Three-tracking to begin Monday, April 2nd
After an extensive discussion of operational testing and preparation, service options, and safety and security factors, the Chicago Transit Board authorized proceeding with three-track operations this Monday, April 2nd. After 3 months of input from you (I do share all of your comments with my board members and management), I believe CTA has developed service alternatives that will help mitigate the impact of 3-tracking, including doubling rush hour service on key routes. The complete presentation is here (PDF), with additional details here (PDF). The board also asked staff to be flexible in responding to changing customer demand based on ridership and customer feedback.
However, none of that will matter if our customers don't change their commuting patterns -- especially between 7:30am and 8:30am, and between 4:45 and 6:00 pm. Kevin at CTA Tattler, who was at the meeting, said "Hell commences Monday," and I can't say I disagree. But the sooner we start, the sooner this project will be over, and I want it done.
However, none of that will matter if our customers don't change their commuting patterns -- especially between 7:30am and 8:30am, and between 4:45 and 6:00 pm. Kevin at CTA Tattler, who was at the meeting, said "Hell commences Monday," and I can't say I disagree. But the sooner we start, the sooner this project will be over, and I want it done.
posted by Carole Brown | 3/30/2007 04:30:00 PM
137 Comments:
When will updated schedules be posted for the Purple, Brown, and Red Lines? We still only have vague estimates on how frequent trains will be, and it still isn't clear how rush hour service on the Howard-Linden portion of the Purple Line or the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line will be affected: will trains on those portions operate normally and just not go all the way downtown? Also, will the hours of the Purple Line Express be expanded in order to accommodate people who have shifted their travel times earlier or later?
"However, none of that will matter if our customers don't change their commuting patterns"
You sound as if you believe that we have a choice in the matter. Something like "I could go in at 9:30 this morning, but I'd rather go in between 7:30 and 8:30 just to mess with the CTA." I submit that most people who commute at that time do not have a choice or the ability to be flexible with their commutes.
Carol,
I'm wondering about two things that are low cost that could've helped.
1. The bus tracker. Why not expand that to include the alternate bus service for Brown and Red line riders. At least they'd know whether their bus was on time.
2. Signal priority. With such a transit disaster looming, wouldn't this be the time to use signal priority to help these alternative routes move a little faster? Particularly in the Clark St. corridor, which nearly parallels the Red line, and has less cross traffic than most other arterials (Fullerton is 1-lane and Armitage dead-ends, so there are two big intersections where it would hardly matter to give the buses priority.)
What's up with these two ideas, that have been sitting in the hopper for years? You've got RTA funding for a signal pre-emption project that you haven't even bothered to spend. And the bus tracker should be virtually free -- the tracking technology is already in hand, so all it would cost is the server space needed for the appropriate bandwidth.
Purple line service should be adjusted earilier and later. Someone (at the cta) should have already thought of that.. However I can see it as they dont want more purple service as its an additial line they have to run more threw the 3 tracks.
This is gonna blow.
Not everyone is a high enough level employee to change their schedules. Nor are the able to leave 3 or 4 hours before work because they have to go through, what you called "hell."
You really dropped the ball on this. Especially telling us all that three-tracking would not start before everything was tested, tested again and assured to be in order. Everytime I go on the system I know nothing is in order.
Face it folks, Daley, Carole and Frank just don't give a d--n!
Face it folks, Daley, Carole and Frank just don't give a d--n!
Hey all,
I attended today's meeting (my first time, hopefully not last) and my impression is that the board grilled CTA staff repeatedly about customer concerns and clearly let them know that their necks are on the line if the ball is dropped with this project.
I heard Carole present most of the questions we've asked here over the months, but I can't say that I'm satisfied with a lot of the answers from the CTA staff that spearheaded the 3track effort.
One gentleman's comments were inaudible most of the time and sounded like he was addressing the person next to him -- not the board, media or the rest of us in attendance. And it was frustrating because they were critical questions that needed to be addressed.
However, as Kevin over at CTA Tattler noted, Frank Kruesi basically took ownership of this plan and said he'd be in deep caca if it doesn't bode well.
The board UNANIMOUSLY approved the 3tracking project, though asked how could it have been approached differently, say if money wasn't an object.
When Carole asked the group to address why it did not include Sheridan as a purple line stop, they answered that only 4,300 or so riders use the station daily. However, they plan to use it instead of Addison for Cubs games. It doesn't make sense to me that Sheridan won't be used regularly and agree that the CTA is just asking for overcrowded platforms at Belmont going south.
Since the trains will probably be parked at Sheridan during this mess, why not go ahead and open the Purple doors and let people on and off? What about the CTA "alternating" and letting the purple customers have Sheridan as an option?
The CTA saw fit to NOT alter red line frequency. The group said that the current schedule of red line rush hour trains every 3 minutes is sufficient. I don't know about you, but I've NEVER seen the red line run that frequently, EVER ... unless trains were backed up and then had to run express.
