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Old Posted Jan 29, 2022, 5:08 AM
twister244 twister244 is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Chicago
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
Well, assuming the city doesn't tap the brakes as some are now calling for (see editorial in Crain's last week).

The Loop has a huge volume of infrastructure serving it to enable all that density. Fulton Market has only 2 L stops on the Green/Pink Lines no less, no Metra access and no direct connections to the North Side except the traffic-choked and overcrowded Halsted/Ashland buses. If you want to drive, most of the intersections in Fulton Market are still 4-way or 2-way stops, no stoplights. They get overwhelmed and gridlocked with only moderate traffic levels.

Hard to see how this growth can continue much longer unless the city finds better ways to handle transportation in/out of the area. Covid gave them a headstart since all of those shiny offices are sitting unused, but I don't think the city will have anything at the end of the pandemic when workers come flooding back, except maybe some better gates at the Metra crossings. The Fulton streetscape was nice and certainly makes walking more pleasant in the neighborhood, but it's not gonna help tens or hundreds of thousands of people come and go daily.
In some ways, I see the concern, but in other ways... I feel like there are other parts of the city where it can feel even more disconnected. While the West Loop has two (or three) L stops, they get you to the loop very quickly. Plus, it takes two seconds to transfer to the Red/Blue lines from there. If they build a Metra stop nearby, that opens things up a bit to the suburbs. Also, the Kennedy is right smack dab there too. When I would go to Boystown this past Summer, I would just walk over to Halsted and take the bus. It was super easy and convenient.

Honestly, I felt more connected to the rest of the city than I do in East Lakeview where the only advantage I have is LSD being a block away if I want to shoot downtown in my car. I can get to downtown via the Brown/Red line, but it takes a 10-15 min walk along with several L stops. And the airport? That feels so far away given there's no direct route there without either a bus or Uber through a ton of traffic on Belmont. When I was in the West Loop, it was very easy to transfer to the Blue line and shoot out to O'Hare.

I get the concern about West Loop transit infrastructure, but it's in a great location geographically given the intersections of L's, buses that get you to the north side, along with the highways. Could be much much worse.....
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