CHICAGO | General Developments

[Chicago3rd]

Originally Posted by emathias

I don't understand why the rehab of the NS stretch of Wacker wasn't stuck into a stimulus request. I thought they'd done the engineering on it already and we just timing the funds request. And, I don't see why they couldn't have gotten enough rehab money for the CTA to eliminate all slow zones, including the Purple Line overpasses (although I guess that would fall to Evanston to request).

Aren't they already paying to eliminate the slow zones with bonds? Thought this has been going on for over a year already.

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ I don't think it would work politically as well as how the Stimulus is currently laid out. If you read the Tribune commentors now, they're already complaining--just imagine how much of an outpouring of hate there would be if they found out that Stimulus money was being used to bail out perceived corrupt, inefficient, clout-run Daley-machine organizations like the CTA.

I've become convinced that there's literally nothing the CTA can do without those idiots bitching about how magical "privatization" would somehow make it work better. Third party reports saying the organization is largely efficient and not clouted? They don't listen. Job cuts upon job cuts? Same complaints. The fact that the new building is far cheaper than the Merchandise Mart space? "gleaming new office tower". Bunch of useless ne'er-do-wells.

[ummagumma]

As a frequent CTA rider I'm very concerned over potential transit cuts, so I cannot help but wonder how much, if any, of the sting will be removed from the budget deficit from the portion of the stimulus that "preserves or creates 1,000 CTA jobs?"

[munda]

Does anyone know if public is allowed on the roof garden on top of city hall?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by BWChicago

I've become convinced that there's literally nothing the CTA can do without those idiots bitching about how magical "privatization" would somehow make it work better. Third party reports saying the organization is largely efficient and not clouted? They don't listen. Job cuts upon job cuts? Same complaints. The fact that the new building is far cheaper than the Merchandise Mart space? "gleaming new office tower". Bunch of useless ne'er-do-wells.

^ Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you.

The fuck-faces who keep complaining in the comments sections of the Tribune are just a bunch of angry, overly vocal Republicans. They're pissed off because they don't have a chance in hell of winning a major local election and they HATE public assets because they go against their personal philosophy of the "every man for himself" dream that died with the old West over a century ago. Most of them belong in Oklahoma & Louisiana

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Chicago3rd

Aren't they already paying to eliminate the slow zones with bonds? Thought this has been going on for over a year already.

Yes, but there are still more slow zones, plus there are further improvements that could be done. For example, the Red Line subway now has concrete ties throughout, but the Blue Line subway does not. Doing that to the Blue Line would greatly reduce recurrence.

[alex1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you.

The fuck-faces who keep complaining in the comments sections of the Tribune are just a bunch of angry, overly vocal Republicans. They're pissed off because they don't have a chance in hell of winning a major local election and they HATE public assets because they go against their personal philosophy of the "every man for himself" dream that died with the old West over a century ago. Most of them belong in Oklahoma & Louisiana

amen. but to be fair, there are plenty of reasonable Republicans that believe a strong mass transit system is important. Okay, maybe not plenty but some.

[Abner]

Yeah, the Secretary of Transportation, for example.

Originally Posted by emathias

Yes, but there are still more slow zones, plus there are further improvements that could be done. For example, the Red Line subway now has concrete ties throughout, but the Blue Line subway does not. Doing that to the Blue Line would greatly reduce recurrence.

Isn't the Dearborn subway work part of the CTA's stimulus funding? I thought there was just a story about that.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Abner

Isn't the Dearborn subway work part of the CTA's stimulus funding? I thought there was just a story about that.

^ Yes, it is

[Mr Downtown]

No public access to City Hall roof except during specially arranged tours.

[munda]

Thanks dude
That sucks everything

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

No public access to City Hall roof except during specially arranged tours.

I didn't realize that there was public access before. Apparently somebody realized it, though, or this wouldn't be an issue.

[Mr Downtown]

There has never been public access to City Hall roof, but since the mayor spent a fortune putting a demonstration green roof up there (and then replacing it after it all died), a few groups a year are allowed to tour it, usually accompanied by someone from Dept. of Environment. Generally there's a tour during Great Chicago Places & Spaces each May. But it's easier usually to just go up in one of the surrounding buildings and look down on it. If nothing else, brave the metal detectors and visit the law library on the 29th floor of the Daley Center.

[ardecila]

My mom works in 30 N. LaSalle (with a window office), so I got a great view of it when I went to her office. My dad used to work in the Chicago Title & Trust Building, also with a good view of the roof.

[harryc]

[EarlyBuyer]

Nice progress shots harry...thanks for these!

[EarlyBuyer]

Photo taken by EarlyBuyer 3/15/09

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

There has never been public access to City Hall roof, but since the mayor spent a fortune putting a demonstration green roof up there (and then replacing it after it all died), a few groups a year are allowed to tour it, usually accompanied by someone from Dept. of Environment. Generally there's a tour during Great Chicago Places & Spaces each May.

Although it must be easier to get one's hands on the honey from the beehives up there, I hope? Where do they sell that? I've seen those can be nice mementos for tourists visiting the city.

[Jibba]

^^At times, LSE as a whole feels somewhat "special" (still not sure if this qualifies as "good" too), but I feel that the special feeling is simply the result of the slight elevation changes that you make from the upper levels of the street system down into the park. That topography is extremely rare in this city, and in that regard LSE is a unique experience. When tooling through the park, it's a pleasant (I guess?) experience to be sunk down, surrounded by a forest of skyscrapers. The road circumventing the park does help to add to that feeling of isolation and solitude (versus connecting the whole of LSE to the city grid--not sure if that would be all that practical anyway), but at the same time it feels an awful lot like a giant, all-inclusive high-rise resort area you'd find at some cheesy Florida spot. Something about the plan just feels so selfish and insular; it's really hard for me to accept such a developmental scheme at a prime spot in the city. The horrid design of those half-baked Parkhomes doesn't help, either.

[ardecila]

I don't think LSE is cheesy at all. In fact, I would say it's quite urbane. Apart from the parkhomes, everything there is of a modern design. It's mixed-use, and it doesn't stray into the historicism that similar developments like Central Station or Roosevelt Collection here, or Atlantic Station in Atlanta, have done.

Mr. D has made the point before, and it's a good one, that everything seems contrived and a little uncomfortable when it's new. If it is allowed to age gracefully, then it will become a valued part of the cityscape. A big failure of the towers-in-a-park scheme was a universal lack of attention to maintenance. The advanced building technology used in those modernist towers means that they require lots of attention to be paid to maintenance, but everybody wanted to set it and forget it. The rare places where they have been maintained nicely have become great places within our cities.