trainman8119 Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 I decided to take my workout outside today and walk along the lakefront. Leaving Millenium Park, I used lower Randolph Street to get under Lake Shore Drive and to the path along the lake. Just east of Columbus on lower Randolph on the north side, there were 15-20 parked, shut down 77th st buses. There was a supervisor parked on the south side of the street in a van and a couple buses had drivers sitting in dark buses. Most were Novas, but there were 4 or 5 Flyers in the mix. Reminded me of the days of buses parked at 14th and State during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nflyer22 Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 I rode my bike around 3:00 PM to Harold Washington Library and came across a "wall" of New Flyers from various garages, primarily from Chicago Garage sitting on the west side of Wabash between Balbo and 8th. All were, as you mentioned, turned off and dark inside, with some having a driver. I initially wondered what was going on, but these photos, taken at a later time by a friend of mine, are self-explanatory for obvious reasons. I have a good hunch to believe the buses from 77th are for the same reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 President Obama was in town yesterday %Wednesday). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagomotorman Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 smh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimball401 Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 i had to sweep 3 of them out from kedzie earlier yesterday they sitting up rushing me and made me trip over one the back steps . # they lucky i love CTA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 i had to sweep 3 of them out from kedzie earlier yesterday they sitting up rushing me and made me trip over one the back steps . # they lucky i love CTA I'm trying to follow this sentence you posted, Kimball401. If I understand correctly, you clean the buses at Kedzie Garage? And who was sitting up rushing you, the Bus Operators in the parked buses? Also you mention sweeping out three buses from Kedzie earlier yesterday. 1770(NP) 1244(FG) 1236(FG) 1243(FG) 1879(NP) 1412(NP) 1862( C ) 1076( C ) 1927( C ) All the buses in the photos are from Forest Glen, North Park and Chicago Garage. None of these are from Kedzie Garage. Were there more somewhere else that weren't photographed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 President Obama was in town yesterday %Wednesday). So if I understand Art correctly, they were used as part of a security barricade. And I'm not really getting your reaction chicagomotorman. ANY sitting president, regardless if we agree with their stance on any issues, deserves adequate security. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted May 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 There were also a number of Artics parked in the Mc Cormick Place lot this morning during my trip to University Park. A little to far away to see how many or where they were from, but at 5:30 am, they did stand out, even though they were dark. Didn't ever think that the buses on Randolph were part of a barricade, but it makes sense. Might have to check and see if anything is still around after the Pres leaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
See Tea Eh Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 The 77th Garage buses parked at Randolph are midday storage, and part of the regular schedule, instead of deadheading back to the garage after the AM rush. They would be unrelated to any security/police specials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoNova Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 The 77th Garage buses parked at Randolph are midday storage, and part of the regular schedule, instead of deadheading back to the garage after the AM rush. They would be unrelated to any security/police specials. That would be odd but quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 The 77th Garage buses parked at Randolph are midday storage, and part of the regular schedule, instead of deadheading back to the garage after the AM rush. They would be unrelated to any security/police specials. That would be odd but quite interesting. There was the yap in the media about CTA counting deadhead mileage in its stats. Apparently, it decided that it was more economical to park them downtown. trainman's guess about similar to 14th and State seems on point. The inference I got from art's comment was based on traffic reports whether Obama would have a motorcade and tie up the rush hour, in which case the buses would at least be downtown. But, with garages being farther and farther from downtown, this makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagomotorman Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 smh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 smh smh What is smh??? The last I heard of this was in 2000-2001, when a certain WWF/E character by the name of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley(SMH) had T-Shirts with these initials. I'm pretty sure that's not what this smh means. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 What is smh??? The last I heard of this was in 2000-2001, when a certain WWF/E character by the name of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley(SMH) had T-Shirts with these initials. I'm pretty sure that's not what this smh means. Shaking my head, an internet acronym. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw4400 Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Shaking my head, an internet acronym. I see. I see a lot of these posted... AFAIK I believe is another that throws me(I thought it would be As Far As I'm Concerned, but wouldn't it be AFAIC then?). I know LOL, OMG, WTF, WTH. Gordon Ramsay would probably use this internet acronym... BMH. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i8itall4u Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 I see. I see a lot of these posted... AFAIK I believe is another that throws me(I thought it would be As Far As I'm Concerned, but wouldn't it be AFAIC then?). I know LOL, OMG, WTF, WTH. Gordon Ramsay would probably use this internet acronym... BMH. ....stop that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Outside the peak direction only routes and there being a difference in service levels and demand between directions of some others, I don't get CTA's over reliance on deadheading. 74th routes for example still flip that "TO ASHLAND" or "TO 74TH" sign for buses that have to pull in. So why can't some of these other garages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 Outside the peak direction only routes and there being a difference in service levels and demand between directions of some others, I don't get CTA's over reliance on deadheading. 