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Originally Posted by Mr Downtown
As for the St Charles Air Line, the longstanding plan is to use it as a greenway connecting lakefront and riverfront. Personally, I find it worrisome to give up a potentially valuable transit right of way for a strip of parkland.
The viaduct recently demolished between the river and the UPS campus was the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal RR, not the SCAL.
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Thanks for correcting me. I guess I need to get more familiar with these lines.
I thought the B&O was a spur of the St. Charles Air Line. They are nearly next to each other, no, or am I confused? I don't see any mention of that great B&O bridge in the article; I hope they got it too.
I agree that the right of way should remain for transit. It seems foolish and of course these things exist without difficulty in most other Chicago neighborhoods. Frankly I don't understand why we should pay the expense to relocate this line, which appears to be for the sole reason that the South Loop is gentrifying. It doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent to development down there, and isn't it part of the charm of the area anyway?
Is the plan to demolish the structure and just make something like the "Prairie Path" on grade, or would it at least keep the elevated structure? Why waste the infrastructure and ability to give a dedicated right-of-way, even if it's just for bikes and pedestrians, rather than busses or light-rail? Surely the structure needs some repair and gaining access would be something of a challenge, but Paris and NY have managed to create very good plans for reusing these kinds of elevated tracks. Chicago should be a leader given how many of them we have to deal with, and the potential gains from doing it right.
A great network of safe, elevated, landscaped bike and pedestrian pathways throughout the city would be the envy of most every city in the world. Imagine how many would-be commuters would opt for bike transit if they were given a straight-shot means of commuting, without interference from or the perils of vehicles?