CTA super-express buses that will operate on 21-mile stretches of Ashland and Western avenues will have the benefit of using full-time bus-only lanes, under a still-evolving concept the transit agency and the city will present this week at three open houses, starting Tuesday.
via Chicago Tribune.
This is just an extension of the ongoing war on vehicles & one of the dumbest ideas ever. It makes no sense to make life more difficult for cars; which just so happen to be how most people get around. Why punish the majority for the minority? Some people literally must drive b/c they have to take children to school before work or otherwise travel on routes not covered by public transit.
Damen in one lane. Halsted is one lane. California is one lane. It makes no sense to destroy the only two North-South arteries. Between the bike lanes and the center islands it is getting impossible for vehicles to get around. This includes police, fire, and EMS vehicles as well.
Lastly, what is the problem trying to be solved here? That buses travel more slowly in traffic is not new. It’s been that way since the invention of buses. People on buses however can read, play with their phones, talk on the phone, send txt messages, and do all sorts of things that people in cars cannot (safely) do. This is the advantage of taking the bus over the car… that, and the cost.
Chicago can be a great great city. Truly world class. But it will not become so by declaring war on vehicles which the majority of people use to get around.