Wrigley and Traffic

[thedaymen]

I posted this in Social, but only got one hit. Thought I'd put it on a higher traffic'ed board. If the mods decide this isn't "Cubs-related" enough and move the thread I understnand:

 

Hi everyone.

 

I work for a smart-growth advocacy group in NYC, and we're concerned with the traffic impacts a new Yankees Stadium (with 5,000 more parking spaces) will have on the community in the Bronx. In looking at what other teams have done for their communities we discovered that one of the communities that has the best relationship with their team (in terms of traffic and zoning) is none other then the Chicago Cubs who produce an annual report on a community protection plan.

 

Does anyone here know anyone that worked to get the Cubs to agree to do this, or know anyone that lives in the community that might be able to help? We'd like to see the Yanks do what the Cubs did, and I'm hoping some of you might be able to tell me the Cubs were made to do this.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[J.R.]

Charlotte Newfeld of C.U.B.S. (Citizens United for Baseball in the Sunshine) would be a good contact if you're looking for ways to extort a baseball team and hinder development.

[thedaymen]

Charlotte Newfeld of C.U.B.S. (Citizens United for Baseball in the Sunshine) would be a good contact if you're looking for ways to extort a baseball team and hinder development.

 

Thanks, uhm, I think.

[BeerHere]

I used to live in Wrigleyville and the explanation is simple.

 

A couple years ago the City of Chicago designated Wrigley Field as a landmark. Landmarks in Chicago require the approval of the City Council for any changes or alterations to the structure. The Cubs aggressively opposed the declaration, but were powerless to stop it. The Tribune has made no secret of the fact that they would like to improve the ballpark by adding seats, expanding the bleachers etc. In order to get the approval to do so, they needed the City Council to give its ok. The City Council is made up of aldermen . Business owners and community members in the Cubs ward simply urged their alderman to pressure the Cubs into managing traffic, parking etc for the betterment of the community. The Cubs were forced to do so in order to get the approval needed for improvements.

 

The City of Chicago is run by career politicians. Ask yourself this question, why were the White Sox given taxpayer $$ for a new ballpark, and more taxpayer $$ to tear some of it down, while the Cubs had to fight tooth and nail to get approval for an additional 2000 seats in an aging and decrepid ballpark, at their expense?

 

Mayor Daley is close friends with the White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. He's also a White Sox fan, who hates all that is Cubby. Politics sucks, but its how Chicago does business unfortunately.

 

P.S. I work for the City.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I posted this in Social, but only got one hit. Thought I'd put it on a higher traffic'ed board. If the mods decide this isn't "Cubs-related" enough and move the thread I understnand:

 

Hi everyone.

 

I work for a smart-growth advocacy group in NYC, and we're concerned with the traffic impacts a new Yankees Stadium (with 5,000 more parking spaces) will have on the community in the Bronx. In looking at what other teams have done for their communities we discovered that one of the communities that has the best relationship with their team (in terms of traffic and zoning) is none other then the Chicago Cubs who produce an annual report on a community protection plan.

 

Does anyone here know anyone that worked to get the Cubs to agree to do this, or know anyone that lives in the community that might be able to help? We'd like to see the Yanks do what the Cubs did, and I'm hoping some of you might be able to tell me the Cubs were made to do this.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

pm a poster named "JC"

 

I believe he lives in Wrigleyville, as a few others............he might be a place to start

[stitchface]

I would think as long as people can take the subway, you should be ok. I'm not sure of the yankee demographics, but the problem for the cubs is suburbanites with kids who need parking.

 

Another great example is SD. They provide no parking at their new stadium in an area that is ridiculously car oriented. Their stadium is not in a residential area though.

[BeerHere]

I would think as long as people can take the subway, you should be ok. I'm not sure of the yankee demographics, but the problem for the cubs is suburbanites with kids who need parking.

 

I disagree with the surburbanites issue. The Cubs provide free parking and shuttle from the lot located at DeVry along Addison, and another one in Rosemont. Likewise, the "L" is easily gotten to from both Metra stations. The problem is that there is absolutely zero parking at Wrigley for anyone. Of course there are the parking scalpers who will charge $30 to park for 4 hours.

 

The Cubs plans for the parking garage in 2007 was added solely for the residents of Wrigleyville. It'll definitly get used during the season by ticket holders, but the garage was added to placate the neighborhood.

[sethuel1]

I posted this in Social, but only got one hit. Thought I'd put it on a higher traffic'ed board. If the mods decide this isn't "Cubs-related" enough and move the thread I understnand:

 

Hi everyone.

 

I work for a smart-growth advocacy group in NYC, and we're concerned with the traffic impacts a new Yankees Stadium (with 5,000 more parking spaces) will have on the community in the Bronx. In looking at what other teams have done for their communities we discovered that one of the communities that has the best relationship with their team (in terms of traffic and zoning) is none other then the Chicago Cubs who produce an annual report on a community protection plan.

