The Green Line
What do you think about the city of Chicago adding mobile garden cars on to the L? Interesting idea, isn’t it?
Dear Mayor Daley,
As mayor of Chicago, you’ve done a fine job of greening up the city. You are Urbs in Horto after all. But, you know what you need next? A mobile garden for the CTA. You love a green roof so why not a green train? What better way to lure tourists? Or lure the Olympics? Or just beat out another city at the idea?
You already have those flatbed cars from the Christmas train you run every year. Don’t people go wild for that? Who wouldn’t love having a garden on their train? What a PR stunt!
Well, if you want my two cents… There better be room for the soil to be nice and deep so you can grow Illinois prairie plants with nice deep roots in those flatbed cars. Native grasses have an amazing, web-like root system that will enable them to hold on for dear life, that makes them ideal for life on the rails. Also? I think it’ll get hot there in that speeding metal box so some sort of eco-friendly, drip irrigation will have to be installed. Perhaps portable rain barrels?
I have to say that looking out the window at a mobile garden would really soothe me when it's rush hour and my train is late and then there's a billion people in my car and they are crushing me and my soul. Just something to think about!
Love,
Kiss my Aster
P.S. Meet me in the forum and we can talk about what you think of this idea and if you'd like to see these, in Chicago or anywhere!
