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/
Frank Van De Vanter says that Weekly Breakdown readers might be interested in the journal "First and Fastest". It is published by the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society at PO Box 346, Chicago, IL 60690. Copies are available at Chicagoland Hobby, 6017 Northwest Highway, Chicago, IL 60631. First and Fastest is a comprehensive look at the history of CA&E, CNS&M, CSS&SB, CSL, the "L", that goes into amazing minutia, published quarterly.
A car drove past warning gates on Niles Center Road, striking a CTA Skokie Swift train on Tuesday. Two passengers were treated for minor injuries and released at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. The driver -- 38 year old Tony Schoenborn of Skokie -- was ticketed for driving on a revoked license, driving without insurance, and ignoring railroad warning devices. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 24 November 1999 ]
The CTA has started to install farecard vending machines in grocery stores. Four Dominick's stores now have vending machines in addition to prepaid farecards. [ Source: Chicago Tribune 23 November 1999 ]
Christopher James Tassava wrote in about a problem:
I've recently been riding the Sheridan/151 bus from Union Station to the north side, a chore made all the more unpleasant by the CTA's inability to figure out how to deal with the Canal Street construction. The sign at the usual pickup spot on Canal Street has taped to it a tattered notice that rush-hour buses will pick up passengers not there, at the usual stop, but at the corner of Jackson and Canal, just down the block. At all other times, the sign makes clear, the buses will pick up passengers at the normal stop. Out of the ten times I've tried to pick up the 151 around 10:00 pm, probably only three times has a bus has pulled up to the normal stop; at the other seven times the 151 has shown up at Canal and Jackson - the purported rush hour stop. Conveniently, the Canal and Jackson stop is situated in such a way that you can barely see a bus there if you're standing at the other one. Even more conveniently, the two spots are just far enough apart that a baggage-laden person can't run to the one from the other in time to catch the bus. And nothing's more lovely than running down the block, missing the one bus, and then seeing another 151 pull up at the *other* stop fifteen minutes later. Makes me happy to pay my fares.
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. The views expressed by contributors are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher.
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