Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
I'm gonna ask a somewhat obvious question (or maybe not).
Do y'all think that transit improvements should serve existing development, or dictate new development in low-density areas?
Compare, say, the Carroll Transitway with the Circle Line.
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No offense, but the Circle Line is a poor example. It will serve both some existing fairly high-density areas (Wicker Park, Ukranian Villiage, Pilsen) as well as some areas that are increasing fairly rapidly in density (the area around the United Center, the Medical Campus), and make it more possible to help spread the density around. Additionally, the areas served by the Circle Line are going to become more dense over the next 20 years even if we don't build the Circle Line. Rather than myopically only building in the (now even more expensive to build in) dense areas, building in areas that have the inertia to become dense is important. 40 years ago, it was proposed to build a subway from the West Loop to Streeterville and also branching south to McCormick Place through what is now the Central Station area. At the time, most of those places had moderate and/or decreasing density, but planners saw that those areas would become very dense in the future. Unfortunately, they chickened out. Well, what happened in the last 40 years? Where is our biggest need for a rail line?
You already mentioned it - from the West Loop to Streeterville/Gold Coast, followed closely by a line from Streeterville/Gold Coast to the McCormick Place area. Given the density already in those areas and scheduled to continue, not building the original Central Area Distributor subway (under Monroe from the West Loop to Grant Park and then north around the Watertower and South to McCormick) was <I>stupid</I> and short-sighted. Not building it now is because it would cost 5 times as much, but not building the Circle Line would be equally stupid. Chicago needs both.
The better example is the stupid billion-dollar Star Line.
The biggest problem with Chicago transit today, though, is the refusal of the city to force high-density development within 3/8 of a mile of all existing "L" stops. If they did that, not only would it help all areas economically with "L" lines, but it would dramatically increase "L" ridership.