by Aaron M. Renn
Chronicling life riding the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
Visit The Weekly Breakdown on the web at http://www.urbanophile.com/breakdown/
There is a thread on Adam Kerman's Chicago Transportation board about alternatives to spending $300 million to extend platforms on the Ravenswood L. One alternative is to add additional Metra stops on the UP-North line and supplemental bus service on Lawrence Ave. I'd like to get comments and ideas from anyone else who might have something to say on the topic. You can check it out at: http://www.chinet.com/transportation/.
There is a front page article in today's (Sunday 12/13) Transportation section in the Tribune about the O'Hare stop on the Wisconsin Central Metra line. It is worth reading.
The CTA is delaying its plan to renumber all bus routes until at least next summer. The board seems to support the plan, but they are concerned that it will cause confusion. Duh! The Tribune called this plan the CTA's "new math". [ Source: Chicago Tribune 12/9/98 ] Mike Harris (nospam-mharris@enteract.com) also reports that this topic received coverage on WGN News.
The CTA Vice President of Construction and Maintenance resigned this week in order to avert being fired for a DUI arrest and related accident that occurred while he was driving a CTA owned vehicle. Automatic firing in such instances is called for under CTA President Frank Kruesi's zero tolerance policy. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 12/11/98 ]
Monday 12/7, ~4:30pm. I was taking the Red Line north from the Loop. We made good time until we reached the cross over just south of Clybourn, where the train stopped for no reason. It started moving again, but we did not get much above 25 MPH all the way to Belmont. At Belmont, we sat at the platform for over five minutes waiting for something. The motorman made an announcement about it but I could not hear what he said.
Adam Bailey (nospam-adamb@tezcat.com) wrote in to tell us:
"On my somewhat-daily ride home from work on the Blue Line (heading northwest), an odd occurance took place. Halfway out of the Logan Square stop, the train stopped for a moment, and then proceeded very slowly. We continued at a very slow pace for several minutes. At 5:35 PM, the motorman came on the intercom, saying that our arrival at the Belmont station would be delayed, as "...there's a disturbance ahead, and they're waiting for the police." 30 seconds later, we came to a complete stop.
At 5:39, the motorman again came on the intercom, again apologizing for the delay and repeating his earlier comment about waiting for the police.
At 5:42, the motorman reported that the police were at Belmont, and were "...clearing up the situation as we speak."
At 5:44, the train started moving again. It remained at a slow pace, but faster than when we had left Logan Square. It stopped one more time just moments before the station, but only briefly.
At 5:46, we slowly pulled into the station, and I debarked. The station was relatively empty, except of course for us, and a handful of others standing about. Standing by the escalator (right in the path of people getting of the train), were two cops and two CTA employees. One of the cops was firmly holding the arm of a man who appeared to be homeless (or just hasn't changed his clothes in three years). He was holding onto his pants, which were down around his calves (he wore grey boxers). A single police car was outside."
Mike Harris (nospam-mharris@enteract.com) also had an interesting story to tell:
"Well, I have another story for you: I was in the last car of my Red Line train on Thursday evening, which had stopped several times between stations such as Clark/Division, North/Clybourn, Chicago, and Fullerton, and it then began running express from Belmont to Bryn Mawr, but the conductor neglected to announce that at all. Therefore, half the train's passengers missed their stop. When it began pulling through of Sheridan, one of the passengers pulled the emergency exit in my car while most of the train had left the platform. Half the train's passengers then proceeded to file through the train in order to exit through our open door. The train conductor, badge number #24056, then came back to fix the door relay. I asked where we were running express to, and she said 'Bryn Mawr' quietly. I told her it would have been nice to inform the train's passengers, and she began to yell at me about how she had announced it, and it wasn't her fault if we didn't hear it. I told her not to give me an attitude, and she promptly proceeded to curse me out royally. At this point, I took matters into my own hands and announced to my car that the next stop was going to be Bryn Mawr, at which point half the car proceeded to get up and exit out of the stop. The woman refused to give me her badge number the first four times I asked for it ... only when she saw me getting it from her coat sleeve did she finally relent and confirm that was her number.
Another point of interest I found out in the course of making my complaint: the Red Line has a new general manager. His first name begins with an 'R', and his last name is 'Takagi'."
The Weekly Breakdown is a small Internet journal devoted to the trials and tribulations of being a regular rider of the Chicago Transit Authority. I would be happy to hear about and include your experiences. Just send mail to breakdown@urbanophile.com.
Just Say No to Frames, Ads, and Animated GIF's