SO MANY WOKE WORSHIP-WORDS, SO MANY CRAYONS.

Chicago's genial socialist mayor let the kids loose to illustrate a "transition plan" for transportation.

I wonder if "buses and trains safe to ride on" is enhanced or eroded under that "holistic approach to safety."  Probably not, the Streetsblog discussion of the report is more word-noise.

The resulting twenty pages of transportation recommendations in the report reflect the priorities of a group committed to transforming our current car-centric roadways into a safer, healthier, more equitable system for all. An introductory context section acknowledges how the combined damage of transit disinvestment, destructive highways and a concentration of industrial freight in low-income Black and Brown neighborhoods has saddled residents with poorer health outcomes and less connection to the necessities of life. It also acknowledges the blow Covid-19 dealt to public transportation in ridership and revenue, and the urgent need for new, consistent sources of funding to restore and improve Chicago’s transit system.

They're wishing for more printed money from the Federal Capital rather than any substantive policy changes in Chicago, other than, predictably, adding another layer of management.

The report lists four major transportation goals. The first regards the crisis at hand: stabilizing CTA service, which has been plagued by staffing shortages, unreliable information for riders and subpar sanitation and safety—real and perceived—since the start of the pandemic. Recommendations include new accountability systems, like a structure and cadence for CTA leadership to report to City Council (bafflingly, this doesn’t already exist) and the creation of a deputy mayor of transportation position to coordinate projects across city departments and agencies.

CTA, Metra and Pace anticipate a combined $730 million budget shortfall in 2026, when federal pandemic relief funds run out. The report recommends seeking state and federal dollars to avert this fiscal cliff without raising fares for riders. When it comes to improving safety and sanitation, the report recommends a “holistic approach”: adding transit ambassadors to CTA staff and responding to non-violent emergencies with treatment-not-trauma methods.

The report also recommends improving CTA service by building a citywide Bus Rapid Transit network—improvements like dedicated bus lanes, priority signals at intersections and rear-door boarding that have been proven to speed up buses. Chicago lags far behind other cities in BRT and the strategy has been championed by the Safe Streets for All Coalition to improve the reliability of CTA buses and encourage ridership.

Yes, those community ambassadors are working out so well in the neighborhoods, aren't they?  And all the bus rapid transit bells and whistles come a cropper the moment a bus becomes a minute or two late, and starts picking up the additional passengers appearing at the bus stop or transferring from other buses.

The worship-words, however, are in the correct form.  “Translating these recommendations into actual policies, plans, and projects will take persistent pressure from all of us. However, the transition report provides a strong foundation from which those of us fighting for equitable and sustainable transportation can build a cleaner and healthier future.”

I continue to withhold judgement.  "Chicago can be made safer, but it will be on the ward-heeler Democrats and the people who instinctively vote for them to make it safer."