Will Chicago Grind To a Halt For the Next Couple of Years?

The Chicago Tribune reports on the coming disaster in Chicago:

The Chicago Transit Authority had bad news for North Side commuters this week: Things are about to get ugly. Travel times on Red, Brown and Purple Line Express trains could as much as double during the next phase of the Brown Line expansion project, beginning in April. One out of four tracks will be out of service between the Addison and Armitage stops through the end of 2009.

The CTA suggests you plan to leave earlier or later and allow extra travel time to and from work for the next 2 1/2 years. Or take the bus, a different CTA line or Metra. In other words, find another ride.


Commuters were outraged. City Council members demanded hearings. Ald. Joe Moore (49th) ripped the CTA for running a "Third World transit system." CTA Board Chairman Carole Brown's blog was overrun with comments from armchair engineers who seemed genuinely disgruntled that the CTA didn't consult them before deciding how to proceed with its construction project. We don't subscribe to the wiki approach to planning mass transit, but we can't help but share their frustration. There's got to be a better solution.

Because fewer trains will be running, the CTA says it will be able to carry 25 percent fewer passengers between 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays. That's a recipe for rush-hour rage, as packed trains pause to unload a handful of passengers and hundreds try to shove aboard in their place. Imagine what fun it will be on Cubs game nights.

The alternatives aren't pretty either. Anyone who thinks they can just hop on Metra instead of the CTA hasn't tried it during rush hour lately. Ditto for the Blue Line, although the CTA says it may shift more trains to those routes. Building extra commuting time into the day is especially problematic for people who rely on the trains to get from their day job to their night job. Those who can afford it, though, are likely to avail themselves of the one option the CTA was careful not to suggest: They'll drive.

But they're not happy about it, based on the angry postings to the "Ask Carole" section of Brown's blog. Quite a few riders seem to want to "ask Carole" if the CTA is incompetent or just stupid, but there are some constructive suggestions that sound plausible. A few of them are even on the table, as CTA officials continue to look for ways to make the ordeal less painful. Those options, however, are along the lines of adding buses on existing routes, not operating reversible tracks during peak hours or building a fifth track instead of shutting down the fourth. The CTA says it doesn't have the money or the magic wand to make this easy, so commuters need to make other plans.

No matter what plans you make, you're bound to feel the squeeze. Get ready for gridlock on Lake Shore Drive, parking shortages downtown, long lines at the bus stop and short tempers on `L' platforms. As one anonymous rider groused on Brown's blog: "This is going to be like Bilandic's snowstorm ... only it's going to last for 2 1/2 years."

Great moments in socialist transportation.For you urban lovers out there in Chicago,you are going to be asked to love the inefficient lifestyle even more.