Comments on: The Leaping Ladies of Lake Shore Drive

By: Vagina Dialogue

Vagina Dialogue — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:08:59 +0000

[...] By now chili was over, and one of the Brown Line’s perennial service diversions had forced us into a bus trip back home–to the Lakeview lakefront for Jasmine, back downtown to Marina City for me. We made our way to Marine Drive and boarded an obnoxiously bumpy CTA express bus. [...]

By: My New Gapers Block Byline

My New Gapers Block Byline — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:58:06 +0000

[...] The Leaping Ladies of Lake Shore Drive [...]

By: Charles McPhate

Charles McPhate — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:03:59 +0000

Slightly off topic, I was walking up Dearborn yesterday afternoon and saw a bus that had died in the right lane. As I approached, the driver restarted the bus and slowly moved forward, then turned right onto Ohio – where the bus promptly died again.

So instead of blocking one lane of traffic on Dearborn as afternoon rush hour approached, the bus was now blocking two lanes of traffic and the pedestrian crosswalk on Ohio, the main thoroughfare coming off the expressway. Brilliant, yes?

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:44:37 +0000

I wish they’d fix the street and buy new buses that don’t catch fire, but I much prefer the express buses over climbing down into a hole in the ground to be crammed into a train that maybe will get me where I want to go in a reasonable amount of time. Or maybe it will catch fire and the CTA employees will bolt and leave the customers stranded.

By: Mike Doyle

Mike Doyle — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:06:14 +0000

I agree, sodium11, it’s the fault of a government not fixing the roadway and a transit agency not telling its drivers to, in my native NYC parlance, dig themselves on the Drive.

Frankly, though, chances aren’t great the state will do anything this year about those potholes. The CTA, however, could tell its drivers to moderate their speed around those LSD potholes.

While I’m waiting for them to do so, however, from now on I think I’ll take the Red Line to points north.

By: sodium11

sodium11 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:24:32 +0000

The problem is a combination of (1) the piss poor condition of the roadway on the north drive (and the Oak St./Michigan Ave underpass to NB LSD), plus (2) the fact that those articulated buses are complete GARBAGE!

Even on relatively decent pavement, which seems fine in any other bus, you feel like the articulated buses are about to fall apart. On these stretches, they’re unbearable.

Also, these buses seem to break down at a much higher rate than the normal buses – I’ve been on a few that crapped out on the outer drive, and I’ve passed by several more.

By: Charles McPhate

Charles McPhate — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:06:12 +0000

I rode an express bus from Edgewater to the loop in March – it was my first time taking a bus instead of a train. I swore I’d never ride another CTA bus again. I’d rather pay 10 times more in cab fare and still be able to walk when I get out…