View Single Post
  #9241  
Old Posted May 30, 2012, 8:18 AM
ardecila's Avatar
ardecila ardecila is offline
TL;DR
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: the city o'wind
Posts: 16,356
Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias View Post
I don't think you should put that under North Ave - there's very little office space up there, and commuter rail is not the kind of enhanced transit service that Lincoln Park needs anyway.
North/Clybourn has serious potential as an office/residential node, while Lincoln Park (the park itself, plus beaches) is a popular destination for people around the region. As you note, though, a Chicago routing might have equal ridership potential with less tunneling.

Quote:
There's also virtually zero benefit to run the southwest line along Ogden and Polk like that. Keep it on the existing tracks. Add a connection to the Pink Line, build the Circle LIne, increase frequency and make all trains stop at the Halsted station and you add a lot of benefit without having to do expensive and disruptive work just to get to the medical center.
Wait... building two stations and a tunnel through the Medical District is disruptive, but building the Circle Line isn't? I was envisioning the regional-rail system as a more flexible, less-costly replacement for several CTA expansions, including the Circle Line. Northsiders would get one-seat-ride access to the IMD via regional rail; they'd just have to ride Metra to get it. A less costly option might be to use the extra space in the Eisenhower median, but this is much less convenient as well, since most of the jobs are 1/2-mile south.

Quote:
You also don't have any cross-Loop connections, and not a single station in the Loop. I think both of those ommissions are less than ideal.
The transfers at Clybourn and South Loop obviate most of the need for cross-Loop connections. Two lines run through the West Loop (via Union) because that's where most jobs are, while East Loop-bound pax can make a quick transfer to the third line. I figured any kind of Loop tunneling would be complex and insanely expensive, especially the large-diameter tunnels used for regional-rail systems. Streeterville/Water Tower have the same problem, but since they currently have no rail transit, the expense is worth it.

People coming from O'Hare on the MD-W or from Aurora on the BNSF would not have the option of transfering, so cross-Loop is still needed in some form - this is perhaps a better job for a CTA expansion (bus subway?) As I noted above, the locus of jobs has been moving steadily towards the West Loop for years now, so cross-Loop is becoming less of a concern.
__________________
la forme d'une ville change plus vite, hélas! que le coeur d'un mortel...

Last edited by ardecila; May 30, 2012 at 8:44 AM.
Reply With Quote