Though not my favorite plan, I better understand why the CTA chose to beef up existing bus routes to help out, but for the life of me do not understand why the 36 Broadway bus will not receive additional runs. The line runs very close to the red line tracks -- more than the 22 Clark!
I didn't sense a lot of confidence about how the peak rush hour crowds will be handled. There was a mention of closing off stations that were overcrowded and redirecting customers to the nearest buses that will receive additoinal runs.
Excuse me? So if Thorndale red line station is overcrowded, you'll ask people to walk several blocks east to stand with the horde of 147 Express riders or potentially a taxi ride west to Clark for to get to work? The 147 has historically struggled to accomodate riders without a major project like this progress ... what in the world will happen next week?
I guess we'll find out sooner than later.
Hey Carole, What are you going to do with Kevin O'Neil's buddy Joe Moore.
Can't you tell him to stop doing this!
Hours of on the Howard-Linden purple line should be expanded if you expect us to leave earlier or later. Little (other than a nominal push to encourage the 17,000 riders who will no longer be able to ride the red/brown/purple to take the soon to be overwhelmed metra) has been done for Evanston riders. I would rather shove my way onto a slow overcrowded purple line express than have to take a slow overcrowded red line train and then have to wait at Howard "smells like a bathroom" for 20 plus extra minutes for a purple line train because I left early or left late or alternated. Please alter the purple line express operating hours to reflect cta demands for customer cooperation in altering our entire work/educational life to accommodate the cta's needs.
Carole,
Do you ride the el everyday? If you did you might not be so flippant about Kevin's comment regarding hell commencing on Monday. Daley is insane to promote the city for the Olympics when the needs of its citizens are grossly ignored. No one needs to spend four hours a day getting to and from work in a major American metropolis.
I would rather shove my way onto a slow overcrowded purple line express than have to take a slow overcrowded red line train and then have to wait at Howard "smells like a bathroom" for 20 plus extra minutes for a purple line train because I left early or left late or alternated.
How true...
New schedules are posted: http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/rail/Rail.html
Seems like the Evanston Purple Line will run every 7-8 minutes with every other train being sent downtown (ironically enough that's actually an improvement, at least when it comes to getting around in Evanston). I still think running the express an hour later in the morning and in the evening would help too, even if only every fifteen minutes or half-hour. I catch the last train of the evening every once and a while and it's still fairly crowded even past Belmont. Hopefully the CTA will consider it as this mess unfolds...
Carole,
Wern't slow zones between Fulerton and Belmont supposed to be fixed prior to the start?
Not sure if reality feels like it, but the CTA staff making the presentation at Friday's meeting said that the remaining slow zones in the 3tracking area are 25mph, just 10 mph below normal speed and "won't make a noticeable difference". :/
The three tracking was already in effect Thursday night and it seemed to work pretty smoothly; one platform boarding will be easier than the two.
BTW whoever was complaining about the low roof should take another look.
Anon 3/31/2007 4:46 PM,
I forgot to post about this earlier, but I also think that the steel structure that some posters were complaining about (at Fullerton) actually may not be too low.
The last time I was on the platform and compared it to the standing Brown Line train, the heights were comparable. Although I didn't take exact measurements, just "eyeing" the steel structure compared to the height of the train car's doors and center roof, it appears that if anyone did hit their head on the platform's steel structure, they would have a hard time entering or standing inside the train. I could be wrong since I don't have measurements, but it certainly appeared that the steel beams were fine.
Also, Carole, I had posted in a previous thread about some of the advantages of having the Purple Line Express stop at Sheridan. Did you present these ideas to your staff? From what "cg" posted, it seems like the staff didn't consider all the advantages of making it a stop during three-tracking. Even if only 4,300 riders stop at Sheridan now, offering that as a Purple Line stop would increase it's usage and help alleviate / reduce overcrowding at Belmont. I can't imagine that stopping at Sheridan would cause any additional expenses (since the platform is already ready to handle the Purple Line). Maybe the cost of adding stickers to train maps?
Now this is just my opinion, but with all the reduced rail capacity and limited bus capacity available, having the Purple Line stop at Sheridan during three-tracking will be a great asset that the CTA can do to provide "alternatives" other than using a crowded station such as Belmont.
Secondly, since the Pink Line is receiving a one-year test of it's usefulness, why can't something simple like stopping the Purple at Sheridan then be implemented as a "test" at least through the three-tracking phase where NB capacity is reduced? I'm not saying keep it once 3-tracking is over - but just to give customers more options through this phase and reduce crowding at Belmont.
Also Carole, it might help improve the CTA's image if you personally forced CTA staff to have the Purple Line stop at Sheridan IN ADDITION to Belmont - at least for a test period. I know that you are receptive to new ideas and it seem like you are taking our ideas and trying to use them. However, it does not seem like the CTA Staff are as receptive.
As I said in my last post, if anyone can see problems with doing this, please respond.
Chris,
You may be right about the slow zones, but according to the latest map (March 27th), there are still 1200 feet of 15 mph.
For that matter, why is 35 mph top speed for the Red Line over the one-mile segment between Belmont and Fullerton?
