Promoted

It's time for the fifth installment of our series "Streetsblog Chicago versus smoking on the CTA." This is an effort to find holistic solutions (not simply more policing) to the aggravating problem of smoking and vaping inside railcars. Take a look at part one for an intro to my perspective on the issue. It's common knowledge that smoking on the 'L' is a major hazard for people with disabilities, seniors, and young kids. It's also unhealthy and annoying for the rest of us, and it causes people to instead choose modes like driving and ride-hail, contributing to crashes, pollution, and congestion.

It seems like the average SBC reader was amused by my nickname for "the mostly right-leaning folks using weekly anti-Archer [Avenue traffic safety] project protests as a political hook": "The Make Archer Great Again" (MAGA) posse.

This piece also runs on the website A City That Works, a newsletter about public policy in the Chicago region. Richard Day co-edits that publication, focusing on transportation issues. As a guest op-ed, this article does not necessarily reflect Streetsblog Chicago staffers' perspectives on this issue.

There was backlash when CDOT proposed parking conversions for protected lanes on Clark in Uptown. But the end product offers reason for optimism in Brighton Park.

It was perhaps fitting that much of the March 11 meeting of the CTA's board was held to the chanting  and shouts from a rally taking place right outside.