Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Downtown
I’ve been pointing out for years that RLE is an incredibly bad transit investment, with a cost per new rider that must be approaching $100 ($6 was historically the general FTA threshold for worthwhile projects). Transit should be put where there’s density (of residents or jobs). Not where it’s cheap; or to pay political debts.
The core of the problem is that the Red Line Extension runs through an empty area. Fewer than 2000 people—total—live within a quarter-mile walk of all 4 RLE stops combined. The entire last mile runs through sludge drying beds and a sewage treatment plant. The entire Riverdale Community Area has fewer than 2500 households.
Every single household within a mile of the new terminal (about 3000 households) could be built a new $300,000 home within walking distance of an existing Green Line station for less than half the cost of this boondoggle—and the Red Line wouldn't thereafter be wasting countless service hours running empty trains back and forth to the forest preserve.
|
As I remember the original Red Ahead plan, the goal was to increase capacity on the Red/Brown/Purple lines by 50%. This would be done as follows:
1. The Belmont flyover would allow the number of trains running in each direction on the north-side mainline to increase from 44 per hour (22 on each track) to 56 per hour (28 on each track).
2. Longer term, the number of cars on each train would increase from 8 to 10 on the Red line and from 6 to 8 on the Purple line.
The Howard, Kimball and 98th St yards are already full and Orange line trains are currently being sent to the Brown during peak times. So a 50% increase in Red/Purple/Brown capacity would require a new large train yard and 130th St was selected as the best place to put the yard.
Now, the Belmont flyover is close to completion and I assume will me its goal.
I don’t know about plans to increase the length of the trains. Are the new Lawrence – Bryn Mawr Stations being built to handle 10 car trains? If they are, then the City's plans are on track and we need the new yard at 130th St.