Results tagged “clusterfuck”

Blame it on the rain? Those new parking meter boxes that are all the rage downtown have now decided to stop working. Many of the boxes, including several near City Hall, ceased working today, forcing the police to declare a moratorium on parking tickets, according to the Chicago Tribune. City Budget Department spokesman Pete Scales told the Trib that the problem was affecting 125 of the 556 pay boxes: "They are telling us all the repairs will be made by the afternoon."

In the wake of Ald. Tom Allen (38th) calling out Mayor Daley on the city's failure to properly plow and salt/sand side streets following last week's and this week's storms (both past and future), other aldermen are now getting antsy for answers from MayDay on exactly what's going on.

Ald. Billy Ocasio is the most outspoken critic of the most recent city snow removal effort, claiming that when he personally called for help for his ward last night, he was passed from department to department --- making him wonder aloud "who's in charge?"

Ocasio (26th), who is joining Allen's call for $3 million to be added to plowing and salting efforts, said, "I don't think the resources are out there. I think if you come into the Loop, you see the resources, but you don't see them out in the neighborhoods. Yesterday I had to call personally and just go off on everyone because there are mothers and grandparents trying to get their kids to and from school, and they can't make it. They can't make it down the street."

The reason there won't be any sand to put on streets Wednesday morning after the predicted snow tomorrow night is because Mayor Daley has kicked it all in our face. After last week, when inches of snow and ice piled up in Chicago and made things insanely treacherous for everyone and even had an alderman bitching and moaning about the lack of plowing, the city mobilized 184 plows early this morning for a minimal amount of ice. So four inches of snow and ice warrants nothing but a bit of sleet warrants half the fleet? We've known for a while things were ass-backwards at City Hall, but this season's handling of plowing is taking it to new heights.

Ald. Tom Allen (38) is on our good side (for now) after voicing what we (and you) have been complaining about for a while: that Mayor Daley's new plowing policy is a clusterfuck. Echoing comments that have been bouncing around these parts for a week, Allen said:

The new snow program is 'do nothing.' Irving Park Road was ice-packed. Traffic was crawling after a two- or three-inch snowfall. Cars near schools just slide through intersections, putting every kid who tries to cross the street in peril...I'm getting pounded by my constituents. We don't live in Honolulu. We live in Chicago. We've lost our compass. We have to provide the most fundamental city service. Are we gonna ride from December through March with people's lives in peril trying to cross the street?

A-freaking-men. Even better? Allen's solution: he's asked MayDay to set aside $1 million from the city's deals to privatize Midway and the city's parking meters to pay for the whole thing. We couldn't think of a better plan. After all, it's not like that city debt is really ever going to get paid off, so we might as well use some of that money to, you know, keep the city functional. We're just sayin'...

This morning as we arrived for work at the Chicagoist office, we couldn't help but notice most of the side-streets in the vicinity hadn't been touched by plow or salt in almost 10 days, causing most of the roads to become slick with ice from where drivers had repeatedly driven over the several inches of snow that have piled up in that time. We wondered if we were alone in our consternation and it looks like we are not. Daley insists the city is doing its best to remove side-street snow and ice without resorting to overtime. Meanwhile, both residents and aldermen say requests to 311 aren't being handled in a timely manner.

Race officials and runners alike are keeping a wary eye on Sunday's weather forecast after last year's heat-plagued race in which more than 300 people were treated for heat exhaustion and one man even died. Officials claimed they turned back participants who had not reached the half-way point by 3.5 hours into the race while allowing the rest to finish [not true as I and several other runners were herded back to the Start Line in spite of being well past the half-way point, but I digress...] because of the extreme temperatures and ridonkulous lack of water and Gatorade. As of this afternoon, the National Weather Service is predicting sunny skies and a high of around 76.

CTA head Ron Huberman and other local transit officials faced the City Council today and faced criticism on potential fare hikes and the debacle that is the Block 37 project. On the subject of a fare increase, Huberman said:

Ultra-low diesel, which is what we use on our buses, has increased 80 percent. Next year, we will be spending $50 million more for the same quantity of fuel than we spent the prior year. Electrical costs are coming in over 25 percent higher than they were the prior year. That means that we will be spending $7 million more just for electricity,” Huberman said.

Continue reading "CTA Faces City Council, Higher Fares In 2009?"

In what is now a weekly right of passage, the CTA is doing all kinds of stuff to the train lines this weekend. Which is fine, because there's really not much going on this weekend besides all the street fests, Blues Fest, Printers Row Book Fair, the Sox home games, and all the tourists in town. We know it's all for the greater good and many of the reroutes are during off-peak hours, but that doesn't mean it won't affect anyone. Here's a quick summary of what's happening with each line this weekend.

Despite this week's news that the work on the Fullerton and Belmont stops will be finished ahead of schedule, we're still drinking the CTA flavor Haterade. Honestly, we've given up taking the El on weekends. With slow zones, closures and reroutes, not to mention the ongoing Brown Line construction/clusterfuck, it's easier in this beautiful weather to just walk or ride our bikes (always wear a helmet!). With lots of people traveling and making their way around town for fests and other spring-time activities, it's important to keep an eye on the CTA Customer Alert website. Here's a quick run-down of this weekend's closures.