Yesterday I wrote the background on the 71 page
transition report that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s team wrote before he took office. I also satirized a few sections. You need to read that posting before this one or this posting might not make sense!
STUPID IDEA #4:
Page 23 tells us about what will be accomplished in our communities and that part of the measure of that success will be: Basic human needs – housing, food, health, and safety – will be met for all Chicagoans.
I will deal here just with the issue of housing needs being met for all Chicagoans.
On June 14, 2010 the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) reopened the waiting list for public housing that had been closed since 1999. At that time there were still 5,000 people on the waiting list. The CHA was prepared to add 40,000 people to the list and in three days the list of applicants had already reached 125,000. Applications were accepted for one month and while I could not find out what the exact total of applications were, they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Applicants’ names were then entered into an electronic lottery and that is how the 40,000 that made the final wait list were chosen.
On the CHA web site of FAQ we see the question: “I received a rejection letter. Now what?”The answer is:
“Unfortunately, you are not eligible to live in CHA's Family Housing at this time.”
Back in 2008, when CHA opened the waiting list for Section 8 housing (rent voucher subsidies) more than 232,000 people applied for 40,000 slots.
How many public housing units are there? “CHA has almost 9,200 apartments in buildings designated for seniors and more than 8,600 units of family housing. It also oversees the administration of 36,900 Housing Choice Vouchers that allow low-income families to rent in the private market.”
So there are 17,800 units of public housing; 40,000 people on a wait list for those units and hundreds of thousands of people who did not make the list. Do the math!
Once a sane person looks at the vast difference in the number of public housing units and the number of people who need public housing, one wonders how the Emanuel administration can fulfill the basic need of housing without billions of dollars to build more units. If only 100,000 people needed housing and each unit in an apartment cost $50,000 to build that would be $5 billion!
Obviously the basic need of housing for all Chicagoans cannot be met. Better take that off the list Rahm.
STUPID IDEA #5:
I have made my position clear about how I feel about people who ride bicycles in the City of Chicago. In my most recent on March 24th, “It Does Not Matter Who Was Here First, Urban Roads Belong To Cars Now!, I reiterated the problems that exist when machine meets man.
Page 37 looks to, ”Create a world-class bike network and increase cycling.” The transition plan’s answer their own question of “Why do this?” is “More than 60% of trips in Chicago are three miles or less, and bicycles are an increasingly popular mode of transportation, particularly on short commutes.”
First, where did they get the number that 60% of trips in Chicago are three miles or less? I am guessing from taxi cabs statistics that put the average short trip at 2.8 miles. So just because one takes a cab does not mean they want to substitute that mode of transportation for a bike!
Second, if people are ridding bikes that means they are not using public transportation. The less people who utilize buses, the deeper in the hole The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) goes from uncollected fares. Right now that system, according to the Chicago Tribune, has almost $7 billion in unfunded capital needs and “ will reluctantly use capital funds meant for improvements to help balance the day-to-day 2011 operating budget and avoid reducing services again.”
The transition plan also says, “Chicago needs a bike lane network that allows every Chicagoan to feel safe on city streets. The administration will help Chicago become a pioneer in the creation and expansion of protected bike lanes, which are separated from traveling cars and sit between the sidewalk and a row of parked cars that shield cyclists from street traffic.”
This makes no sense. It there is a protected lane created by erecting some sort of barrier between bicyclist and parked cars, how will delivery trucks be able to pull up to the curb to unload? How will a passenger exiting an automobile curbside be able to open the door?
Also, “For example, the City will dramatically increase the miles of bike lanes added each year, from 8 to 25 miles.” Where is the money coming from to pay for increasing the number of bike lanes when Emanuel said in Stupd Idea #1 that he will freeze spending?
The transition plan is Rahm’s “road map for building a better city “and sets targets for the first 100 days. Chicago was founded in 1833, approximately 64,970 days ago, and Rahm wants to fix it in 100. Good luck!
Linda F writes abou the bike lanes:
ReplyDelete"There are bike paths in Chicago that would carry cyclists safely through the city streets. They are called side streets. There is not a lot of movement with cars trying to park and trucks and buses trying to navigate the parking spaces. No driver's doors suddenly springing open without warning while the cyclist is worrying about the rest of the traffic.
Any thought of designating certain side streets for safe passage? You don't even have to designate them - common sense should guide you here. Bike lanes are inherently dangerous - and a really dumb idea to take any further. Put the money into fixing side street potholes and everyone will be happy."