OK, You Told Us
By Jocelyn Geboy in News on Apr 6, 2007 8:42PM
... that things don't really seem to be as hellish as we thought they'd be for the first week of the "three-track man-we-just-don't-seem-to-do-anything-right operation" at CTA central. We asked you to report in on your first week experiences, and most of you seemed to think things weren't much different than the normal crapola we've dealt with in increasing intensity in the last year.
We heard that there were some crowded platforms, some seemingly due in part to the overabundance of neon-clad CTA workers, handing out literature and "treating passengers like children" by yelling over and over for people to stand back from the platform. Wow. Chicagoist is so glad they put those people there. We've been riding the train for 10 years and we can't imagine the unknown dangers we've been in before this.
Several commentors made note of the fact that their morning commutes were exactly the same -- this is because the southbound traffic should not be affected by three-track at all. Southbound, there are two tracks in operation (1 and 2), the same ones there has always been. Save for the closures on the Brown Line (Addison, Montrose, Southport and .... soon, Diversey?), everything on the southbound experience is the same good-time fun. Wheeeee!
There have also been some concerns raised about what happens when the Cubs take their place at Wrigley Field, starting Monday, Apr. 9. The Red Line rush was always diffcult during a day game, now it could become quite crazy. Then, there is the very realistic and natural concern that much like a person with a new job or someone who has very recently gotten into trouble, that the CTA brass are going to make sure that their workers are out in force, helpful and ready to take on any potential problems that might crop up. But what about next month, when tempers and irritation have calmed down a bit? What about next season? Next year? Truth be told, Chicagoist is not convinced that things are going to run so smoothly even next week.
"belmont 4-3-07" by smussyolay