CTA

A combination of governance and operational reforms could deliver the transit system riders deserve

Last month, the grassroots transit advocacy group Commuters Take Action held a retirement party for controversial CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. While he did go out on a high note by securing $1.9 billion from the feds for the $5.7 Red Line Extension, he was highly unpopular with many riders due to the system's issues with unreliable service, crime, and sanitation. So the celebration was a tongue-in-cheek affair, and needless to say, the guest of honor was a no-show.

This week, the CTA released the final design concepts for a pedestrian path and other new amenities on a 1.3-mile segment under Red and Purple tracks, between the Lawrence and Bryn Mawr stations in Uptown and Edgewater. At the second of two community meeting this week, held last night at Truman College, 1945 W. Wilson, attendees seemed generally satisfied with the design.

At yesterday's CTA board meeting, new acting transit agency president Nora Leerhsen discussed issues she will prioritize in order to improve conditions on trains and increase ridership. These include addressing the problem of smoking on trains, and helping unhoused people who spend the night on the Red and Blue lines get access to shelters.

The Chicago Tribune editorial board members are probably not my biggest fans right now, since I recently pointed out questionable statements about bike lanes and Metra fares in their editorials.

On January 13, the CTA announced that the agency's embattled President Dorval R. Carter was stepping down after more than a decade on the job. As Streetsblog discussed that day, elected officials and transit advocates had major problems with the way he ran the system, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. They cited major problems with reliability, crime, and cleanliness. As early as last April, everyone from the grassroots group Commuters Take Action to Governor JB Pritzker was calling for new leadership at the agency.

This week, the Chicago Transit Board appointed Dorval Carter’s Chief of Staff Nora Leerhsen to serve as the acting president for the agency, replacing the departing — and controversial — president until a permanent replacement is found. 

It was a bombshell, but not a huge surprise, when the CTA announced this morning that President Dorval R. Carter Jr. is stepping down from his post at the end of this month.