Mike Doyle's on a crusade to stop harassment of the homeless. What form does this harassment take? The CTA has posted signs, and intends to enforce, riding guidelines that say you have to exit the terminal at the end of the line. Meaning, you can't ride back and forth on the trains all day long. Mike indicates that this is an attempt by the CTA to kick the homeless out into the cold. And at Christmas, no less!
Actually, what they've done is reinforce the point of the el: it's to get people from point A to point B. What this highlights is that the el is not a homeless shelter. If we need more/better shelter for the homeless (and I don't doubt that we do), then that's the problem we need to fix. Not to try to misuse (or allow the misuse of) public transit infrastructure to store the less fortunate. It's a poor fit, and everybody loses.
I think the CTA is right, and Mike Doyle is wrong. And it's a bummer to see Mike's once-excellent Chicago Carless blog reduced to a one-note trumpet of hysteria-- seven of his nine most recent posts are on this issue.
What does the CTA have to say about this? From today's Sun Times:
"While our trains may serve as temporary shelters, they're not good shelters for anyone," said [CTA President Ron] Huberman. "We're going to try to make sure individuals who are homeless who are on our system can at least have access to people who can help them find safe, more comfortable housing."
Gaffney said 229 people were taken from the CTA to "appropriate facilities" by outreach workers in the last year.
But this is a small part of the thousands who are removed from trains for "continuous riding."
The article also states that the CTA also partners with the city's Department of Human Services, which works with the mental health services provider Thresholds. Outreach workers have 24-hour access to the CTA, and they enter the trains looking for people who need help.
Mike may have a point if he means to say that signage on the CTA isn't going to solve the homeless problem. I just don't think the signage, or enforcement of this policy, hurts people, or the homeless, and it appropriately reflects what the el system is actually for.
Nothing to see here, move along.
Showing posts with label cta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cta. Show all posts
Blago Broke It
"Blago Broke It" is what I'll be saying next week, when all the buses go away.
OK, not *all* the buses, just the ones I use to get downtown, to go out to eat, to get to the Metra, etc.
All because Blago (A) waited until the last minute, and (B) decided to bung it all up by adding in this "seniors get free rides" stuff that nobody asked for and nobody wants.
Thanks, Governor Press Release.
OK, not *all* the buses, just the ones I use to get downtown, to go out to eat, to get to the Metra, etc.
All because Blago (A) waited until the last minute, and (B) decided to bung it all up by adding in this "seniors get free rides" stuff that nobody asked for and nobody wants.
Thanks, Governor Press Release.
Transit: Free Rides are a Bad Idea
As mentioned over here. I'm in full agreement; free fares for seniors are an awful idea. If implemented, it'll be ripe for abuse. People will steal cards, you'll never know exactly who's allowed to use one by looking at somebody, etc.
I'm not against reduced fares, but I do think it's a distraction, a ploy by Blago to try to require it as a condition of proper CTA funding. (Note that I don't think of this as a "bailout" -- that would imply the CTA screwed up. They didn't. It's Blago and the legislature who are falling down on the job, here.)
I'm not against reduced fares, but I do think it's a distraction, a ploy by Blago to try to require it as a condition of proper CTA funding. (Note that I don't think of this as a "bailout" -- that would imply the CTA screwed up. They didn't. It's Blago and the legislature who are falling down on the job, here.)
On the Awesome Level of Discourse...
...in our [Rogers Park neighborhood] blogland community.
As I mentioned previously, Craig Gernhardt asks"Has Joe Moore created a hate in Rogers Park towards military personal?" No word from Joe on whether or not he has stopped beating his wife. However, in the mean time, I'm sure if a gnat farts in the Amazon rain forest, Craig will help us to understand how it's the fault of the local political machine.
As a follow up, Thomas Westgard takes Craig to task for publishing the Grodner police report with the names and personal information of witnesses left intact. Makes sense. Until the bit where Tom calls Craig "an irresponsible drunk."
I took issue with that in comments, and was rewarded with this from Tom: "Oh, now I think I understand your point, Al. You're saying that I should have gone after Craig on the point about the witnesses, but the attack on his drinking habits was gratuitous."
Tom agrees. "That might be true," he says, but then he goes on to call me a "lackey" because I dared to raise the issue. As he seems to have misused the word, I'm not quite sure what he actually meant.
Tom and Craig have a strange, synergistic relationship.
On another note, maybe I should try to ride the #96 bus one last time before it disappears in the doomsday scenario. I moved here from Minneapolis, which is a very, very small town as far as public transit is concerned. They don't have anything like the El, Metra, or the amazingly broad and wide bus coverage that we are lucky to have here in Chicago. I love it, as it has meant that I've had to drive barely once every few weeks, instead of daily, like I did in Minneapolis. And here we are, to the point where Illinois is about to throw away big chunks of the Chicago transit system. It's just amazing and sad. Mass transit is one of the things that makes the Chicago area special, and apparently not enough people realize it.
(ETA: This content was from my old Rogers Park neighborhood blog, now rolled into this one main blog.)
As I mentioned previously, Craig Gernhardt asks"Has Joe Moore created a hate in Rogers Park towards military personal?" No word from Joe on whether or not he has stopped beating his wife. However, in the mean time, I'm sure if a gnat farts in the Amazon rain forest, Craig will help us to understand how it's the fault of the local political machine.
As a follow up, Thomas Westgard takes Craig to task for publishing the Grodner police report with the names and personal information of witnesses left intact. Makes sense. Until the bit where Tom calls Craig "an irresponsible drunk."
I took issue with that in comments, and was rewarded with this from Tom: "Oh, now I think I understand your point, Al. You're saying that I should have gone after Craig on the point about the witnesses, but the attack on his drinking habits was gratuitous."
Tom agrees. "That might be true," he says, but then he goes on to call me a "lackey" because I dared to raise the issue. As he seems to have misused the word, I'm not quite sure what he actually meant.
Tom and Craig have a strange, synergistic relationship.
On another note, maybe I should try to ride the #96 bus one last time before it disappears in the doomsday scenario. I moved here from Minneapolis, which is a very, very small town as far as public transit is concerned. They don't have anything like the El, Metra, or the amazingly broad and wide bus coverage that we are lucky to have here in Chicago. I love it, as it has meant that I've had to drive barely once every few weeks, instead of daily, like I did in Minneapolis. And here we are, to the point where Illinois is about to throw away big chunks of the Chicago transit system. It's just amazing and sad. Mass transit is one of the things that makes the Chicago area special, and apparently not enough people realize it.
(ETA: This content was from my old Rogers Park neighborhood blog, now rolled into this one main blog.)
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