Also, in response to the foolish idea that Purple trains shouldn't stop at Sheridan because only a small number of people board at that station: Do CTA staff get their train-ops ideas from playing with their 3-year old's Thomas train?
The big train-ops obstacle at Belmont is PASSENGERS!!!! You've got a bottleneck there because of switching, but you've also got transferring passengers delaying trains in the station.
So anyone BOARDING at Sheridan is completely beside the point. The point of stopping Purple at Sheridan would be to encourage those Purple and Red Line riders WHO INTEND TO TRANSFER to the other line to do it there.
That way, you close the doors at Belmont in 4 seconds instead of 8. Over the course of a rush hour, that's a lot of time believe it or not.
Ironically, anonymous 5:28 came in and said what I was trying to say (at anon 5:29), much more kindly. But I just want to underline his idea. Stopping at Sheridan would make sense even if NO ONE actually boarded there.
The CTA staff's answer for not stopping at Sheridan didn't sound convincing when delivered and looking around the room you saw a few people scratching their heads.
You're right -- if the CTA can test a whole new line like the Pink, why not stop purples at Sheridan to see how it'd work?
There's already one vicious S-curve there slowing the trains down, so why not accomodate more passengers?
Again, maybe the low-speaking gentlemen expounded upon this, but like i said in my first 'cg' post above, he could not be heard clearly.
And Carole had the presentation group and Frank commit to making necessary changes if this doesn't roll out so smoothly, so don't give up on a Sheridan purple just yet.
This post has been removed by the author.
Chris,
That IS pretty funny. Unfortunately, the Trib map also shows Wilson and Lawrence as Purple stops, so I doubt it's anything but a Trib mistake.
Hey all, did you notice that today's Tribune's story about 3tracking has a map that shows Sheridan as a purple stop? Premonition?
View trib's map
You're right. I was so tickled about Sheridan that I didn't notice Wilson (which has been used as a Purple before) and Lawrence.
anon 5:29, thank you for adding that additional detail I failed to mention - even if passengers didn't BOARD at Sheridan, it would allow riders to TRANSFER between Red/Purple and reduce passenger traffic on the platform at Belmont. Carole, did CTA staff consider this? It definitely would help with the conditions because of three-tracking.
Also, Chris Gray, how long ago was Wilson used as a transfer point? The West one still looks like it could be in usable condition, but the Eastern platform doesn't look as usable and the canopy is removed. Would reactivating those two outer platforms have a benefit? Or would it not be useful enough?
It could have been within the last 3 or 4 years that the southbound purple platform at Wilson was used .. maybe a little earlier?
I think it's been used in extraordinary circumstances.
Hah, I know ... that northbound platform looks scary and unused for a couple decades... not sure, but I sure in heck wouldn't want to step on it. It looks about as scary as some of the deteriorating (and unused) tracks south of North Avenue on the brown/purple before Sedgwick.
There used to be a huge elevated CTA barn/garage south of the Wilson station right before the Montrose track switch about 12 years ago ... before a fire gutted it and shut things down for a few days.
So perhaps the Wilson stop used to be just as popular a transit destination as Belmont is, currently.
You may want to read the station's history at Chicago-l.org's site.
I doubt that the northbound platform at Wilson could be reactivated - it looks too narrow to incorporate stairs and its definitely too short. The southbound platform is way off to the side, making transfers cumbersome. Sheridan is overall a better choice since it's two island platforms are already perfect for cross platform transfers (and maybe more people would use the station if more trains stopped there - ridership there is already higher than most of the other stations to the north - more options might mean more riders).
1) Exteding purple line hours would accomidate many people who work or go to school in evanston. I often take the last purple line train south from Evanston in the evening at 6:30 and it is usually moderately full (i.e. seats all full).
2) A purple line stop at sheridan would also benefit those customers who live betwen belmont and wilson and keep them off of the more crowded brown and red line trains. At the very least they should also stop there after day cubs games in addition to before night cubs games.
3) I agree with the post about the broadway bus. Remember that the broadway bus also stops at Wilson and could get passengers all the way around the construcion corridor and drop them at clark/division red line or take them downtown. Signal priority would be a must though - traffic on broadway (and clark) can be awful.
4) I'm no expert, but the switch which moves northbound brown line trains from track four to track three before stopping at belmont is VERY noisy and bumpy. Are you sure it's ready???
If you think about it, the 36 Broadway begins at Clark/Devon, travels east and:
1. Turns south at Devon/Broadway - 1+ block south of Loyola red line stop.
2. It stops 1 block or less west of the Granville red. (2 blocks south of where it turned at Devon/Broadway).
3. Stops 1 block or less west of Thordale red.
4. Stops 1 block or less west of Bryn Mawr red.
5. Stops 1 block or less west of Berwyn red.
6. Stops 1 block or less west of Argyle red.
7. Stops 1 block or less west of Lawrence red.
8. Stops less than one block east of Wilson red.
9. Stops 2 blocks or so east of Sheridan red.
Seems like the 36 Broadway should be relied upon as the relief bus route for the mid-far north area near the red line!
