“Chicago’s run down, inadequate public transportation system will be a major obstacle to getting the Olympics. The visitors from all over the world will need to rely on public transporation to move around the city. Even though doomsday has been averted, the capital funds to really upgrade the system are not there. Some of the major competing cities have much better public transportation systems. For example, Madrid has a high-speed rail line from the airport to the center of the city.”
– CaptainVideo, commenting on yesterday’s post about Chicago’s $1 billion Olympics bid.
Even with the recent $530-million transit bailout, the CTA is still lacking sufficient funds for necessary improvements and upgrades. In recent years, the Chicago Reader has done an admirable job raking the muck surrounding the CTA’s seesawing budget crises, including this item from September 2007 questioning the viability of the Block 37 superstation. Wonder if it’ll be completed by 2016?
The chances of them actually scraping together the necessary capital funds is — judging from events of the past 6 months — unlikely, to say the least. It’s nice that they’re taking care of the Brown Line stations this year, but the Green Line will have to be fixed up if they’re going to put that station in Washington Park. And this city NEEDS the Circle Line to become a reality. They’ve been talking about that much-needed line for years. If they expect to have a brand-new subway line up and running in 8 years, they’ve got to get started on it immediately.
http://www.getfreshcut.com
If the issue is attracting the Olympics, a high speed line from downtown to the airport is what is needed. If the United States is really serious about wanting to bring the Olympics to the United States, the U.S. government should provide the funding for this.