On a trip to Beijing back in August, Mayor Daley raved about the city’s new state-of-the-art subway system and took note of how to incorporate some of what he saw into transit upgrades back home in preparation for Chicago’ 2016 Olympic bid. It looks like he didn’t mean it.

Today, Chicago’s Olympic committee released the details of their $4.8 billion proposal—which includes a $500 million safety net, courtesy of taxpayers. But to the chagrin of urban planners, mass transit enthusiasts, and those that simply count on the Chicago Transit Authority, not a single dime of the Olympic funds will be invested in the system, although the committee “anticipates several enhancements to the transport systems by 2016.”

According to the committee’s report, the existing infrastructure is up to the task: “Chicago’s current infrastructure system effectively delivers millions to parks where venues and celebration sites are planned.” The Tribune’s Jon Hilkevitch has more details:

The new documents say that 90 percent of the events are served by at least two rail lines. In addition, 90 percent of athletes will be housed within 15 minutes of Olympic events and 46 percent will be within five minutes.

Dedicated lanes reserved for Olympic vehicles to ferry athletes also will be in place, the bid book said.

Just last month we noted that the already stressed CTA is struggling to keep pace with growing ridership. If there’s one single Olympic investment that should top the city’s list it’s transit. It’s hard to believe that Daley would leave it out of the equation.