Chicago Sun-Times, 2/26:
Monday letters: Better transit can carry people out of poverty
I am heartened to see local, regional and state leaders recognizing that robust mass transit fuels economic growth. (“Emanuel vows to deliver O’Hare express trains Daley dreamed of,” Feb. 9, 2017.) But I must question Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s primary focus on a new high-speed train to O’Hare. When so many Chicagoans live in underdeveloped communities, with weak or nonexistent transit links to large swaths of the city, should our priority be shaving 20 minutes off a business traveler’s airport commute?
Instead, City Hall, the CTA, the RTA and Metra should work together to expand and integrate public transit networks where they are currently insufficient. The long-overdue Red Line extension is a critical part of that, as Mayor Emanuel identified. Equally important is expanding public transit throughout the West Side, which, as Ald. Emma Mitts points out in the article, remains badly underserved.
SNIP
I urge Mayor Emanuel and other local leaders to refocus Chicago’s infrastructure priorities. Working together, we can create a mass transit system that spurs sustainable growth and heightens quality of living for all Chicagoans — beginning with those who have been too long overlooked.
Andrew Daglas, Near North Side
More here.