74th routes for example still flip that "TO ASHLAND" or "TO 74TH" sign for buses that have to pull in. So why can't some of these other garages? The impression I get is that it is primarily for peak direction routes, and primarily expresses from NP, 77 and 103 garages. For instance, with regard to NP, there at least were a bunch of buses on the Kennedy Expressway to Kedzie northbound in the late morning,and marked "Downtown" at Foster and Sheridan southbound in the afternoon. For "local" routes, the schedules predominantly say "to 79th," "to Wentworth" "to Kedzie," etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 smh The question is what is he shaking his head at? Does he disapprove of midday storage downtown? In a way it's smart, but it does have it's drawbacks. The buses are not getting swept or vacuumed not going to the garage, so the rider could get a trashed up bus for the PM. Then I don't know if putting them downtown in the business district is so smart either. You never know some nut might try and sabotage the bus or plant an explosive (heaven forbid), or even try to physically harm someone. Who is going to see them behind all these buses? I would be a fan of putting those buses on Columbus away from buildings, closer to parks and open areas, but either option makes your city look like a garage instead of a downtown area. (that's probably one reason 14th/State was selected long ago. It's far enough away from the loop to not affect it visually and economically.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 ... In a way it's smart, but it does have it's drawbacks. The buses are not getting swept or vacuumed not going to the garage, so the rider could get a trashed up bus for the PM. Then I don't know if putting them downtown in the business district is so smart either. You never know some nut might try and sabotage the bus or plant an explosive (heaven forbid), or even try to physically harm someone. Who is going to see them behind all these buses? ... Between news reports that CTA isn't meeting its cleaning metric, and statements above that there is a supervisor on site, I don't see the risk here. smh But I guess a poster should use more than Internet cryptography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 I guess it depends on how many buses per supervisor. I'm surprised some of these businesses are not squawking at this. If they were complaining about the shelters a few years ago, this is Mount Everest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVTArider Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 ...I would be a fan of putting those buses on Columbus away from buildings, closer to parks and open areas, but either option makes your city look like a garage instead of a downtown area. ... Yeah we don't want downtown Chicago to start picking up that downtown Minneapolis look, today it might just be 30-40 buses, but next thing you know you may end up with a boatload of new stadiums, a garbage burner, a failed entertainment district, and dilapidated parking ramps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 Yeah we don't want downtown Chicago to start picking up that downtown Minneapolis look, today it might just be 30-40 buses, but next thing you know you may end up with a boatload of new stadiums, a garbage burner, a failed entertainment district, and dilapidated parking ramps Most of that is planned for McCormick Place. Along with an L station at Cermak and Wabash, which I bet Minneapolis doesn't have. Anyway, downtown Chicago's parking garages under under the parks and leased to a private concessionaire (like many things around here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 First, what I meant earlier about President Obama being in town, it was in reference to the traffic jam created by street closures near the Chicag Hilton and Towers Hotel, which is where he was. Congress Pkwy was a parking lot with rerouted Michigan Ave buses (1, 3, 4, 14, 26, 28, 147). Since there was advance notice of his arrival, I figured getting buses into downtown would be as difficult as getting them back out, so at least if extra buses were already downtown, that would help reduce long wait times waiting for deadheading or routed buses to get into downtown before starting the commute in the peak direction. It had nothing to do with barricaded security. As for the idea of parking buses downtown, I think it is a great idea. Parking them near the downtown auto pound and on lower lower Columbus is great as they are hidden and out of the way to the majority of people downtown (maybe with the exception of ME and NICTD train riders and some brave homeless people). The buses are shut down, therefore not causing a fumes problem. Maybe the CTA cleaning people can't get to them, but a lot of transit agencies have brooms on their buses for thier drivers to at least be able to sweep out their own buses. It is easier to deadhead one bus with several drivers on it as opposed to several buses. You can always deadhead back a bus with a mechanical problem so that it may be fixed. You figured saving a roundtrip deadhead from 103rd garage saves about 40 to 50 miles a day five days a week which could add up to more than 10,000 miles a year. Think of extending the life of the bus. Think of the fuel saved just on that garage alone. 77th garage is 5 miles from 103rd, but still nets a huge savings deadhead wise by leaving those buses downtown. I think K is close enough to downtown that deadheading buses back there isn't such a big issue. As another poster mentioned, I remember riding the Englewood-Jackson Pk trains and I would see the CTA buses parked at 15th/State as we descended into the subway. I think the only area close to that where buses could be stored would be along the Chicago River, south of Roosevelt between the river and the RI tracks. That would probably require a ramp being built from Roosevelt Rd downward, but would be a large enough area to house buses from multiple garages during the midday. Hammond Yellow used to store its buses on the "rooftop" at Roosevelt and Clinton. Hammond Yellow doesn't exist anymore, neither does the rooftop. I'm not sure if Free Enterprise System main garage is still in South Holland, but I've seen their buses parked in a lot along Loomis between the Chicago River south branch and Cermak, so perhaps they have employed the same policy.considering they are about 12 miles south of the 103rd garage. . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 1, 2013 Report Share Posted June 1, 2013 First, what I meant earlier about President Obama being in town, it was in reference to the traffic jam created by street closures near the Chicag Hilton and Towers Hotel, which is where he was. Congress Pkwy was a parking lot with rerouted Michigan Ave buses (1, 3, 4, 14, 26, 28, 147). Since there was advance notice of his arrival, I figured getting buses into downtown would be as difficult as getting them back out, so at least if extra buses were already downtown, that would help reduce long wait times waiting for deadheading or routed buses to get into downtown before starting the commute in the peak direction. It had nothing to do with barricaded security..... Which is what I figured you meant, but I'm glad you explained. I also take it that the wall of buses pictured here was a one-day event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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