 18, so I'm not sure what you expect the "second and third rounds" to entail.

Cheryl,

While I think we can all agree that the CTA can be improved, I hardly think Daley is the problem with getting it fixed. While he is certainly a part of it, it has much more to do with Springfield than the Mayor's Office.

Chris:

He certainly hasn't been part of the solution so far.

I wish Blago, Madigan, et al. were forced to ride on the bus I was on last night. The back door didn't open. The driver had to karate kick the front door on two occasions because it wouldn't open. The transmission wasn't working so well and the driver had to take the bus out of drive and then put it back in drive to get it to move several times. I wished the driver good luck in getting back to the garage. I think the bus should register to vote since it is 18 years old.

The Diversey is nice, but can we get more than one stairway, SHEESH, its always packed

I think they should all be forced to clean a bus now and then. Especially a bus that has chicken bones under the seats.

If you're talking about our "democratically" "elected" "officials" cleaning buses, Cheryl, only the best will do. Nothing but dried urine, crusted vomit and ground-in Flamin' Hots. Blago could gain valuable skills that will allow him to enter the ex-convict bus and rail car cleaning program when he gets out of the slammer.

Does anyone know, are there any news reports, pictures or video of Daley riding a CTA train?

Ever?

Thanks!

I can withstand the offensive smells, peddlers, crowded platforms, discarded coffee cups, twitchy operators, noisy cars, uncomfortable seats, the general eyesore of the elevated tracks, and a host of other mild inconveniences that permeate the CTA rail system. And I'll continue to withstand it, and perhaps embrace it, so long as the CTA significantly enhances their route network and connectivity. Be it the Circle Line, a rail traversing the west side, and/or one that runs roughly parallel to the lake/LSD, I want a viable option for ditching my car. I wanna be able to get from Lakeview to Wicker Park or O'Hare without a pit stop in the Loop.

More importantly, traffic congestion is no longer a rush hour phenomenon, and it's getting incrementally worse. And since buses run on the same expensive fuel and utilize the same gridlocked roads as other vehicles, a so-called "bus rapid transit" solution is tenuous and not sustainable at best. Reduced reliance on buses is a good thing, both for commuters and the CTA. Ideally, buses would be used simply to shuttle riders back and forth from one line to another, and to and from the downtown light rail stations.

Raise the fare another quarter or so if need be - it's still a good value even with today's antiquated and inefficient system, and could be a tremendous value if the route network expands considerably.

I think the Olympics are a woeful idea, for a variety of reasons, mostly because the city has too many pressing issues that need to be addressed quickly, is bleeding cash, and mostly because I just don't trust Daley, the rubber-stamp city council, and our other so-called governmental leaders with my taxpayer dollars. However, I'm willing to change my tune, within reason, if the Olympics are the catalyst that spurs a new and improved CTA (not to mention Metra and Pace).

After seeing last night's opening ceremony in Beijing there is NO way we can even begin to compete with that. Let Rio have the damn games.

I just noticed that the RTA's "north Chicago" hearing was at Loyola's DOWNTOWN campus. Kevin, maybe you can contact their press office and ask for a real north-side meeting. Having one downtown at RTA hq and just steps from the mag mile does NOTHING to get input from those of us suffering from the capital neglect of the red line.