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/
On a sad note, I am discontinuing the Weekly Breakdown effective immediately. This is the last issue. Why? I am changing jobs and my new job will most likely involve my both working a lot more hours and being out of town much of the time. Yes, they are paying me more to make up for this. :-) So I decided to end the WB after nearly three years. I will keep the web site up in archival mode "forever".
Thanks everyone for reading, contributing, and commenting for the last three years.
Here's some followup on the "Cly-burn" issue from Jeff Simon:
Coming from Milwaukee, I think I can address why the automated announcements say "Cly-BURN" instead of "Cly-BORNE). It's just regional dialect. The gentleman who did the recordings for the announcements, and that of many other automated recordings lives in Milwaukee where Clyborne is pronounced Cly-BURN (We also say "Bubbler" - drinking fountain & "Ba-tay-da" - potato). So, it was natural to say it as he knew it. Actually, this was touched on in Graham's site (www.Chicago-l.org). :)On another note, on Friday's late nite ride home on the Red Line, a gentleman required assistance between Addison and Sheridan and tried to use the intercom with no response from the operator. It appeared to be medically related, and several of us passengers also tried to summon the operator with no response. We helped the gentleman off the train and summoned an ambulance at Sheridan. I assume he was taken to Thorek. Wasn't it mentioned somewhere that the operator MUST answer the intercom regardless of the reason for pressing the button? Is there some indication to the operator when the intercom system is malfunctioning?
And Carrie Weston wrote in with a copy of the a letter she sent the CTA:
To whom it may concern:I was wondering if there were any plans to rebuild the tracks of the O'Hare-Loop branch of the el. I take it as my primary transportation to downtown, and I am horrified by how excruciatingly loud it is when it goes underground between North and Division (and then all the way to Clark and Lake). When the train approaches full speed, you cannot shout and be heard by the person next to you. Waiting for a train at the Chicago and Division stops is a painful experience as the trains roar in there at ear-splitting levels.
I am not being nit-picky about this. My husband is an audio engineer and he and I have taken to wearing earplugs because of the damage to our hearing, as the decibel level on this line is way over acceptable levels (measured at over 110dB), especially being exposed to this daily. What about your poor engineers? OSHA regulations clearly show that this is unacceptable. (See OSHA Standard #1910.95)
I took the bus to the Red line the other day rather than take the Blue line and was shocked by how quiet and smooth the ride was. People were able to carry on conversations at a normal level.
What are your plans in dealing with this?
And "Justa Lurker" has a few South Shore notes for us:
Excerts from NICTD's "Station to Station" - Sept 2000"The car bodies for the ten new cars we have ordered have arrived in San Fransisco and are being assembled. The first two cars are to arrive in Michigan City in early October for final assembly, testing and acceptance."
Additional cars will eventually be added to trains 104 and 106 inbound, no additional trains will be formed.
NICTD's Board met August 25th to approve a plan that may lead to new commuter rail service to Valparaiso and Lowell. Phase 1 would expand service along the Canadian National railroad. It would serve Valparaiso, Hobart, Merrillville/Gary, Griffith, Highland, Munster, and Hammond. Phase 2 would establish service along the CSX railroad and would service Lowell, Cedar Lake, St. John, and Dyer."
Cost: $250 million Phase 1, $87 million Phase 2, plus $22 million in operating costs. Still "years away".
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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