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Originally Posted by ardecila
Yes, which is why I think the city should prioritize things like BRT that are less expensive and better-suited to the density levels that exist today. With the cost of the Red Line extension we could roll out gold-standard BRT on maybe 10 corridors around the city. Too bad every politician in Chicago is too scared to do anything that might inconvenience drivers.
I will note that things like a Brown Line extension might make sense within the context of the existing rail system - that is, the value of a connection from the North Lakefront to O'Hare is enough that the project makes sense even if the new stations don't have huge ridership. The existence of the connection will increase ridership at many stations throughout the network.
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Same reason why I really dig the Circle Line. Its not the added trackage or the new stations, its about making all the existing lines become greater than the sum of their parts simply by making connections between them that much easier. As you said, the the Brown Line extension (or Circle Line in my case) stations themselves would not be the biggest driver of growth, rather that growth would by systemwide as the CTA would become more competitive in getting people to where they want to go quicker and with less hassle.
Parking is an absolute pain. To be free of having to worry of finding non-existent street parking or having to fork out a fortune to park in a garage is more than enough reason for many/most people to take transit, as long as it wont take an hour to get to where you want to go. Better connections between existing lines is key.