I live in NYC, but I'm working in Chicago this summer, and literally day I see at least one bus get stuck in an intersection and block traffic (I work in the Loop). Worst of all, this frequently happens when the bus tries to catch a yellow left turn arrow but gets caught because of all the pedestrians. This is completely baffling to me and seems entirely preventable.
Posted Jul 4, 2018, 3:07 AM UTC
Under the Daley years we had people at intersections that would clear out an intersection as the lights changed. One of the first cuts Rahm made was to get rid of them (Transportation management agency -- TMA). They still exist but now only patrol a block around city hall and other than that are hired for patrolling special events.
There are certain intersections downtown where the gridlock immediately doubled when they were cut. The intersection of Michigan and Lake St is a really great example of chaos after the TMA was cut... It was not a picnic before but there was at least authority trying to control it. I'm 100% convinced the fatal pedestrian accident where a bus hit and killed a pedestrian would not have happenedd had the TMA not been cut there.
Yeah, I work right there and witness the terror of the 146 trying to make the turn onto Michigan daily.
Good riddance. They always prioritized cars/buses over pedestrians, forcing them through groups of still crossing pedestrians and waving them through red lights.
/buses
buses like the 146 that has so many people packed into it you can't get on to it when it gets near this intersection? (also, all btw going to your neighborhood). Good lord some people have an unreal bias against transportation in this city.
Yes, I prioritize crossing pedestrians over buses trying to plow through them. I don’t think that is a bias against transportation. I ride buses almost exclusively, not sure where my unreal bias lies.
Yeah I have never seen traffic directing cops make things better. They just fuck everybody up because nobody is sure if you pay attention the lights, rights of way or the impatient cop giving unclear ambiguous signals.
This is my favorite traffic event, particularly the moment after the offending motorist realizes what they’ve done, and throws up an arm as if to say that they are the victim.
I think it's more saying: "I can't really do anything now to undo what I did" when they get honked at.
The honking isn't to get them to do something about it now, but to shame them so hopefully they never do it again...
Chicago should implement STEEP fines and heavy enforcement for anyone that blocks the box. Seems like a no-brainer.
When I moved to Chicago from NYC and saw people blocking the box and learned that this wasn’t enforced I thought I was in a third world country where the roads are a lawless wasteland.
The GOP is working towards this goal. Give them a few more years.
So they'd fine themselves?
Happens all the time at Congress and State. Usually it’s an extra long bus turning right going north and will completely block people that were crossing the street and get stuck there because traffic has built up at the next light. It’s infuriating. It’s not like they didn’t see people either, it’s like they feel they have top priority over everything, even pedestrians.
To be fair, congress & state is often due to cars on the turn arrow (people not paying attention then feeling entitled to make the turn after the arrow is gone) or pedestrians that are not obeying the walk signal. I traverse this intersection every evening and its the fault of the buses 1 time of every 20, in my opinion.
I get disproportionately irritated at pedestrians that don't honor the walk signals. When I used to live in Lakeview I witnessed the effect of folks not following the signal at Belmont and Sheridan every day which eventually causes traffic to back up all the way to Lake Shore.
Chicago drivers are terrible all around.
Every car does it here... believe me coming from the Northeast I wish drivers respected that rule and police enforced it. It's crazy how much traffic gets clogged here from one car stuck in the intersection.
Every state has their own version of bad drivers but Chicago is something special with all the honking / passive aggressiveness. And this is coming from a Masshole.
You gotta try to make it
Why do so many cars block the bus lane?
Obvious tu quoque
You mean "tu quoque block".
Hm?