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In addition to measures intended to accelerate development near public transit, the Connected Communities ordinance implements a novel cap on the amount of parking for new residential buildings near train stations — one spot per two units. But the CTA has been facing widespread complaints about service reliability and safety; Both violent and nonviolent crimes on CTA were up compared to last year, leading to a 42% increase in total crime through mid-August.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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“What can convince Chicagoans to rely less on cars?”
Remove the car door locks?
“The jig is up” with public transit – and it’s not going to get any better, at least in high – crime Chicago: https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=20386 August Transit 63.4% of 2019 Numbers “…When compared with July 2022, the biggest gains among major urban areas have been in Phoenix (24%), Denver (22%), Cincinnati (21%), and Riverside-San Bernardino (16%). Urban areas that are still lagging include Chicago (55% of 2019 numbers), Washington (56%), Atlanta (53%), Detroit (24%), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (49%). DC and the Twin Cities are doing poorly because their downtown are among the slowest to recover and I presume the same is… Read more »
Biking and walking really sucks for about 5 months of the year between Nov. and March, when it is really cold, or snowing, or raining, or other inclement weather. I lived for a year or two without a car in Chicago. It worked OK when I was single and living in a dense neighborhood. But totally unrealistic for families or in less densely packed neighborhoods. Everybody points to Europe as being more walkable, which is true, but they have far more scooters, and buildings/streets/grid mostly predate the invention of the car. And the public trans is better too – it’s… Read more »
TOD works if you both live and work in the city. If you reverse commute, not so much. But if the CTA can’t improve crime/cleanliness/reliability and perception thereof, it’s all a moot point anyway.
The Tribune is a fckn joke If they’re not covering mysteries from 90 years ago, they’ll give you a weather forecast for last week; they’re all ways right too! Take the CTA to the morgue!
Perhaps if criminals did not habitually hunt for new victims on the CTA ridership would increase.
Kim, this means you’ll actually have to prosecute criminals — not release them with no bail so they can get right back to their next victim. That means COC would actually be jailed.
City Hall Wants To Use Soviet Central Planning Tactics — To Force Drivers To Give Up Their Cars And Ride Crime-Infested/Piss-And-Shit-Stained CTA Instead — By Banning Parking Spaces In New Buildings — REALITY CHECK: TRANSIT ORIENTED PROJECTS ONLY CREATE LOCAL PARKING PROBLEMS, AS BUILDING RESIDENTS ARE FORCED TO PARK ON THE STREET