(The following article by Patrick Ferrell was posted on the South Suburban Star website on October 30.)
CHICAGO — There’s a running joke about Metra in Sandy Peters’ downtown Chicago office.
The joke began this summer after a bridge fire shut down the southern portion of the Electric District line and Metra took two days to coordinate buses to bring commuters to Rock Island district stations.
“If this happened on the North Shore, they would not send buses either,” Peters said at Monday’s Metra hearing. “They would send limousines.”
A crowd of about 200 people erupted in laughter and applause, a frequent occurrence during the 31/2-hour hearing at the Homewood Village Hall.
This was the second of three meetings Metra scheduled to assess its image in the South Suburbs.
The first was held last week in Palos Heights and drew less than three dozen people, most of whom ride the SouthWest Service. Only one of the speakers was highly critical of the commuter rail service.
Monday’s meeting in Homewood drew a standing-room-only crowd that spilled into the hallway.
Peters’ comments underscore what most of the speakers told Metra officials at the meeting: The commuter rail service consistently overlooks south suburban riders, who pay the same fares as other riders but must deal with decaying stations and bulky turnstiles not found on any other Metra line.
“People who board in Homewood pay the same as people who board in Tinley Park,” Jill McAvoy, a resident of Matteson, said. “I board in Matteson and pay the same as somebody in Naperville. Yet the amenities are not nearly the same.”
“The underlying message Metra is sending with the turnstiles is that we are criminals,” Gina Cannova said. “I don’t think the commuters in Naperville have to prove they paid before they board the train.”
Some 41 people spoke, most with complaints and concerns, only a few highlighting the positives of Metra’s Electric District service.
About two dozen more people filled out cards to speak, but had left by the time their names were called almost three hours after the meeting began.
One rider carried a sign reading, “Remove your gates.” Another brought a bag of garbage she said she picked up from alongside the platform at the Matteson station Monday afternoon. The bag included a newspaper from July 11, she said.
Most of the speakers used sarcasm to express serious concerns about such things as not having bathrooms on trains and having to use station bathrooms that are not maintained.
The line’s terminus at Randolph and South Water streets in Chicago has been under construction since 1996, and also served as the subject of many complaints.
“It’s got all the ambiance and functionality of a fallout shelter,” Michael Kedzierski said. “There’s not even a vending machine to buy a soda. There’s plenty of ticket vending machines.”
The riders’ frustration even turned to Jeffrey Ladd, Metra’s first and only chairman, a Republican from McHenry County. Ladd earlier this year proposed the STAR Line, a $1 billion plan to link the North and West suburbs.
Asked why the South Suburbs was left out, Ladd was later quoted as saying Metra “was not a social welfare agency” that needed to worry about access to jobs.
“The fact that Mr. Ladd is not here is an insult to everybody on this line,” Tim McAvoy said. “If he really wanted to hear from the people, he would be here.”
Howard Norris, who gets off at the Van Buren Street station, said he “would like Chairman Ladd to go to the washroom with me.”
“I also want him to ride the train with us. Come through the turnstiles with us.”
Even the Metra board members took their turn at dishing out sarcastic comments.
“We’ll certainly let (Ladd) know he was missed this evening,” Carole Doris said.
Doris is the chairman of the committee overseeing the public hearings.
As far as the turnstile issue is concerned, Doris said the committee will recommend removing them at Metra’s next meeting Nov. 14.
Clay Weaver, Metra director of technical services, told audience members construction work at the Randolph Street station is progressing.
“The question is, has anything really been going on behind the plywood walls?” Weaver said. “The answer is a little bit, but not much.”
The project was delayed because of ventilation and leakage problems and city crews working at nearby Millennium Park.
The situations meant Metra “has largely not been in control of our own destiny,” Weaver said.
But, “we believe the project is rolling again,” he said. “I know many of you believe it will never happen. I would hope you trust us, but I don’t know why you should.”
New restrooms at the station should be completed by spring of next year, with a new ticket window by spring of 2005. The full renovation is scheduled to be completed in 2006, Weaver said.
“This is the first time in the last few years we can confidently say we have all the impediments out of our way,” Weaver said.
The third Metra hearing is set for Nov. 11 in Matteson.