I don't know how many planning people you have staffed, but I probably could give you more bang for the buck. :)
At this point, the only plausible explanation for CTA staff rejecting a purple line stop at Sheridan is that their egos are getting in the way of implementing an idea that they should have thought of in the first place, but didn't.
If their egos are getting in the way of doing their jobs properly, they should be reassigned to other work and people who are more able to evaluate ideas on their merits should be put in those positions instead.
Perhaps in the past, the demographic that rode the purple protested having a stop at Sheridan, because of *that* demographic. But it's time someone thought differently.
Expanding the bus tracker is long overdue and would make sense since (1) bus usage is being promoted as the fix to the 3-tracking capacity shortage; (2) buses inevitably run irregularly.
In addition to the tremendously valuable benefit of reducing people's effective wait times for all these buses we're supposed to be taking, it would enable the CTA to monitor bus frequency and bunching centrally, rather than sending what must be a very expensive deployment of people-with-clipboards out to stand in traffic, as the 3-tracking presentation PDFs suggest.
People are expensive. CTA employees are especially expensive, and there is no doubt plenty of other work that existing employees could be assigned to do, rather than stand around and manually observe bus locations and frequencies.
The CTA is spending piles of money to implement the Chicago Card and other ideas that shave seconds off of everybody's commutes, since allegedly these seconds all add up to something pretty significant.
So why isn't the same kind of attention being given to the bus tracker, which can take several minutes off of our commute? Although not everybody has a computer at work, many people do and still others have cell phones or wireless devices of their own that could access the bus tracker. In some cities, you can also access the bus tracker info by calling a phone number.
So if it takes you 2 minutes to walk to the bus stop and the bus isn't coming for another 9 minutes, you've just taken 7 minutes off of your commute. That's 7 minutes you're getting something done, or 7 minutes to run an errand before the bus comes, or simply 7 minutes of not standing needlessly in the cold or heat or rain.
And, of course, the impact of the bus tracker during non-rush periods would be even more dramatic -- as anyone who's stood around for 30 minutes on some desolate street waiting for an "owl" bus to roll along could attest. Even during midday and evening periods, buses run with wierd spacings, making real time schedule information tremendously useful.
Dollar-for-dollar, there isn't anything the CTA could do that would take as many minutes off of people's door-to-door travel time as the bus tracker would. And, as another post noted, much of the technology is already in place.
So what is the holdup?
Chris, the 36 already takes EONS to reach downtown off rush, it's not really a viable downtown commuting route except very very early and very very late. It's more useful for local trips - and Broadway is a busy street in it's four lane sections and once the bus moves into the two-lane section in Lakeview and onto Clark it's congested as could be. No amount of traffic signaling can help. A more useful bus reroute would be to put the Sheridan express busses onto the drive at Hollywood rather than Foster.
I'm sure the Evanston riders will complain vocally about the extra stop, but remember a huge amount of the riders get on at Howard and that's hardly a high-end demographic (why do you think Evanston is building all those huge condo buildings in that corridor; to keep "that" demographic OUT of Evanston).
"Chris Gray said...
Not sure if reality feels like it, but the CTA staff making the presentation at Friday's meeting said that the remaining slow zones in the 3tracking area are 25mph, just 10 mph below normal speed and "won't make a noticeable difference". :/"
I noticed that the most recent slow zone map represents what the CTA staff said. It seems that the 15mph slow zones in the Clark to Armitage corridor have somehow turned into 25mph zones over the last month or so. I have to wonder if this is from any corrective action being taken or did some engineer at CTA just think that upping the speed restriction should be ok and cross their fingers?
Anyone who rides that route much can attest to how Red Line trains often crawl from Belmont to Fullerton. The Brown is faster and often overtakes the Red beating it to Fullerton (despite stopping at Wellington and Diversy) if they make Belmont at the same time.
Having some buses get on/off LSD before Foster Ave. is long overdue, I agree. But I also understand the hesitation not to do so at Hollywood.
There's simply too much traffic madness going on there, with LSD beginning/ending. However, there *should* be a 147 bus alternative added during rush hour that runs local from Howard, gets on/off LSD at Bryn Mawr, and vice-versa. (There are variations of the 151 Sheridan buses that begin/end at different destinations, why not a heavily-used route like the 147?).
Also about the 36 running into lane congestion near Lakeview ... so does the 22! And the 22 Clark runs into very narrow 2-lane congestion just south of Hollywood whereas the 36 benefits from wider lanes until about Montrose.
Since the 36 stops near more red line stations than any other bus, it should be the logical choice.
X36 has a nice ring to it. Say at wilson (or sheridan with the purple stopping) 36 cuts over to LSD.
Who knows.. I'd take it.
Why doesn't CTA bring back the A & B stops to speed up the process? What are we talking about, maybe a 3 minute wait extra while a train passes a stop?
