CHICAGO: Transit Developments

[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,6424065.story

Plans under way to add Skokie Swift stop at Oakton, possibly in Evanston too
Ground to be broken next year for Oakton Street station
By Emily S. Achenbaum | Chicago Tribune reporter
11:01 PM CDT, August 14, 2008


........The plans are for adding up to two new stops on the line, better known as the Skokie Swift. Officials at the Chicago Transit Authority also are deciding whether to make permanent the weekend service, which began on a trial basis in late March.

A new stop already has been approved for Oakton Street in downtown Skokie. Village officials plan to meet Aug. 27 to review a design for the station. Village spokeswoman Ann Tennes said if the design is approved, details will be finalized by the end of this year and ground will be broken sometime next year. Tennes said an opening date for the station hasn't been set.

A second new stop is in the talking stages for Evanston. Public Works director John Burke recently announced the state's Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Committee had included a proposed study of a stop there on a list of projects to receive federal funding next year. In a statement, Burkesaid the city seeks a $220,000 federal grant to decide the best location for a stop on Evanston's south side, possibly at Ridge, Asbury or Dodge Avenues............

click on link for rest of story

[doggdetroit]

I may be off in my estimates, but the cost of constructing 4 brand new train lines in Chicago (assuming they would be some form of subway) depending on the length, would cost somewhere in the ballpark of 20-30 billion. Remember this is the United States not China.

Picking 4 lines that have been mentioned and their estimated cost:

brown line to jefferson park, would be relatively affordable, yet expensive despite the short length needed to connect the brown and blue, since it would have to be a subway, 1-2 billion

circle line in its current incarnation, would could 5 billion or so? (I think that's what I remember hearing)

mid city transit line, although not a subway, because of its length would be another 5 billion (I remember hearing that it would be roughly the same amount as the circle line)

north shore subway from millenium park through gold coast, lincoln park, ending in lakeview / uptown, probably close to 10 billion

maybe i'm off on some of these estimates, but doing anything close to what Beijing did or is doing, would be a very pricey ordeal.

[nomarandlee]

I think those cost estimates are too high as these are not full built out subway lines.

The Brown line extension would be roughly 2.5 miles. Not sure if building elevated over Lawrence would be a realistic option or not.

Depending on the routes and track used the circle line would need is between 2-2.5 miles between Green Line/Ashland and Red/North Ave. The rest is mostly utilization already built infrastructure.

Mid-City transit line is very long but considering its adjacent to a railroad embankment not overly expensive on a per mile basis. A lot would depend on what kind of transit is implemented and if a truckway would be part of it.

northshore subway - cost prohibitive

[jvalente]

Wow! A northshore subway! That would be awesome! Finally I'd be able to get to some places in streeterville using the train. It's such a pain waiting for the bus up there. But are people still building subways in this country? I mean, I know NY is, but that's NY. Haven't people in this country decided that subways were too expensive?

[Abner]

The Circle Line would also need an elevated connection running south from the Pink Line to the Orange Line, and possibly from Orange to Red although I don't think there's much reason to do that.

If those cost estimates are in the right ballpark, it sure shows the high cost of subway construction--similar costs between two or three miles of subway + a mile of elevated for the Circle Line and something like 20 miles along an existing embankment for Mid-City!

[Busy Bee]

A reminder of what we are talking about. While I'm leaning towards something that looks more like b. they could have gone a lot further in my opinion. The forward looking face of the car looks grafted onto a 15 year old 3200 series ribbed body style, lending it a confused split personality. Also, while I know that these designs are preliminary, I don't care for the blue. A much smarter scheme would be a platinum/charcoal palette ala the 2000 series.–––––––––––––––––––>


a. b.



Honestly with a few cosmetic modifications, this looks like a car that could be delivered tomorrow, sans the articulated doors of course. Too bad Pullman isn't around anymore. Can we get a multi-millionaire to restart this once great American railcar manufacturer? ––––––––––––––––––––>

[Mr Downtown]

I suppose a lot depends on your opinion of fluted stainless, but I always thought the 2000s aged the most rapidly of any series, mostly because of the endcap design. Of course, if they had been able to treat the traindoors differently, it could have been fairly timeless.

[Via Chicago]

Orange Line to Ford City gains steam

A longtime Chicago Transit Authority project begins to leave the station next week.

The CTA will host a hearing Tuesday on the proposed Orange Line extension from Midway Airport to the Ford City Mall. The hearing starts at 6 p.m. inside the mall's main entrance at 7601 S. Cicero Ave.

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/11...orange.article

I can not think of a singles LESS important project that this one. Talk about bridges to nowhere..

[Marcu]

^ I have no clue where Ford City even is. Is it the Old Orchard of the SW side? If so, it can at least serve as a connector to an employment center. Also, Mike Madigan (IL House Speaker) is from the Midway area and since all pork goes through the House Speaker, he gets the first take.

[schwerve]

ford city was the original planned terminus of the orange line, its a large commercial center on the southwest side. its a good and needed extension, while you could make arguments that there are more important needs, this is far from a bridge to nowhere. I still think they need to use this extension add a further leg to toyota park and the new retail/entertainment node that is developing around the park, but that's a different discussion.

[VivaLFuego]

Yeah. 50% of activity on the Orange Line is already at the last two stations. The Orange extension would serve the following purposes:

1. Improve reverse commute due to the major employment district along Cicero between 75th and 83rd.
2. Enhance the accessibility of rapid transit service via feeder buses.
3. Greatly expand the Park n Ride capacity. The lots at Midway and Pulaski stations are filled by 7:00-7:30am every weekday morning.
4. Provide an option for southwest siders and near-southwest suburbanites to get downtown on weekends or late night, when the Metra SWS doesn't run. This is a minor benefit and mostly useful for special events.
5. Serve a rather high number of transit-dependent riders (not as high as the Red extension, though).

