Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias
You seem to think that the Central Area won't continue being built out. Regardless of where the center of mass for offices are, there will be (already is, really) a need to get people quickly and easily from the West Loop to the East Loop, North Michigan and the South Loop. Currently, all those trips are less than ideal, and forcing transit to stick to the middle just means the edges (the growth areas) lose out on good transit service. The solution isn't to try and force growth to only occur in the middle, it's to plan for and accommodate future growth. The 1968 plan correctly predicted Central Area growth in exactly the places it has occurred, it just didn't build the infrastructure to support that. Not building infrastructure is a dangerous way to try and constrain activity to certain areas.
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I agree with both of you. I would like to see future office construction split equally between the CBD (still many parking garages) and the West Loop, but we need to implement a long-term solution for East-West transfers. The CBD BRT is great in the interim, but I am hoping for a new subway line within three decades, especially once Lakeshore East is fully built out.
I was always intrigued with the plan to bury the elevated loop. It would certainly ease connections between all of the lines.
On another note, I am surprised no developer proposed adding a second office tower to Block 37. You have the blue and red line directly underneath the building. A hotel development does not make much sense to me.