Lol at the complaints about the L noise, of all the things that turn people off to Chicago, that's WAYYYYYY down the list.

I for one love the L, the more rickety the section, the better. I love the roaring monster it is on the NW side. I live over a mile from the nearest above grade section of it in Logan (I'm between Belmont and Logan, so it's a subway by me) and I can still hear the commotion when I'm sitting in my yard. It's classic Chicago: totally unconcerned with niceties, it get's you where you need to go don't it? Ok, so stop complaining and live with it.

Nonsense. Friends of mine that come to Chicago love the L and don't mind the noise. Those old steel sections are perhaps as iconic as the Hancock or Sears. In my experience it's one of the first things people think of when they think of Chicago.

Almost any time you see b-roll of the city there is at least a shot or two of the L squeezed in. There are even commercials fully based under the tracks just to make them feel "Chicago" - complete with train noise.

https://youtu.be/GOi557H6ux8

That being said, some areas really need a coat of paint. Wabash-style bordeaux or a good steely gray would be nice. Toss some good uplighting on the supports and you'd be doing it justice.

All you need to know about how iconic the L is in Chicago:

• Video Link


Can confirm this was the most frustrating level in the entire game. The L eliminated many a lead for me as a child. Also can confirm that this video demonstrates proper Chicago driving techniques.

Lord not Crusin USA.

I live at 6 Corners and I can still hear the roar of the Blue Line going over the Kennedy. Now that's loud. That sound and that steely, oily smell that comes from most L stops makes things interesting.

The L is awesome and anybody who says otherwise needs to pack their bags, tuck their puny nuts into their thighs, and relocate to Orlando where they can play with Mickey Mouse

:rolleyes:

im sure theres someone out there who thinks its a definition of manhood to live 3 blocks down from a coal fired power plant too.

i just literally laughed out loud!

couldn't have put it better.

You know someone is a true Chicagoan when they know to pause their conversation as the L goes by and then continue once it's past like nothing happened.

^ Phone calls at my apartment can be lengthy when a train is passing every couple of minutes.

I own two properties that have the L running through the backyard.

Whenever I and my contractor have spoken there is always the obligatory pause when the train rumbles by. But we only need to do that when we are outdoors. Indoors it's not bad at all and I'm not sure why Via Chicago is being such a crybaby

ok mr libertyville

I think there's disconnect here because "visitors" conjures up different images for different people. For visitors from Nashville, San Diego, Charlotte, etc., the el is probably nothing but cool. But some of us think of visitors from major Asian or other foreign cities, and if you've spent any time in, say, Asian cities in the past decade or two, you're going to come to a different conclusion. The more one romanticizes the aging blue collar low tech, the more distance you place in between the city and the cohort of the new century's leading world cities. As locals we love the el, in part because it's one of the couple of most unique defining characteristics of the city, including being a massive exclamation point that the city is not some post-airconditioning, automobile era young metro like LA or Dallas or Atlanta (or Jakarta). We wear the noise and steel like a badge. But it does remain persistently low tech, and if you're a 25 year old Singaporean female MBA or programmer deciding what city's train system you'll be commuting on every day, the low tech will not likely be attractive.

^^^ I've actually had that conversation when my Chinese friend (from Beijing) came to visit. He currently lives in New York so he's no stranger to grungy American transit systems, but even he was astounded by the L tracks running down the middle of my (otherwise quiet) residential block.

While the track structure is mostly low-tech, the cars and stations themselves are often pretty contemporary with transit technology. This year you'll be able to pay for rides with your phone. There are train arrival times available in all stations. The newest trains have lighted maps showing where the train is in the system. You can use your phone to get arrival times for buses and many of the busiest bus stops have bus arrival signage updated in real time. These are all tech I've seen in Asia and Europe. We used to be behind, but currently I think Chicago's transit tech is as current as almost any other city. Is there some huge transit tech I'm not aware of that all major Asian cities have that Chicago doesn't?

Rickety elevated trains exist in abundance in New York and in Philadelphia too.

But go figure it's Chicago forumers complaining about how it diminishes us, makes us seem so backward and parochial :rolleyes:

Yeah, about the only thing the CTA needs to modernize in its existing system is its rail cars (particularly for the blue line), but that's coming anyway. A couple of the subway stations downtown could use a facelift, but they're much nicer in general than 10-15 years ago. The tech is also dramatically better (access to boarding times, apps, etc.).

The L tracks are Chicago's Eiffel Tower, and there's no sound more quintessentially urban than their grinding (perhaps a cacophony of cabs honking?). We should be looking at new ways to activate them, whether that be through projects like the Wabash Lights or the group trying to create a public space beneath the Wilson tracks.