Wish list...

doepack wrote:

MetraBNSF wrote:Announcements should be made downtown, especially in cases where an inbound train will immedietely turn into an outbound.

Yeah, and that's especially true of weekend service on Milw/N, where many i/b trains have only a 15 min. scheduled turn before heading out again. And often times, as I observed earlier today at CUS, Metra will show these trains as "boarding", even though the equipment hasn't arrived yet. Indeed, I heard someone wonder aloud, "How can it be boarding when we're still waiting for it?" If they aren't going to provide audio announcements, Metra should at least change the status on the display boards to "on time"; until the train actually arrives in the terminal; at least that would be more accurate...

There was a case last July 3rd when a Fairview-CUS deadhead (that had been converted to revenue service) had arrived CUS 3 minutes before its scheduled 6:16pm departure. The strange thing was as the train was pulling in, the automated announcement for train #1373 played and the display board indicated "boarding".

I think the boarding status comes on 15-20 minutes before a train's scheduled departure time.

Here's my wish list for the Milw/N line at least: more parking!

Fox Lake in particular had a big swell of commuters when gas prices last spiked. However, due to lack of available parking & the city's asinine enforcement policy, the new guys were run off within 3 months. The city then sold off part of the parking to the Chevy dealership & parking got even tighter.

I honestly believe that several runs would've needed more cars if more parking was available or overflow was allowed & the permit parkers did not block the daily parking spaces. (In Fox Lake, daily parking is close while permit only parking is down the street).[/b]

It only makes sense to get more people on trains to get $$$ to fix up the service.

To MDNUni: There is a crappy shopping center a couple of blocks east of the Metra station that has a huge parking lot that seems to never be more than 1/3 full, even when all the stores are open. Why could'nt Fox Lake lease a portion of this lot and turn over the parking fees to the shopping center operator to defray costs. It would be a net plus to the shopping center, which isn't filling the spaces anyway.

BTW, I have no parking problems there, but I only go to Fox Lake on the odd Mondays to catch the 4:46 am train, the first one out. At that time, there are plenty of spaces.

Prairiefire:

They can't lease the shopping center because that would make too much sense. As it is, if you don't have a permit forget about anything after the 6:58 or Maybe, maybe the 7:16. If there is a spot, it'll take 15 minutes to find.

Even requiring permit holders to park in the permit only lot would free up a couple dozen spaces.

Even adjusting the enforcement policy to allow paid overflow would work. As it is, parking in an unmarked spot is a $10 or $20 ticket. The best was when I got in at 6:40 a year or two ago to find a paving truck and trailer blocking an even dozen spaces.

Guess how many brain cells the city used that day.

MDNUni wrote:Fox Lake in particular had a big swell of commuters when gas prices last spiked. However, due to lack of available parking & the city's asinine enforcement policy, the new guys were run off within 3 months. The city then sold off part of the parking to the Chevy dealership & parking got even tighter

How ironic. If I didn't know any better, I'd think the city of Fox Lake was trying to send these commuters a not-so-subtle subliminal message...

MDNUni wrote:I honestly believe that several runs would've needed more cars if more parking was available or overflow was allowed & the permit parkers did not block the daily parking spaces. (In Fox Lake, daily parking is close while permit only parking is down the street)

Wow, that's a first; shouldn't that be the other way around? Folks that apply for and receive a parking permit shouldn't have a longer walk to the station than those who park in the daily fee spaces. Permit users are entitled to the convenience, but it seems Fox Lake hasn't figured that out yet...

More weekend capacity is needed on the NW line, especially when the Cubs are in town. This past weekend, inbound trains 712, 714 and 716 were extremely crowded; pretty much SRO after Barrington. 5 or 6 car sets are generally the norm on this route on weekends, but even with all cars open, it's not nearly enough to handle the big crowds of Cub fans that ride this line to Wrigley Field (via Irving Park) from the N/NW suburbs. I suppose then, it would be asking a bit much to send out at least one of the nine-car sets from Crystal Lake. Currently, the longest set UP runs on Saturdays is a 7-car set originating from Crystal Lake, but it's earlier in the morning, and is sent back early in the afternoon, usually on 709 (1330 dep. from OTC), which has never made sense to me. Since the set is based in Crystal Lake, why not hold it over 'til later in the afternoon; until, perhaps 715 (OTC dep. @1630). Like 709, this run also terminates in Crystal Lake, but it's later in the afternoon, and the extra capacity would likely come in handy at this time of day since folks are starting to head home.

Also, Friday night's 647 to Harvard (11 cars) usually has an extra cab or two five to seven cars deep in the consist, which is used to split off five or six cars for use on Saturday's 714 or 716. Perhaps this could be changed so that 647 has just one cab buried eight cars deep, and then run Saturday's 714 or 716 as an eight-car set, while dropping three at Harvard; at least during the summer. While it isn't possible for ALL trains to be 8-9 cars, just adding 2-3 cars to certain trains during the summer can go a long way toward easing overcrowding. And if that happens, maybe these trains would actually start running on time...