Chicago, its trains, and how tourists from abroad view the city (Lombard: crime, home)

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by chicagojoe23

Uh yeah. We get that. The point of the blogger rings true though with many people here who live outside the city or in other countries. You may not care what other "non-Chicagoans" think and you may take the old "I only care what Chicagoans think" stance. But that is small minded. World cities DO care what outsiders think and push thier leaders to do a better job. The transit here, specifically the L, is in pretty poor shape. O'Hare is a cluster of an airport too. I cannot see how anyone says that it's not. It is indeed "sad"

Yeah, I know. I was just trying to point out the actual article used by the blogger was an extremely weak one to actually make a huge point of the matter.

[oakparkdude]

You can't compare the public transit of American cities with the rest of the world. That's like going to Pyongyang and wondering why the local farmers markets suck.

[karlsch]

A few months ago, this commentary appeared in the Financial Times. The author notes that (except for Tokyo) the cities that are high up in the many Best Places to Live lists are never the cities “whose ideas and values shape the world.”

FT.com / Columnists / Michael Skapinker - There is more to city life than convenience

The truly talented and creative care about opportunity, not bicycle paths and clean public transportation.

[WhaThe]

Chicago - Top 29: Best Cities To Live In - 2009 Edition - AskMen.com

[vb_guy]

Originally Posted by chicagojoe23

Uh yeah. We get that. The point of the blogger rings true though with many people here who live outside the city or in other countries. You may not care what other "non-Chicagoans" think and you may take the old "I only care what Chicagoans think" stance. But that is small minded. World cities DO care what outsiders think and push thier leaders to do a better job. The transit here, specifically the L, is in pretty poor shape. O'Hare is a cluster of an airport too. I cannot see how anyone says that it's not. It is indeed "sad"

I'm an outsider to Chicago, but I've been through O'Hare a few times. I won't call O'Hare a cluster of an airport, I call it BIG. And it should be big, considering the population of the metro area and the fact that it's a major international and domestic hub.

Be thankful that you have a transit system, specifically a train system like the L, that picks you up at the terminal. I'm from a much smaller city, and our local bus system (no trains) doesn't even serve the airport. If you fly here and don't have somebody here to pick you up, prepare to rent a car.

[Avengerfire]

There have been like 20 threads on this garbage already...

This thread would be a perfect match for this one:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/chica...t-chicago.html

[Janinele]

Like New York (none of the airports have direct access), London (certainly no better than Blue Line), Pittsburgh (it's a BUS), Brussels, Vienna - umm, no.[/quote]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree on this one - Vienna airport - have you actually been there? there is an express train which takes you into the city in 20 min. same goes for other cities.

I'm from Europe, so been there to multiple airports all over and well sorry but I have to say that the El is awfully slow - for that distance - it just takes too long.

Janine

[Chicago60614]

Yeah, I've been to Vienna multiple times, and Europe about 30 times. Taken the train or bus into town at every city I've visted. I'm not saying Vienna was BAD, but I've never though the toss ups between that train and the CTA are huge. The Vienna train is 5X more expensive and the trains leave every 30 minutes compared to every 5 for the CTA at most hours on the Blue Line. CTA takes longer, but you give and get....

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Janinele

...well sorry but I have to say that the El is awfully slow - for that distance...

It is about 16 miles from downtown to O'Hare via the CTA. I don't think 40 minutes to an hour is too bad considering there are like 15 or something stops between Monroe and O'Hare. Besides the Blue Line has had track work done going on the last few years and still is having it done.

I have never been to Vienna, but from what I have read the distance from the airport to the center of the Vienna is about 5 miles shorter than it is in Chicago.

[Careless]

Originally Posted by vb_guy

I'm an outsider to Chicago, but I've been through O'Hare a few times. I won't call O'Hare a cluster of an airport, I call it BIG. And it should be big, considering the population of the metro area and the fact that it's a major international and domestic hub.
.

The "cluster" comment was almost certainly the front half of a common phrase. The back half of the phrase will get you moderated.

Is the Blue Line trip to O'Hare "sad" compared to foreign (and not American, which is important but left out of the post) rail? Yes. By American standards, it's pretty good (which is sad in and of itself).

I'm not really sure where I'd put Chicago in a ranking of global cities. Anything that has Tokyo at number three is discounting affordability to such an extent that I suspect Chicago might not make the top 50.

edit: and the simple fact of the crime rates in Chicago really hurt it. Switzerland has two or three times as many murders per year as Englewood with 150 times as many people and every house has access to a gun.