^gza,
I actually think all 3 extensions should be built....(even yellow and orange to Old Orchard and Ford City respectively....people should think about using transit for shopping instead of instinctively reaching for the car keys).
But I'm aware of the different demographics between the 30-40-50s and the hundreds. I lived on the southside for 18 years, and have been extensively in most of the neighborhoods therein, including Pullman, Eastside, Beverly, Morgan Park, Hegewisch, and most of the Lakeshore (Hyde Park, Kenwood, Woodlawn, Oakwood, etc.). Of course that experience doesnt make me an "authority" on the subject, but I want to put it out there I'm not making unfounded generalizations.
Also for reference the Howard red line north of Wilson (but not including Wilson) has over 35,000 daily boardings over a length of 3.75 miles, versus 48,000 for the entire Dan Ryan branch over a length of 9 miles. Again I bring this up just to consider the R-O-I merits of the red line extension.
Of course, there arent any hard ridership estimates for the Circle Line; its hard to gauge. Aside from the Circle line itself, how will it impact and increase ridership on each of the lines it connects to? Intuitively, it would increase ridership systemwide significantly, especially in conjunction with additional high-density, mixed use development in the area it serves. but I havent seen any ridership predictions, so we can't know for sure.
In the meantime, let's agree that its worth the time and money to be exploring everything to do with both projects, which thus far CTA is doing