Two things about the morning commute on the 147 this morning. I was waiting for the 147 which is supposed to be at Sheridan and Sherwin at about 5:05 am. The driver was early by about 2 minutes, I figure this is a good thing. We are cruising along picking people up when suddenly the bus dies at a stop. He gets it started again and it dies at the next stop. It gets started again, goes fine until we hit Loyola then dies. He calls it in as broken.
The bus number was 7563 and the driver was one of the best examples of the excellent bus drivers at the CTA. He stayed calm, he kept the riders calm, he made sure to hand out delay slips, called to report his problem but most of all he made us feel that he actually cared about us. I didn't get his name but its things like that that may make this whole mess work out.
Just wanted to share something positive.
Stepped on a southbound Brown Line train at 7:05 (about 30 min earlier than usual for me) this morning at Belmont. Everything seemed to be going smoothly and the station was very well staffed with at least 8 CTA employees (that I saw), some security, and a few police officers. There were also 3 news trucks parked out front the station as well. The real test of course will be the PM rush which will see the most switching and reductions.
The A/B stops subject has been beaten like a dead horse.
It's not a good idea for today's CTA, especially on the north branch red line.
Think about the eroding embankments and other aging equipment that do not allow trains to travel at top speeds anymore, as they did during the A/B era.
So could you imagine the public relations nightmare the CTA would have to suffer through after riders blew their tops after a train travelling at 5 mph didn't stop at their station?
Also it would be a waste of money to change all of the signs, spend money on PR/ads to edcuate the public. No thanks.
If Metra simply ran an every half-hour shuttle train from Wilmette to the Loop and let CTA riders board, this would add at least 10,000 seats per day capacity
(assuming just 2 car trains), also, such an arrangement could allow reduction or cancellation of Purple Line express trains during construction, freeing up more
room for Brown and Red trains.
Why doesn't the RTA add the inner-city Metra stations
to the CTA network? This could be accomplished easily simply by
giving Metra conductors portable CTA farecard readers.
This would add greatly to the CTA rail capacity at zero infrastructure cost.
If the Ashland, Damen, and Western buses were extended to the Howard L station (both Ashland and Western have rush-hour expresses, by the way) and the Kedzie-California bus extended to the Western Brown Line, and run more frequently, that could
help divert traffic off the Red and Brown Line to the Blue Line as well. Right now, all 4 of those bus lines terminate at old trolley car turnarounds that haven't seen a trolley car for 50 years... one of the reasons for getting rid of trolleys was that bus lines are more flexible, and can be easily extended in this kind of situation. Chicago is peppered with bus lines
terminating at old trolley turnarounds, sometimes only blocks
short of obvious connections or rapid transit stations, (like, say, 31st and Lawndale or Roscoe and California). There must be acres and acres of land used for turnarounds the CTA could free up and sell simply by extending
some bus lines and getting rid of some of these anachronisms,
it'd improve service as well.
Tubezone makes excellent points about using Metra and RTA inner city buses&trains. For example, I take the 426 which runs from Evanston to Downtown Chicago & back from the University campus. It's filled with students, but along Sheridan it could pickup passengers at the Loyola stop and once it gets on LSD it's much faster than the 147 and hasn't experienced breakdowns. For University students it's free, but for CTA riders it's $2/$3 a ride.
Another idea mentioned is a 36X bus to pickup at the Thorndale or Berwyn/Broadway stops that would run express downtown. Turn off at Hollywood or BrynMawr, hit LSD and you're downtown in minutes.
There are so many cool ways to lighten the capacity. I hope Carol is reading this.
As someone pointed out to me at the office, this week might not be too bad as Spring Break is going on right now (anyone able to confirm this?)
As for the Red Line having 25mph zone between Fullerton and Belmont, that might be true, but I have *never* been on a red line that could maintain 25mph. Typically, the red line starts, stops, sits, starts, stops, starts, etc.
And as someone else pointed out, the brown/purple will almost always beat the red line to Belmont from Fullerton.
So, the Red Line might have 25mph zone between Fullerton and Belmont, but something (signalling?) causes major delays. I usually ride in the first car, and whatever that beeping noise is for the conductor, it is almost one continual buzz in that section of track even when no train can be seen ahead of us.
I absolutely cannot believe that people are still talking about the head-height of the beams at the Fullerton station.
And to add to the interest; three-tracking started at the Fullerton station last night by 9pm when I was there.
Well, I have to say that today's morning commute was no worse than usual. In fact, it was slightly quicker than normal. I left about 10 minutes earlier than normal and got to work about 15 minutes earlier than normal. I stayed away from taking the red line (I have been for quite a while as I get on at Sheridan and can never find a seat) and take the 148 which, I was pleased to learn, is one of the bus lines being augmented during 3 track operations.
The real test will be the evening commute tonight. Beyond that, I'll hold off judgement on this whole 3 tracking situation until a couple of weeks have passed and spring break is over and the Cubs have started the season. That will see the real effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the planning and alternates in place.