Of the three extensions (R/O/Y), I think this one would have the most immediate benefit. It would already serve Ford City if there had been enough money back in the late 80s to build it that far. The Red extension would improve service to an area with high transit dependency and low density, meaning the net impact on system revenue/ridership is rather neutral. The Yellow extension serves another significant employment sector, but that area is so non-transit-dependent that it will take some time for development and trip patterns to make full use of the new service.

There's also a simple question of time-distance here. The Orange extension terminus is best positioned out of all the three to provide an excellent option for commuting to downtown (commute trips being the bread and butter of transit ridership). A Yellow extension would not provide an attractive commute option to the Loop, nor would the Red at 130th. Both commuters would have more attractive (i.e. faster) Metra options; a large parking garage could be built at 130th but then you're still talking a ~40-45 minute ride into the loop, versus about 30 minutes from Ford City.

If you factor in political and social justice considerations, Red is the obvious priority for corridor transit improvements, but from a dispassionate system operational standpoint I think Orange comes out on top. Then of course there are the cost/benefit ratio measurements, where Yellow might be a sleeper hit since it doesn't require immense bridges, trenches, or other elevated structures, unlike the other two; just one tricky grade separation at Dempster.

[honte]

^ One last benefit that you forgot to mention: Everyone will know where Ford City is...

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/11...orange.article

I can not think of a singles LESS important project that this one. Talk about bridges to nowhere..

Originally Posted by Marcu

^ I have no clue where Ford City even is. Is it the Old Orchard of the SW side? If so, it can at least serve as a connector to an employment center. Also, Mike Madigan (IL House Speaker) is from the Midway area and since all pork goes through the House Speaker, he gets the first take.

^ What's wrong with you people? I don't even live in Chicago and I've been to the Ford City area twice, along with staying at the Bedford Park hotel area three times.

I know this is cheesy, but I LOVE that little Bedford Park hotel complex immensely. You can walk to places like Friday's (or is it Applebee's) or cross the Cicero Ave gutter to eat at a little strip mall that has a decent Mexican stand, Chicago style hot dog place, and a few other grub spots. It's "outskirts of the city hotel-urbia" at its best. Oh, and don't forget the free 24-hr shuttles between those hotels and Midway, where you can catch the Orange line into the city.

Obviously this part of town doesn't have the kind of urban density that we all wet our pants over, but as Viva said with the Orange Line extension I can see a hell of a lot of improvements in an already vibrant area. This is truly great news, especially with the news that construction may be 2 years away.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/11...orange.article

I can not think of a singles LESS important project that this one. Talk about bridges to nowhere..

Have you even been to the Ford City area? It's not my first choice, necessarily, but I think an Orange Line extension there holds considerable value if for no other reason than it builds a little more of what could, hopefully, become the Mid-City Transitway.

[Chicago Shawn]

"There is a real need to find more ways to get people in the south suburbs and southwest suburbs on public transportation into the city," Lipinski said. "Down the line, the question should be where do we go from Ford City."


I think we should push Lipinski to see if we can lock in some olympic related funding to take this line out to Toyota Park. That huge lot just screems massive park n' ride and/or "very remote airport parking" outside of soccer season. The lot just sits there unused half the year. There is a ComEd ROW running between Ford City and Toyota Park, so an extension would require no additional property to purchase, just lay the tracks and an underpass below Cicero and Harlem.


Ford City also has a fairly dense residential complex right next to it, with one of Chicago's most remote high-rises: http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=...chicago-il-usa

[schwerve]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

I think we should push Lipinski to see if we can lock in some olympic related funding to take this line out to Toyota Park. That huge lot just screems massive park n' ride and/or "very remote airport parking" outside of soccer season. The lot just sits there unused half the year. There is a ComEd ROW running between Ford City and Toyota Park, so an extension would require no additional property to purchase, just lay the tracks and an underpass below Cicero and Harlem.

i completely agree, with toyota park, a brand new water park, new bars/restaurants that's a spot that would thrive with a direct connection to the cta.

[hoosier]

NW Indiana needs some help in the transit department. The center of population has shifted south from Gary and Hammond so re-starting the old Valpo-Chicago Amtrak route, this time as commuter rail would open up mass transit to many more people.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by hoosier

NW Indiana needs some help in the transit department. The center of population has shifted south from Gary and Hammond so re-starting the old Valpo-Chicago Amtrak route, this time as commuter rail would open up mass transit to many more people.

^ That brings up an interesting question. Should transit follow people or should people follow transit?

For the most part, it looks more like the former has been true in Chicagoland (Metra "chasing" people as they move further and further out into the suburbs), but with the rising cost of constructing & expanding rail lines in America, I wonder how long this can be kept up.

[hoosier]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ That brings up an interesting question. Should transit follow people or should people follow transit?

For the most part, it looks more like the former has been true in Chicagoland (Metra "chasing" people as they move further and further out into the suburbs), but with the rising cost of constructing & expanding rail lines in America, I wonder how long this can be kept up.

That is a good question. Roads definitely follow people. The South Shore Line has seen a surge in ridership but for a lot of NW Indiana residents, is too far away to be used. There is a lot of commercial development along U.S. 30 that I think could benefit from re-kindling the old Amtrak route.

Either way, build or no-build, people are moving out further and further south of Gary, so the question for me is, do we give them more travel options?

[schwerve]

Originally Posted by hoosier

NW Indiana needs some help in the transit department. The center of population has shifted south from Gary and Hammond so re-starting the old Valpo-Chicago Amtrak route, this time as commuter rail would open up mass transit to many more people.

http://www.nictd-wlc.com/