Do you think the CTA/METRA will come back after Covid or will it become obsolete? (Chicago: sales, leases)

[dtcbnd03]

Originally Posted by BRU67

No. And I am sick of the hypocrisy on this. Why do affordable housing units always have to be built in city neighborhoods? Usually in one's already poor and under the auspices of "stopping gentrification."

If we really want to give low-income people access to quality housing and opportunity, we need to start giving the wealthier suburbs a heaping helping of low-income housing developments. Many progressives live in these suburbs and purport to want equality. So take action, and don't fall into the campaign assumption of the Republicans that suburbs are afraid of this. Show them they're wrong!

Bru67 looks like Biden is addressing your concerns. "President Joe Biden is seeking to ease a national affordable housing shortage by pushing local governments to allow apartment buildings in neighborhoods that are currently restricted to single-family homes."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN2BV1CX

And a good NYT update about the return to office life. "After a year of working remotely, some employees are not keen to go back to the office, and, so far, employers are being receptive to their concerns."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/b...k-anxiety.html

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

Bru67 looks like Biden is addressing your concerns. "President Joe Biden is seeking to ease a national affordable housing shortage by pushing local governments to allow apartment buildings in neighborhoods that are currently restricted to single-family homes."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN2BV1CX

And a good NYT update about the return to office life. "After a year of working remotely, some employees are not keen to go back to the office, and, so far, employers are being receptive to their concerns."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/b...k-anxiety.html

The Obama Administration started focusing on moving more housing vouchers to the suburbs. Section 8 voucher amounts are now adjusted by zip code. So for example, HACC will give one a voucher for $900 for a 1-bedroom in Robbins and a voucher for $1,540 for a 1-bedroom in Winnetka or Barrington (as of 2018).

https://thehacc.org/wp-content/uploa...8-approved.pdf

Now, these higher HACC rents actually more than cover the average rent in Winnetka and Barrington. Zumper shows that landlords in Winnetka could get $145 more per month and a landlord in Barrington could get $290 more per month by going with a Section 8 voucher holder over a market tenant. The difference is probably greater now because I'm using voucher figures from 2018, whereas the average rents I cite are current.

https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/winnetka-il

https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/barrington-il

However, we know this is not happening. For one thing, there are fewer apartments available in Winnetka or Barrington than in most areas which currently have high numbers of vouchers. Renters make up only 8.5% of Winnetka's population and 28% in Barrington. And the few rental units which do become available in affluent desirable areas like these have heavy competition and many applicants. Conversely, there is less market demand in Robbins and many investors in low income communities like those operate on a Section 8 business model, and actually seek out cheap rental properties in order to get the guaranteed government income stream.

The end result is continued segregation. That's where building affordable housing in high opportunity areas should come into play. On this note, I'm very dubious that the "carrot no stick" approach discussed by your article is going to get anything done. Can you imagine Winnetka and Barrington changing their zoning codes to allow big affordable rental housing developments in their downtown area? LOL!!! They don't need the Federal subsidy because they are wealthy and, for all the progressive ideals emanating from these communities and being bestowed upon the rest of us, they would take some severe political backlash. So good luck with that. The initiative will need to be more forceful and mandated from the Federal level if it is to have any effect.

I'm sure it isn't hard for a journalist (well, what we call a journalist today) to find some employees who are not keen about going back to work after a year off. I mean, heck, they could contact any Chicago public school teacher and get some outstanding quotes about the desire for permanent remote work! But at the end of the day, it's not likely going to matter. I just don't think that most employers will allow employees to work remotely due to efficiency concerns, nor do I think the majority of the workforce wants to be isolated in their home. But time will tell.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

And a good NYT update about the return to office life. "After a year of working remotely, some employees are not keen to go back to the office, and, so far, employers are being receptive to their concerns."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/b...k-anxiety.html

https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifes...ugq-story.html

They have FOGO! Maybe the USDOL can make that a "disability" under the ADA, LOL!!

[dtcbnd03]

Originally Posted by BRU67

https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifes...ugq-story.html

They have FOGO! Maybe the USDOL can make that a "disability" under the ADA, LOL!!

Hahaha. It will certainly take some readjustment to enter the real world again. Anyone who reads my posts knows I wanted everything 100% open a year ago...but even traveling to places with less rules I had to readjust a little bit when entering a crowded room or standing close to someone without a mask. Just had to remind myself there was nothing to worry about and fear was overblown...but it took a week before settling back into normal.

It's going to take the rest of the city a good year of govt encouragement not to wear masks and drop social distancing. Chicago is not a conservative place like Texas. So again getting back to the CTA I just can't see packed trains anytime soon...

[Hiruko]

Just checked the UP-N schedules and see that the scheduled trains are a fraction of what they were pre-COVID. Does anyone have any idea when they will begin adding capacity?

[ChicagoMeO]

it will still flourish.. People need to take the CTA and Metra, etc where they need to go. it had a lot of dirt and seediness and graffiti, etc. but people still took it, and that was a germ factory. so it will be back shortly. when people return to work downtown, they will crowd the trains again.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

Hahaha. It will certainly take some readjustment to enter the real world again. Anyone who reads my posts knows I wanted everything 100% open a year ago...but even traveling to places with less rules I had to readjust a little bit when entering a crowded room or standing close to someone without a mask. Just had to remind myself there was nothing to worry about and fear was overblown...but it took a week before settling back into normal.

It's going to take the rest of the city a good year of govt encouragement not to wear masks and drop social distancing. Chicago is not a conservative place like Texas. So again getting back to the CTA I just can't see packed trains anytime soon...

My work commute has doubled in time since this post! Bah!! Clearly, employers are making people come back to the office. In some ways I was hoping you were going to be right.

[jfre81]

I boarded a full car out of O'Hare coming back to town. Gonna be time for some new rolling stock for the Blue Line.

[Ryno25]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

Hahaha. It will certainly take some readjustment to enter the real world again. Anyone who reads my posts knows I wanted everything 100% open a year ago...but even traveling to places with less rules I had to readjust a little bit when entering a crowded room or standing close to someone without a mask. Just had to remind myself there was nothing to worry about and fear was overblown...but it took a week before settling back into normal.

It's going to take the rest of the city a good year of govt encouragement not to wear masks and drop social distancing. Chicago is not a conservative place like Texas. So again getting back to the CTA I just can't see packed trains anytime soon...

I was just in Chicago this week and took the EL and busses throughout my stay. Even late at night, both trains and buses were packed by varying degrees. Some of the buses and trains I was on was standing room only. Heck I was on a bus at 1 am and it was standing room only.

[dtcbnd03]

CTA passes are getting a price cut this summer to encourage ridership.

"While some people have returned to CTA trains and buses as part of their daily commute, ridership is still down significantly from its pre-pandemic levels. According to a release from the CTA, an average of more than 500,000 riders are currently taking trains and buses on weekdays—that's a precipitous drop from the more than 1.5 million daily weekday riders that the system welcomed in May of 2019."

https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news...dership-052721