Gridlock vs. Hell on the El

As if watching the CTA unravel into a tangled mess of delays, derailments and service cuts wasn't bad enough, now a national survey reveals Chicago's roads are among the worst in the country. Apparently we're also the second city when it comes to traffic delays. Only L.A.'s infamous freeways have more jams.

Which means that if you live in the city or an inner suburb, there is no good way to get to work. Public transit is the noble choice, and I've long been an advocate of taking the El. For reasons of environmental and mental health (I get my reading done on the train), I approached house-hunting with one primary goal: to find a place within walking distance of a train.

But the last couple of years have been miserable. Long waits, crowded trains and useless  

platform "customer service" agents mean late pick-ups from daycare, no room for strollers and no way to get said strollers onto the train in the first place! It's enough to make me wish I could drive. Except then I'd be dealing with the nation's second-worse rush hour.

I feel like the solution is obvious: We need to fix the CTA. If public transit worked, more drivers would be lured off of Illinois roads, easing gridlock and improving air quality to boot. Our friends at the DC Metro Moms Blog have it made. They've got the Metro, which is clean, punctual and safe.

Here's to hoping our lawmakers in Springfield and CTA management can put their heads together and hammer out some solutions. Because our quality of life is very much at stake.

Alma's personal blog is Marketing Mommy