What was Trolley Tommy doing driving to the State Fair when there was cheap and convenient mass transit available to him?
Before some lefty decides to go off half-cocked, allow me to answer:
– Tom Barrett lives in the Washington Heights neighborhood (for you out-of-towners, it’s a very nice neighborhood west of the Stadium Freeway (US-41) between Vilet and North Avenues). Assuming everybody gathered at his house, the best transit option would be Route 76 (specifically, the one that goes to Southridge via 76th St.).
– That trip involves a 10-minute walk to 60th St, a bus ride to 76th and Greenfield, and an 8-minute walk into the fair. Given Barrett did not park on the Fairgrounds, I doubt walking would have been a problem.
– I don’t know the ages of his daughters or his niece, so I do not know whether they qualify for the $1 one-way trip given to those under 12 years. I do know that he and his sister would have been charged $2 for a one-way trip, so that would be $8 just for the two of them. Depending on the ages of the children, the total cost would be between $14 and $20.
– Speaking of parking, I don’t know whether Barrett availed himself of the lawn parking services that many of the residents around the Fairgrounds offer. If memory serves, they typically charge between $5-$10, with the higher amounts closer to the Fairgrounds. In fact, parking on the Fairgrounds is $10 during the Fair.
In short, Barrett made the economical decision that driving himself, his sister, two of his daughters and his niece to the Fair would be cheaper than taking public transit. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Steve,
I was thinking more of the Freeway Flyers that MCTS was advertising all last week on WTMJ. Running every 20(?) minutes from various park and rides directly to the fairgrounds. I’ve used this option in the past and it is fabulous. Even for this mass transit hater.
And thanks for linking.
hb
I originally thought about those as well, mainly because I’ve used the Summerfest version to avoid the impossible parking Downtown, but none of the park-and-rides they operate from, even the cheaper Watertown Plank-to-the-Fair one, are between Barrett’s house and the Fairgrounds.
I do remember that in years past, when the Brewers were out of town, the MCTS had a Miller Park-to-the-Fair shuttle that would have made sense distance-wise for the Barretts. However, not only didn’t I see that as an option this year, but even if it were, the Brewers were in town Saturday.
But if we had a lightrail system or a railed trolley, that would all be different …