It’s not just parking meters. Rahm’s admin made a deal to give JC Decaux control of the bus stops. The city pays for electricity and electric hookups, and JC Decaux installs and maintains the stops and gives the city part of the revenue from selling ads on the stops. That’s why the stops are nicest in high-traffic areas, not because of some bs downtown beautification program but because JC Decaux installed only ones that it thinks would be profitable. So now CTA’s maintenance of the old shelters is terrible. It’s not as bad as the parking meters because it’s only a 20 year contract, but still.
Some stuff I read today https://www.wbez.org/stories/why-those-old-bus-shelters-are-still-around/e349b28f-db51-4c22-8133-92ff1f58d559 https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2020/10/12/21513156/jc-decaux-city-advertising-contracts-bus-shelters-cta-billboards-ohare-midway https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/ppps-provide-major-public-benefit-case-chicago-s-bus-shelters/226641/ (“public private partnerships” 🤢 🤢 )
rentier relationships on fucking benches jfc
ONLY a 20 year contract??? How bad is the parking meter situation?
It’s literally a multigenerational fuckup. It’s like another hundred years or something, and the company that owns all the parking now has already made their money back
