Do some people who live and work in Chicago drive to/from work and for daily errands? (Manhattan: rental car, middle-class)

[gregr072]

Agree with what most everyone else has stated. The quality of public transportation in Chicago really depends on where you live. For me personally, I use the el for my daily commute, but use the car for nearly everything else.

[WhaThe]

I do not own a car and love having the option of not owning one. In a few years, when I possibly have more money, I plan on buying one just for the luxury.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by WhaThe

I do not own a car and love having the option of not owning one. In a few years, when I possibly have more money, I plan on buying one just for the luxury.

If you do not plan to drive most of the time it may be economical to rent for a day or two. I remember a story about a San Francisco man who makes $500,000 a year and does just that.

[It'sAutomatic]

I prefer to travel by bicycle. It's not ideal for routine long trips but if you live close to where you work, it works out great.

[hxcobd]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The stats for average speed of the buses in Chicago are depressing -- surface streets it is barely faster than walking, even the bus routes that do take LSD tend to plod along with too many stops. I suppose it's "better than nothing" but far from the kind of systems that are possible with just a little bit more planning / technology integration. The El lines are in some ways more disappointing. The lack of modern designs severely limits the speeds the vehicles are capable and the whole system is plagued with penny pinching. Many parts of Chicago are more than dense enough to support a robust truly cost effective system, but the disproportionate concentration of jobs in the Loop coupled with the workforce's huge bias in living in just a handful of neighborhoods makes it less than prudent to make the system wide kind of investments that are needed. There is a lot of of vicious circle to the problem -- without a compelling reason to improve service it is easier to make cuts those cuts make it easier for more folks to decide driving is a better option. Once folks have their cars at work it is easy for they to expect more parking lots at grocers and dry cleaners. That leads to more strip malls which make more people want to drive to work. Rinse lather repeat...

It's nice to read an insightful post that actually makes logical sense.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by Superion2K9

The Crosstown was canceled by Jane Byrne (I believe. Someone may need to double check). She disapproved of a westside expressway's effects on the neighborhood, so the money was redirected to the Orange line.

I think it was a case of her robbing the kitty where Rostenkowski had squirreled away the funding.

It's why I'll always consider her a failure, because the time was then & she blew it.

I've posted this before, and it is a bit pie-in-the-sky, but it addresses Tom's vision, which I heartily concur with.

Gapers Block: Detour - A CTA Map for 2055

Our current rail system is totally outdated, it used to be that many people lived in factory town neighborhoods or had to get downtown - now it's much different, commute patterns are just off the charts in terms of complexity. We need blanket coverage, like London, Rome, Madrid, etc have.

[chet everett]

The problem with any kind of a proposal like this is that while it certainly makes sense on many levels (I have friends that have earned PhDs in Urban Planning...) regarding both the technical and potential economic impact, the "Chicago Way" is to abuse these efforts to get potential political challengers shunted into some newly created post OR just lard up one's CampaignFund...d

In other countries the lack of political money grabbing means that engineering studies really are done with the technical end in mind, not to bribe off some poliiicians pals / voting bloc...

A much more disinterested "super body" may seem like one way around the morass, but if one looks to he historic way that transit got built it goes back to having a healthy entrepreneurial spirit, business leads that really do realize that having a work force that can get to work in a timely fashion is a bottom line increase, and folks with no cloud of corruption hanging over them. I doubt we will see such things in the region ....

[Vespatian]

We need rapid transit, "blanket coverage" as mentioned before, to run northeast by southwest, and southeast by northwest.

Our system is from the 19th century, when all the El lines were privatized and built with little regard to geography and the serviceability of the Chicago area.

Other El lines were shortened in the 50's (Blue Line, Pink line and Yellow Line), figuring those suburbs served by them would be car-dependent and gas would be cheap forever.

Buses are illogically timed, and the amount of transfers within the bus/El system is challenging, even to a life-long Chicagoan.

[Chi-town Native]

good points above. and anyone who considers themselves a Chicago history buff will love this in-depth article from last week's Reader:

Privatize Public Transit? | Politics | Chicago Reader

[pvande55]

Most of the City's transit system was laid out over 100 years ago, when there wasn't that much business in the suburbs and the idea of commuting between suburbs was a long way off. The EJ & E was built in a great circle, but it did not offer commuter service. There is a plan to use it as part of the STAR line, but who knows when it will be funded, much less built. Still, Chicago's beats most other cities.