Run the Ashland bus to Howard? Oh, good grief, Clark is already a parking lot after Devon. That's unlikely to happen, since the Ashland service was cut short many years ago by complaints from the churches on Ashland bothering their Sunday sermons (seriously).
I doubt very much that Metra would consider a shuttle since I'm guess there would be many problems with that - I suspect they would have to get federal approval for that among other things - anyways, who exactly would subsidize that?
The CTA should of held back switching from a three-track configuration until after half the stations have been converted to handle eight cars. Since, Belmont and Fullerton can both handle eight cars because of the red line, there was no urgency to start construction. If they started working on alternating stations 6-8 months ago, then today the CTA could shut down the remaining six cars stations and switched to eight cars on the brown line. That is a 33% increase in capacity of each train. Using a three track at Belmont and Fullerton will not be that much of a problem.
* Stage 1 -
Kimball
Francisco
Western
Montrose
Addison
Southport
Wellington
Armitage
*Stage 2 - SHUT DOWN THESE STATIONS AND SWITCH TO EIGHT CARS
Kedzie
Rockwell
Damen
Irving Park
Paulina
Diversey
Sedgwick
*Stage 3 - REWARD THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES THAT CAME UNDER BUDGET AND ON TIME TO THESE THREE STATIONS
Belmont
Fullerton
Chicago
Jarvis smells like piss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtJapwq6RRE
More 147 buses broken downtown. Makes me feel especially bad for all the people the bus just passed without stopping since we were full before we got to Michigan from State.
Well, after surviving two rush hours today, I can say that day 1 was not that bad. We'll see what happens as people drift back to the trains. However, the NB platform at Fullerton has the potential to be dangerous. The only exits are near the rear of the trains and people were lined up from end to end and side to side trying to get out. CTA employees were there to make sure no one fell onto the tracks, but I can't believe another stairwell is not going to be made available to keep people safe and moving.
I have never seen so many highly paid unskilled workers standing around doing nothing than when I rode the Brown line today.
There are swarms of CTA employees just staring off into the distance. Is this an example of good management?
You can tell the private contractors from the CTA employees on the Brown line renovation since the CTA employees well outnumber them and the private contractors are actually doing something.
--Brian
anon 7:26,
I might have thought the same about CTA employees standing around, so I'm not criticizing you. Just pointing something out. Check out the Trib on-line piece (presumably in the paper tomorrow):
>About 450 CTA office workers
>volunteered to work the train
>platforms and bus stops a few
>hours before or after their
>normal workday on their own time,
>Kruesi said.
I have to say, that is inspiring. A group of people who gets a fair amount of grief here deserves some credit for that.
Anonymous said... Run the Ashland bus to Howard? Oh, good grief, Clark is already a parking lot after Devon
OK, have it turn around at Berwyn Red Line, where the Foster bus turns around. As it is there's nearly a 2 mile stretch of Ashland that has no bus service, and the Ashland bus follows the exact same pattern as the old #9 Ashland streetcar, terminating 4 blocks from an obvious Red Line connection at Sheridan. (Even the old streetcar route made no sense, why didn't they turn it around at Irving and LSD with the Irving streetcar?)
If the buses bother church services, fine, terminate Ashland at the Sheridan L on Sundays.
Here's a map of the old trolley routes, you can see how current bus routes often mirror them, and use the same turnaround points:
http://hometown.aol.com/ctapacefan/mapt1947.html
As far as who would pay for a Metra Wilmette shuttle, well, I suspect the CTA might have a spare farebox or two that could be bolted into a Metra car (they'd probably need an adapter transformer to work on Metra voltages, if someone wants to get me a soldering gun and a Radio Shack gift card for parts, I'll fix it myself). If some Purple Express trains can be cancelled, there's some more money. Also, the cost of providing alternate routes should have been figured into the cost of this project.
BTW, having the 50 Damen bus terminate at Howard could fill in a large gap of north-south bus routes between Clark and Western by running up Ridge to Rogers then cutting over to the Howard L. Currently it terminates at Bryn Mawr/Clark (the old Damen streetcar at least went to Peterson), not even bothering to connect with the L at Bryn Mawr.
The CTA should have simply built a bullet train to provide an alternative to the northside lines while it is under reconstruction. At 320 MPH, I think it could make the run from Howard to downtown in approximately 1 minute 45 seconds.
Okay, maybe 3 minutes 45 seconds if it stops at Sheridan, but we all know a Sheridan stop would be COMPLETELY infeasible, so that's just silly.
Last night, I hopped on the purple at Wells and rode it around the Loop. Looked to me like quite a few people were left standing as we made the rounds and the train was packed.
Switched to the Red Line (run 802) at Fullerton and we pulled out of the station and stopped. We stood for 15 minutes as 2 purple and 2 brown lines passed us. Then it was start and stop all the way to Belmont.
I was definitely pissed. However, I made it all the way to Granville in a little over an hour (normally it takes 50 minutes).
So far, not too bad.
I will change my commuting patterns. I'll drive. Wheeeeee!
