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Home for the heteronomous | "Get a job — and some human rights!"
Thursday, August 04, 2005
(10:34 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
Shutting Down the Red Line!
The CTA is shutting down the Red Line. Here's my evidence (open the CTA north side map if you want this to make sense):
- On the recommendation of several commentators, Mike Schaefer and I went to Hopleaf tonight. It's at 5148 N. Clark St. I saw that I could get there reasonably from either the Damen Brown Line or the Lawrence Red Line.
- I took the Armitage bus to the Brown/Purple Line. A Purple Line train came first, so I took it to Fullerton, figuring that I could take the Brown or Red Line, whichever came first.
- A Brown Line train came, but it was packed. I figured I'd just wait for the Red.
- A Purple Line train came. I thought, "What the hell?"
- A Brown Line train came, and it was pretty empty, so I just go on there. I had seen no north-boud Red Line trains.
- Mike said that the Red Line had had major holdups when we both finally arrived at the bar.
- On our way back, we both decided to take the Red Line -- him to Belmont, me to Fullteron. When the train arrived at Belmont, none of the doors of our car opened. He had to go to Fullerton, then go back north to Belmont. In fact, when it arrived at Fullerton, not all the doors opened -- we had to run to the other door of the car we were on. Lord help us if we ended up at North and Clyborn!
Overall, I conclude that, just as with the south end of the Dan Ryan expressway, the City of Chicago is trying to shut down the Red Line gradually by discouraging people from using it. Unfortunately, since the Red Line is obviously the primary train line in the city, running from the extreme north to the extreme south, people are unlikely to get out of the habit of using it, especially if, like me, they frequent the north and south side -- though certainly I would never be caught dead either at 95 and Dan Ryan or in the despicable slums of Evanston!
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(Adam Kotsko has asserted the moral right to be identified as the author of this post.)
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