page 2 lakefront outlook, june 9, 2004

Gray Line idea could add CTA trains to S. Side

by Mike Stevens

Bronzeville-native Mike Payne has been prodding city and regional transit officials for more than a decade to make a hypothetical local public transit train line, the Gray Line, into a reality. The plan calls for the Chicago Transit Authority to use Metra's electric line to dramatically improve public transit on the South Side. But Metra officials say the plan remains too vague to be realistically assessed. Payne's interest in trains started early. As a kid, Payne would spend hours watching the wood-sided "L" trains of the Green Line's long-closed Kenwood branch throw sparks as they passed his second floor window at 41st Street and Drexel Boulevard.

Trains and particularly the Chicago Transt Authority (CTA) still fascinate the 55-year-old Payne, who takes public transportation almost everywhere. In his 90-minute commute from Chatham to his job in the West loop, Payne has plenty of time to think about improvements. He thinks the Southeast side needs a CTA train line but knows that financially it is almost impossible. So Payne began investigating Metra's South Side Electric Line after noticing that on weekend and on non-rush hours downtown-bound CTA buses were packed while empty Metra trains rolled past. "They can't be making money when no one is riding on it and they're paying people to operate them and power to push it along," Payne said.

The problem, Payne said, is that the CTA and Metra do not share fare systems. Few riders are willing to fork over an extra $5.80 every day, even if it would mean saving 30 minutes, like Payne would. In addition, Metra trains come much less frequently during off-peak hours; every two hours at times on weekends. With a train line in place, Payne started looking for a better way to use it. He came upon the Gray Line, named for a color as are CTA's train lines. Like the CTA's trains, Metra's electric line has floor level platforms, closely spaced stations and the quick starting and stopping power of electricity making it ideal for high traffic, Payne said.

In his plan, Payne proposes Metra lease its service to the CTA. The move would add 22-miles and 37 stations of new CTA service to the South Side. Bronzeville has two stations, at 27th and 47th Streets. Payne proposes adding a new station at 35th or 39th Streets. A CTA fare system would be set up in the stations and the leased trains would run on one of the two Metra lines within the city. He estimates the total cost of preparing the Metra line for CTA use at $100 million. The CTA estimates a proposed 6-mile extension of the Red Lie will cost $600 million. "[Payne's proposal] rises to the top on an awful lot of [areas]," Janice Metzger said, Metzger co-directs the Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission---a transit watchdog group affiliated with the Center for Neighborhood Technology. In a 2003 study, the group ranked the Gray Line first amongst a field of projects from local, state, and federal agencies. "It's in an area that has existing population that serves a high number of people. It doesn't cost that much because it uses existing infrastructure. There is a great deal of logic [to it]." Metzger said.

But Metra spokesman Dan Schnolis said too many unknowns remain to detemine if the proposal would even work. For starters Metra does not have a fleet of trains sitting unused waiting to provide CTA-like service---trains spaced 5 to 20 minutes apart---throughout the day. "None of this has been defined, It's a concept of an idea," Schnolis said. Until there are further studies and the proposal gets "legs of it's own" as a Metra executive said after seeing the proposal, Schnolis said. The problem lies in various agencies wanting only to find funding for their own projects rather than sharing resources, Metzger said. "We don't have a process that looks at how do we benefit the region as a whole," Metzger said of the Metropolitan Planning Commission which is charged with planning the long-term transit solutions for the Chicago area. "We have a process that says, 'Metra wants to do it this so we'll try not to get in their way. The Tollway [Authority] wants to do this, We'll try not to get in their way.'"

For a decade now Payne has promoted his plan by by speaking to planning groups and handing outlines to residents, transit officials, and legislators such as Hyde Park's Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25). Congressman Bill Lipinski (D-3) has reviewed Payne's proposal and is deciding whether to foward it to House Committee on Infrastructure and Transportation, on which he sits, Payne said. Still Payne knows he faces a long battle to get the project funded. "I can't take [the plan] to Washington. I can't pay a lobbyist. I don't have a public relations firm. I ain't got no clout," Payne said. After seeing the success of groups llke the Blue Line Task Force, Payne organized a group, the Gray Line Coalition, in hopes of generating attention and eventually funding for his idea. The group meets weekly but is still looking for a permanent location. For more information on meeting locations and the Gray Line proposal, go online to www.grayline.20m.com.

See Mike Payne's rebuttal letter to the editor "Gray Line most eligible project for funding" from the june 23, 2004 lakefront outlook.