You know, we can b**** and moan and that's not going to help. We need to offer suggestions and improvements. Yesterday for me going and coming wasn't bad. Thorndale to Evanston/Noyes in the morning; Purple line/ Noyes to downtown. I did a trial run because I work downtown 2 nites a week. So I figured out it would be better to get off at Merchandise Mart and walk the 4-5 blocks to the job vs. taking the Purple line around the loop, it got very filled up around the Financial/Adams stop and too many people on a train make me crazy.
OK, here's an improvement that's been mentioned before and ignored: more express buses for Rogers Park and Edgewater residents who prefer not to stop fifty times between Hollywood and Irving.
Bought a car this weekend. I have money to spend on gas, but I don't have an extra hour every working day for nearly three years to donate to the CTA. Calling my state reps - again. Urging them to grill the CTA until they get some leadership accountability. Imploring them to mandate zero service expansion until the CTA demonstrates the ability to maintain its existing services, addresses rampant absenteeism, and improves service quality and reliability.
It's kind of funny that you'd say you're calling your state rep to urge them to do something about the CTA.
The CTA is governed by a board appointed by Mayor Daley with the approval of the city council.
If you've got an aldermanic run-off, you may actually have a chance to do something about the CTA.
Or, you could whine to people who don't have authority over the CTA.
It's amazing that the mayor gets a pass on everything in this town. But then, it's amazing how clueless people are about government.
I'm really pleased that it's pretty much been "so far, so good" on the lines affected by three-tracking. Evidently the supervision is working to avoid the "hell" that was anticipated. I sure wish whatever they're doing on the Red, Brown, and Purple to make things work reasonably well could be adopted on the Blue. Funny how Frank's allowing himself to be held accountable for smooth service on the North Side Main Line, but the Blue continues to get worse and worse. Why isn't he held accountable for the whole system?
Anon 3:52 -
"But then, it's amazing how clueless people are about government."
You are so right. For instance the state contributions to the CTA's operating budget dwarf the city's contributions. And he who holds the purse strings holds the power. So actually, the appropriate people to call and complain to are your state legislators.
Anon 10:23
"Evidently the supervision is working to avoid the "hell" that was anticipated." Well gee ya think?
You're complaining when the CTA makes mistakes and you're also complaining when they actually do something well. You're probably one of those idiots that stands in doorways preventing people from boarding or exiting the train and probably one of those that eat on a train, make it a mess, and blame it all on the CTA - people everyone hate. Quit complaining and get a car. Then all you can do is blame yourself for all your problems.
At least the CTA is trying to minimize the effect of three-tracking.
Jim-
CTA style fix for slow trains from belmont to fullerton:
Get out and walk the mile. It's faster.
In theory, fewer trains running should mean fewer delays, esp. outside of the three tracking area. Or at the few least, less backup from delays that may occur.
>The state contributions to the CTA's operating budget dwarf the city's contributions.
Not true at all. The state does authorize units of local government to collect taxes. For instance,
- the state authorizes city governments to levy sales taxes (and collects the revenue on their behalf);
- the state authorizes county governments to levy various taxes, including property taxes, but also many other things, like the various fees related to real estate filings.
- the state authorizes the RTA Board (whose members are appointed by Mayor Daley and by various suburban officials) to levy a tax for support of transit services by the service boards.
So I guess the foolish and the naive could also complain to their legislators about their garbage pick-up. After all, the state authorized the city to levy the tax that pays for it.
But accountability in government depends on more direct lines of authority. In this case, you have a CTA Board entirely under Daley's control that makes all decisions related to hiring, policy, spending, and requests a budget level from the RTA, which also is significantly impacted by Daley appointees, which in turn has some financial control.
In this setting, you could indeed ask the legislature to cut off funds by repealing the tax. A rather heavy-handed way of bringing about restructuring and reform at CTA; you could also ask them to add to the levy authorization, so CTA can get additional funds, a move that is unlikely to have any impact on reforming the CTA except to push it further into the future.
Or you could ask the legislature to change the structure of agencies that CTA is accountable to today. But then you're conceding my point that the CTA currently is accountable for most decisions, regularly on a day-in, month-in, year-out basis, to Mayoral appointees.
I actually think CTA governance SHOULD be changed, just as CPS governance was changed.
Back in the mid-90's, with the schools taking criticism as 'worst in the nation' and Pate Philip calling them 'a rat hole' for taxpayer money, the state GOP hatched a plan to embarrass Mayor Daley:
They gave him explicit, direct control of the school board. You see, CPS had always been controlled by the Mayor, but only through a confusing set of appoinments screened by 'independent panels', etc. This confused structure didn't remove the schools from a Mayor's control, but they did confuse the issue for most voters, who didn't connect the disaster to Daley.
The GOP believed that the schools were unreformable. They thought that they would tarnish Daley by making it clear that the CPS cesspool was his cesspool.
Instead, he stepped up to the plate, swung and hit, if not a homer, at least a double, appointing blue-chipper Vallas and the unlikely political informer Gery Chico, who acted against type to make clear to the pols that CPS employees would henceforth have to work for their money.
