tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post2988757677312375877..comments2024-03-27T20:04:53.585-06:00Comments on Illinois Transportation Issues: The Suburbs: What Do They Want?Tom Bamontehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08257129333713108323noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-44950852648619820842007-05-04T06:39:00.000-06:002007-05-04T06:39:00.000-06:00The moderator makes a point that the suburbs do no...The moderator makes a point that the suburbs do not have enough population density for transit to succeed there. THis is a specious argument made by the wine and cheese set at the Metropolitan Planning Commission and the transit bosses themselves to cover up the fact that they cannot or will not build a suburban transit network.. Metra just announced record ridership in 2006. Most of those riders originate in the suburbs - clear evidence that transit is working in the suburbs at least for travel to downtown Chicago. And no wonder, with the sheer level of service provided.<BR/><BR/>Our regional commuter rail system serves many origins and one destination - the Chicago CBD. The CTA system serves many origins and many destinations in Chicago. A comparable network/level of service does not exist for intersuburban travel. The Oak Brook/Yorktown area, a major regional employment center in its own right has a small fraction of the service available to downtown Chicago. Similar to CHicago, the suburbs need a transit network that serves many origins and many destination. This could be a grid, hub and spoke, multiple hub and spoke or point-to-point system.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately the suburban transit operators, Pace and Metra have not seen fit to build a suburban transit network. Pace is better at devising acronyms for service than actual service. Metra's vision for intersuburban transit - the STAR Line while grandiose is wrong but moving ahead nonetheless.<BR/><BR/>The STAR Line is not proximate to the major suburban employment centers wtih the exception of Schaumburg, nor does it connect significant concentrations of origins with the employment centers. It is a point-to-point service along a railroad that is fixed and not flexible at all. It does nothing to diversify our region's investment in transportation as would managed lanes on expressways/tollways that could be used by trucks, cars and transit. Is is hugely expensive ($2 billion) and will take many years to build if indeed it is ever built. Unfortunately Metra has done a pretty good job of selling this bill of goods to the suburbs, and the project planning process is designed to obfuscate more than reveal facts about this major investment.<BR/><BR/>DuPage County has adopted the DuPage Area Transit Plan as the official transti plan for Dupage.The plan prescibes a network of connector routes and a high speed corridor envisoned as Bus Rapid Transit. Yet Metra and Pace have yet to show much interest.<BR/><BR/>Getting back to what the suburbs want. Given em a respectable level of service to a few major activity centers. A $2 billion choo-choo train is no place to begin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-66634264566226109522007-05-02T07:30:00.000-06:002007-05-02T07:30:00.000-06:00It might have been more precise if I had said in t...It might have been more precise if I had said in the first comment:<BR/>1. If the CTA is the only service board inadequately funded under the formula ....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-79905648725150081572007-05-01T20:47:00.000-06:002007-05-01T20:47:00.000-06:00This post is a real doozy. Let's start with a fun...This post is a real doozy. Let's start with a fundamental question--maybe a potential "criteria"-- to answer your ring around the philosophy assertions. Please fill in the blanks in the table below by Service Board Share of their Budget: <BR/> Policy Driven Market Driven <BR/> ============= ============= <BR/>Fare :<BR/>Level :<BR/>---------------------:-------------<BR/>Capital : <BR/>Expenses :<BR/>---------------------:-------------<BR/>Operating :<BR/>Expenses :<BR/>---------------------:-------------<BR/>Service : <BR/>Levels :<BR/>---------------------:-------------<BR/>Then let's discuss how the bill (subsidies) should get split up and who should pay for the extras and the mixed drinks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4840511756286055487.post-56472158215882763852007-05-01T20:34:00.000-06:002007-05-01T20:34:00.000-06:00Two areas on which I disagree:1. If the CTA is the...Two areas on which I disagree:<BR/>1. If the CTA is the only one dependent on discretionary funding, why is Pace now underwriting the "Moving Beyond Congestion" advertising program? You might have a point that funding Pace may not be cost effective on a per passenger basis, but no argument can be made that the current funding level is adequate for Pace to maintain or expand service (even when its restructuring studies show a demand for it) or engage in an extensive capital program. What is your point--cut off transit funding to Metra and Pace until the suburbs implement high density zoning?<BR/>2. The CTA proved today that it is the Daley Transit Authority. Why should suburban Cook County subsidize that, when the city is willing to put very little "skin into the [transit] game?" You haven't responded to my <A HREF="http://sicktransitchicago.blogspot.com/2007/04/rta-governance-new-proposal.html#comment-2822946845545142144" REL="nofollow">post</A> on the need for governance reform at the CTA.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, isn't there a need to apply transit to take care of the reverse commute problem? Currently, the reverse commute traffic time on the Edens is double the traditional commute. However, the only way transit serves that area is because the Transit Management Association of Lake Cook subsidizes feeder service.<BR/><BR/>While you say:<BR/>"My proposal to give all three areas in the RTA region--Chicago, suburban Cook County, collar counties--an equal voice on the RTA Board while allocating voting power based on RTA sales tax and fares paid in each area has not generated much interest."<BR/>are you expecting the state legislators to read it and react to it here? Or have you written your state senator and representative and copied Julie Hamos? I have, and did receive a response.<BR/><BR/>Finally, I live both in Kirk's district and in Cook County, so your characterization of "the primary constituency" is incorrect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com