Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - A mess of an L - It's time for Daley to step up, get on board

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial - A mess of an L - It's time for Daley to step up, get on board
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times
July 11, 2007

There is no excuse for Saturday's Red Line mishap: passengers on two trains trapped in sweltering conditions, stuck between stations, while police dealt with a man threatening to jump off a viaduct near the Cermak-Chinatown stop. It was a breakdown of communication on a system that is increasingly broken down. Held hostage every year by legislators debating its funding, the L has become antiquated and outmoded, with a communications system riders can't depend on or don't even know exists.

But an aging system wasn't the only reason Red Line riders were left in the lurch on the hottest day of the year -- 16 had to be taken to the hospital. They were also let down by a failure on the part of the CTA and police to execute emergency plans that at the very least would have informed the cut-off passengers exactly what was happening. There are plans, aren't there? This screwup left us in doubt.

On Tuesday, CTA President Ron Huberman acknowledged the CTA's subpar performance Saturday and on July 3, when thousands of people were stuck on downtown trains and platforms after the fireworks show in Grant Park. He promised improved communications on trains (and cameras to monitor bus drivers). Based on his strong performance during his short time at the helm, we expect him to deliver on that promise. The CTA must do a much better and more forceful job of making it clear to employees and passengers alike what steps to take in emergencies. If a basic police blotter entry like the threatened suicide (for which the would-be jumper was not charged) can create such misery for so many, what about a more dire event? Last year, the FBI thwarted a terrorist plot targeting the New York subway. If, God forbid, our subway took such a hit, how would responders perform?

Mayor Daley has asserted the city's level of preparedness is high, in the face of one report that said it isn't. But far from taking the lead in pushing for potentially life-saving solutions to the CTA crisis -- there can be no safety without improved efficiency -- he has kept a rather low profile. He made a significant statement in naming Huberman, who is thought to have a better chance of building bridges in Springfield than his alienating predecessor, Frank Kruesi. But Daley needs to be as vocal about the CTA as he has been about the 2016 Summer Games. The international community he will court this week in Rio de Janeiro, host of the Pan American Games, wants assurances about our mass transit. Even for those who count on full-scale improvements by 2016, incidents like Saturday's will be hard to ignore. A repeat performance would be a bitter pill for all to swallow.