I think something like this would work at CTA. You couldn't really make CTA a direct mayoral appendage, since it serves other communities. What I'd suggest is that instead, CTA should be run by an elected official who reported to the county board.
Most voters in Cook County see the CTA every day. They could hold an elected CTA administrator accountable much more easily than they hold accountable a county treasurer or assessor, whose functions they ill understand. An elected CTA administrator who wanted to keep his job would have a tremendous incentive to get rid of the political hacks with fat-cat salaries at W. Lake St. and use those positions for people who work. An elected CTA administrator would have tremendous incentive to get rid of the outdated job category of sleeper-in-glass-cabin that used to be the train station ticket taker, and replace it with pro-active staff at these stations who aggressively market Chicago cards and other customer service activities.
I think we need an elected CTA administrator!!!
Well Carole, it looks like severe service cuts will finally happen this year after all. The mayor even admitted today that there is nothing about transit funding on anyone's radar in Springfield this year, nothing at all. Furthermore, Madigan says in 2009 if the CTA doesn't make its mandated pension contributions, that he will see to it that the $200 million is withheld for the pension even before it reaches the CTA. What are you going to do? Cut service in half over the next 2 years? I think that just might be enough to cause an economic recession for the city. The city streets will become impossibly overcrowded and downtown will become very difficult to reach. Companies will relocate to the suburbs and people will move to the suburbs where the jobs go or at least have a speedy commute into the city on Metra. And what about the cuts to buses and trains that are vital for us to get through the 3-tracking project? How can you even attempt to cut any bus route or train that is already overcrowded due to the project? Someone is clearly not doing their job to get this funding mess fixed. Its been TWO YEARS Carole since the funding mess really got into trouble and yet nothing has been accomplished other than making the CTA even more responsible for pension contributions they can't cover. Personally, I'd rather see a doubling of fares before our transit system gets gutted.
Carole:
As you may have read in the paper, Alderman Joe Moore is frequently noted for his complaints about the CTA needing to ensure the safety of riders and expressing his desire to not proceed with the renovations. If you ever speak with him, please let him know that he should spend his time working to improve the safety and cleanliness of the el stations in his own ward. The Jarvis el stop is a repulsive disgusting stinky nightmare. If it is raining and you are walking through the station turnstiles, urine and yellow rusted water is probably dripping on you.
Please visit this station. It has been in horrible condition for many years. The fact that Joe Moore's office is around the corner illustrates the fact that he cares more about seeing his name in the paper than he does about helping his constituents.
Wasn't there an "adopt-a-station" program similar to the "adopt-a-highway" programs they have for picking up litter on interstates?
Here's a couple of more ideas:
1. Have dedicated bus lanes on LSD during rush hour. Yes, that'd cause backups on LSD, but why should only CTA riders suffer delays?
2. How about restoring day service on the old Southport and Sheffield bus lines? The service on those lines was cancelled long ago when that area was dilapidated and depopulated, which is no longer the case.
My station (Kedzie-Orange Line) never smells like urine, frankly, I'd hate to imagine what the reaction would be if someone decided to take a tinkle there.
5:03: "An administrator that reports to the Cook County Board." Are you nuts? With the Toddler firing front line workers while padding his own PR department, and trying to give a no bid contract for cleaning services (at least the board turned that down) how to you trust him?
I agree that the CTA should not be a Daley patronage fiefdom. However, changes suggested by the Lipinski committee should be followed, since Daley's view is that the CTA and RTA are the legislature's problem, not his.
An administrator that reports to the voters. The position would have to be one that went somewhere to have the budget approved, because you can't have an individual setting a tax rate with no oversight. I agree the county board also needs reform, but there's more dissent there, more influence for people interested in reform, than at the city. Right now, there's essentially no oversight for the CTA.
Just an update, as the week continues, the delays are starting to mount.
Last night, I waited for a Red Line at Fullerton as 3 brown and 2 purple lines trains went by.
Total trip from the loop to Granville Wednesday, 1.5 hrs.
12:28: If the voters wanted reform, they wouldn't have given Daley the overwhelming 71% of the 33% that voted, and followed his advertised endorsement to vote for the Toddler. How much oversight do the voters have over the 100s of judges, water reclamation district trustees, etc. on the ballot?
Rest assured, that if Daley cared about the CTA like the purports to do with regard to the schools and public housing, he would have done something by now, other than lay it in the legislature's lap. But while the police commissioner "retired" real quickly, Daley said (in response to the Crain's report, and in his Mickey Mouse voice) "Frank isn't going anywhere."
Big ups to "Joanie" at the CTA Red Line 'Grand' Station. About 2 weeks ago on a Friday night around 9:30pm my phone fell out of my pocket. I got on a train and found it missing. I took a SB train back to the station looking for it. Joanie found it and secured it for me and was in the midst of trying to contact me when I came to her at her booth inquiring about a lost phone. Thanks Joanie!
Carole,
I'm