Protest against low transit funding on Wednesday is directed at the wrong audience

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One of the buses Pace uses on the Stevenson Expressway shoulders during rush hours. The two routes have seen a lot of demand and Pace is responding by adding more runs. Photo by Ann Fisher. 

On Wednesday, people will gather at the Chicago Transit Authority headquarters (567 W Lake Street) to protest “inadequate funding and policies”, according to the Red Eye. Members from at least two groups (LVEJO and Citizens Taking Action) will join to protest public-private partnerships and to support laid off bus drivers. This is part of a larger National Day of Action for Public Transportation called by Occupy Boston.

They are protesting in the wrong location. They should be rallying at locations where there are people who can do something about underfunded transit: the offices of elected officials, like at City Hall and those of state and federal Congresspersons scattered around town. Continue reading Protest against low transit funding on Wednesday is directed at the wrong audience

Please move to the rear

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Via this Tumblr, I found Aaron Kraus’s posters from the Courteous Transit Authority, a play on the CTA acronym, to encourage bus riders to move to the back. Well, not encourage so much as making moving to the rear of a bus sound like an adventure. Kraus, a visual designer for Roundarch, published the first poster (above) in December 2010. He created a new version (below) while updating his design portfolio.

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I emailed Kraus to ask why he created these images. He’s been riding Chicago Transit Authority buses since moving to Chicago in 2006, and the 66/Chicago bus for two years. He explains:

They were created because I was tired of riding the bus with people who never seemed to walk to the back of the bus. I wish they had a more compelling origin story but that’s it. All in all, the 66 Chicago bus is a huge source of inspiration for me.

Thank you, Aaron, for trying to make transit a little more whimsical but also more efficient. Visit Kraus’s website. Oh, there’s one more poster in the collection, but it’s not family friendly (probably still safe for work, though).

Grid Shots: Sidewalk

The sidewalk. Are there any other names for this? I’m thinking of the Clorox bleach commercial that I’ve seen on Hulu where the announcer speaks at least 10 names for the toilet (commode, john, etc.). It’s where we all find ourselves. And find each other.

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Three people wait for the bus on the sidewalk in front of Skewerz at 1560 N Damen Ave. Photo by Sam Dickey. Continue reading Grid Shots: Sidewalk

Grid Shots: 1,000 photos in our Flickr group

Thank you for adding 1,000 photos of sustainable transportation in Chicago to our Flickr group. When you add your photos to our Flickr group, they will appear on the sidebar (scroll down and to the left) as well as on our photos page. And we look there to find photos to lead articles. Here are the latest five that were added.

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Photo of a Metra train on the BNSF track (to/from Aurora, Illinois) by Ben. Continue reading Grid Shots: 1,000 photos in our Flickr group