 

Does anyone here know anyone that worked to get the Cubs to agree to do this, or know anyone that lives in the community that might be able to help? We'd like to see the Yanks do what the Cubs did, and I'm hoping some of you might be able to tell me the Cubs were made to do this.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

pm a poster named "JC"

 

I believe he lives in Wrigleyville, as a few others............he might be a place to start

 

JC lives in indiana, IIRC. I live in Wrigleyville. I get various mailings from the Cubs in regards to the community every few months, but I usually just throw them away. if you'd like, I'll scan them and send them to you.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I posted this in Social, but only got one hit. Thought I'd put it on a higher traffic'ed board. If the mods decide this isn't "Cubs-related" enough and move the thread I understnand:

 

Hi everyone.

 

I work for a smart-growth advocacy group in NYC, and we're concerned with the traffic impacts a new Yankees Stadium (with 5,000 more parking spaces) will have on the community in the Bronx. In looking at what other teams have done for their communities we discovered that one of the communities that has the best relationship with their team (in terms of traffic and zoning) is none other then the Chicago Cubs who produce an annual report on a community protection plan.

 

Does anyone here know anyone that worked to get the Cubs to agree to do this, or know anyone that lives in the community that might be able to help? We'd like to see the Yanks do what the Cubs did, and I'm hoping some of you might be able to tell me the Cubs were made to do this.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

pm a poster named "JC"

 

I believe he lives in Wrigleyville, as a few others............he might be a place to start

 

JC lives in indiana, IIRC. I live in Wrigleyville. I get various mailings from the Cubs in regards to the community every few months, but I usually just throw them away. if you'd like, I'll scan them and send them to you.

 

huh...my bad...thought I remembered his sig saying something to the effect

 

guess not..........

[burnt out cubbie fan]

P.S. I work for the City.

Not anymore. :P

[thedaymen]

Thanks to everyone for their help on this...its good to get some information. The problem with the Yankees plan is they're going to add 5-10 k new parking spaces but are claiming it won't produce any more traffic...those suburbanites someone mentioned? Yeah, they're the problem.

 

When I came to work one day and a copy of one of the Cubs' reports (logo and all) was sitting on my desk, I was stunned...we were going to hold up Tribune Corp as the good guys? Needless to say I wanted some background before we did that. This thread was very helpful to me, and I do really appreciate it.

 

The Cubs themselves actually offered to mail me the stuff they mail to the community members...

 

Thanks again.

[South Side]

I used to live in Wrigleyville and the explanation is simple.

 

The City of Chicago is run by career politicians. Ask yourself this question, why were the White Sox given taxpayer $$ for a new ballpark, and more taxpayer $$ to tear some of it down, while the Cubs had to fight tooth and nail to get approval for an additional 2000 seats in an aging and decrepid ballpark, at their expense?

 

Mayor Daley is close friends with the White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. He's also a White Sox fan, who hates all that is Cubby. Politics sucks, but its how Chicago does business unfortunately.

 

P.S. I work for the City.

 

You can certainly make the point that it has been harder for the Cubs to make changes than for the White Sox. But in all fairness to Mayor Daley, I would like to correct some mistatements:

 

The City of Chicago did not contribute one penny of taxpayer money to the new Comiskey. The park was built with money from the State of Illinois collected from tourists through a hotel tax (the same tax that rebuilt Soldier Field). This happened in 1988, when Daley had not even been elected yet. It was primarily pushed through by Gov Thompson with support of Mayor Washington (prior to his death).

 

It is a marketing decision by the Cubs to remain in Wrigley. Lets face it, Wrigley sells tickets. But one of the great selling points of Wrigley is the neighborhood, and with that comes the greater difficulty of modifying by building out over sidewalks, etc. The Cubs have to take the good with the bad when it comes down to Wrigley. The Sox can change whatever they want because they are surrounded mostly by parking/expressway, and their changes don't affect peoples homes.

[BeerHere]

The City of Chicago did not contribute one penny of taxpayer money to the new Comiskey. The park was built with money from the State of Illinois collected from tourists through a hotel tax (the same tax that rebuilt Soldier Field). This happened in 1988, when Daley had not even been elected yet. It was primarily pushed through by Gov Thompson with support of Mayor Washington (prior to his death).

 

Your point is well taken. However, my argument is still valid. The New Comisky was paid for with taxpayer $$, as was Soldier Field. The Tribune was willing to pay the full cost of all improvements to Wrigley, plus enhancements to the neighborhood, and they were denied by the democratic (Daley controlled) city council. Even while pieces of concrete were falling.