What do you think would improve Chicago? (Naperville, Orland Park: sales, homes)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by rgb123

and that is the thing..it does not compare to the minneapolis system. and its mostly underground...kinda scary. for it to really be attractive it needs to be a skyway where it has attention and people feel safe using it.

Not to mention it's so disjointed and unintuitive (virtually no maps anywhere so unless you already know what goes where it's useless) that it's not that practical.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

As noted by others, the public school system in the city also needs to be turned around if Chicago wants to keep affluent families within its borders for the long term.

Keeping the affluent ones isn't the problem. They can afford to send their kids to private schools. It's keeping the middle class families here that's the problem.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Drover

Not to mention it's so disjointed and unintuitive (virtually no maps anywhere so unless you already know what goes where it's useless) that it's not that practical.

Perhaps this is intentional. For the reasons cited previously.

[rgb123]

I really dont think a skyway would take away from downtown much, it doesn't need to be a mall or as extensive as Minneapolis. Chicago is huge, I think it would add to the action and not take away from it. It would probably encourage foot traffic and get more people out that would otherwise not venture downtown on the weekends or whatever. I just dont see it taking away from things. I see some skyways adding interest and some practical solutions to the congestion of foot traffic vs. car traffic downtown, and the weather really does suck at least 51% of the time (more in my book) its enough to consider it.

[aragx6]

If you think the weather here sucks well more than half the time, then I can see where you'd want an extensive system. I can think of maybe a dozen or 15 really sucky days this winter, and in the summer even fewer, and a few rainy days in spring (though I love walking in the rain when it's warm) so I prefer being outdoors for probably at least 335 days of the year- I wouldn't want a pedway to keep people off the streets.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by Drover

Keeping the affluent ones isn't the problem. They can afford to send their kids to private schools. It's keeping the middle class families here that's the problem.

True - that makes sense.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

If gas goes up to $6/gal, you better believe people (including suburbanites) will suddenly discover the virtues of public transit.

You are right though, that the end of cheap gasoline will cause wrenching, painful changes to the average American's lifestyle. However, just because something is extremely painful, does not mean it is impossible or even unlikely.

So it will mean a few less packs of cigarettes a week for someone, or one less dinner out a week, or one less movie a month to go out and see to compensate the higher costs of fuel. It's unfortunante but this is the way things are going and people are thinking. I was at the mall on Saturday (Orland Square) of which back in the 80's you would be lucky to even find a parking space at on a sat afternoon, only now to be able to pull up to the SECOND spot at 2PM, get out, walk right in, walk freely and openly down the corridors to see only a few people in there doing any shopping. Now that was a wake up call! Where is everyone at?!!! Why isn't anyone buying anything???... OH YA it now costs $70 a week to fill up my tank in gas as it does for most of us, so out are the days of going to the mall to spend some disposable income, I don't have any! Our economy is doomed at this rate. And as for mass transit, IL would have to spend billions to get a suburban mass transit system to work with how our city is layed out. Chicago's burbs are just not set up to be interconnected with eachother meaning what? Reliance on the automobile.... Just how all these little burbs such as Orland Park and Naperville were set up throughout their planning stages in the 1960s and 70s when cars were able to be driven miles for a dime's worth of gas.

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by aragx6

If you think the weather here sucks well more than half the time, then I can see where you'd want an extensive system. I can think of maybe a dozen or 15 really sucky days this winter, and in the summer even fewer, and a few rainy days in spring (though I love walking in the rain when it's warm) so I prefer being outdoors for probably at least 335 days of the year- I wouldn't want a pedway to keep people off the streets.

I am not advocating an extensive system to keep people off the streets. I am advocating something to enhance what we have. I am not convinced that a little system of cool skyways would take away from a bustling downtown. It might even attract people.

[lenniel]

Get rid of Daley, all his relatives, all his friends and all his cronies in the government. Granted, that's about everyone in the city government, but none the less.

[NYrules]

As I can see it from living out in the burbs along with many of my friends who have migrated out here from the city, the big underlying fact is this... The City of Chicago's downtown is NOTHING special. It has shopping... WHOOO HOOO. So does Oak Brook and Orland Park. It has restaurants... AGAIN whoppidy do. It has some museums, but again that is good for once or twice a year, then what? It has plays, but so what so do the burbs and there are movie theaters, but again those have been built in the burbs too. Downtown has the lake, but is to cold to go near for more than 8 months a year. Again a big wow! Downtown has tons of stop and go traffic which needless to say is not fun, and, to top it all off, you have to pay rip off parking everywhere you go to do the same crap you can do out in the burbs! See a problem here? Chicago needs something to really draw people in. Casinos maybe, huge outlet mall? I don't know, but it needs something else because I just don't see it being anything all that great and now with the taxes sky rocketing....