Red Line Extension

CTA set to expand south

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010 ... south.html

Call me confused... This article states the neighborhood residents have a two-hour ride to get downtown and train service is desperately needed. Isn't Metra Electric (main), Metra Electric (BI Branch), Metra RI(main), and Metra RI(suburban branch) right in this area? I don't see the need to spend all this money when there is four lines withe frequent service to the area. One could make the case that this might be the BEST-served part of town rather than worst-served.

Tadman wrote:CTA set to expand south

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010 ... south.html

Call me confused... This article states the neighborhood residents have a two-hour ride to get downtown and train service is desperately needed. Isn't Metra Electric (main), Metra Electric (BI Branch), Metra RI(main), and Metra RI(suburban branch) right in this area? I don't see the need to spend all this money when there is four lines withe frequent service to the area. One could make the case that this might be the BEST-served part of town rather than worst-served.

Ah, but the price is $4 from Riverdale, $3.50 if one can get to Kensington from 130th St. CTA is $2.25 ... and even better on a reduced ride.

More details from the article:

Under the CTA's plans, four new stations would be built -- at 103rd, 111th, 116th and 130th streets -- mostly along the Union Pacific Railroad right of way. Two options are under review for the location of the 130th Street terminus.

The projected cost, in inflation-adjusted dollars, includes relocating the existing CTA rail yard that is beyond 95th Street to vacant land in the area of 120th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.

They should also build Chicago's largest park-n-ride so people can get off the freeway and onto CTA. The project is shifted west of where I remembered it ... through communities that Tadman rightfully points out are Metra served. The 2009 plans are available on the CTA website:
http://m.transitchicago.com/redeis/

I wonder what UP thinks of the plans to use thier ROW... these are also the same tracks that Metra plans to use for SouthEast Service. Metra and CTA also share the idea for a station at 115/116th Street.

metraRI wrote:I wonder what UP thinks of the plans to use thier ROW... these are also the same tracks that Metra plans to use for SouthEast Service. Metra and CTA also share the idea for a station at 115/116th Street.

Right, which makes this project somewhat redundant. And I'm still not convinced the ridership is really there; the only significant destination is the Altgeld Gardens housing complex in the vicinity of the proposed terminal at 130th, otherwise, what's the point? IMO, getting Metra's SES off the ground and running is a better and cheaper alternative, besides, funding will likely only be available for just one project anyway...

metraRI wrote:I wonder what UP thinks of the plans to use thier ROW... these are also the same tracks that Metra plans to use for SouthEast Service. Metra and CTA also share the idea for a station at 115/116th Street.

The only way this could work is similar to the Orange Line or the West Line where UP would abandon part of the ROW to allow construction of new track & station. There is no way for the CTA to run on freight track. I'd need to see a more detailed ROW report where the track could be built on an existing elevated structure. Otherwise you are talking about building a new elevated structure. There may be some cost info on the Orange Line that could be updated for 2010 price levels.

GWoodle wrote:

metraRI wrote:I wonder what UP thinks of the plans to use thier ROW... these are also the same tracks that Metra plans to use for SouthEast Service. Metra and CTA also share the idea for a station at 115/116th Street.

The only way this could work is similar to the Orange Line or the West Line where UP would abandon part of the ROW to allow construction of new track & station. There is no way for the CTA to run on freight track. I'd need to see a more detailed ROW report where the track could be built on an existing elevated structure. Otherwise you are talking about building a new elevated structure. There may be some cost info on the Orange Line that could be updated for 2010 price levels.

Think ALONG the UP ROW, not where their track exists. The Google Earth photos were updated as of July 2010 so one can do their own survey along the line (although property lines are not shown). The UP line is double track through that portion of Chicago, with enough space next to it that the red line could be built on either side (depending on what buildings one wants to tear down in the few locations where buildings are present). Based on the presence of buildings it appears that UP only has enough ROW there for two tracks (and a mow truck path in most places). Has the line ever been more than two tracks there?

Just south of 116th St the UP line climbs up and over the Metra line ... which is already above grade level. Driving under the bridges on Indiana and Prairie Avenues west of the Metra line the UP line seem to be a long way up. In that area it would be extremely expensive to shift the UP line. It would certainly be a new elevated structure for the red line along there, also high enough to clear the Metra and CN lines.

Evidently they're still quite serious about this extension of the Red Line to "disadvantaged" neighborhoods. Those would be the neighborhoods on this map here bounded by Metra Electric, Metra Electric Blue Island branch, Metra Rock Island District, and the south end of the Red Line currently.
http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ ... 00806S.htm

I don't argue that those neighborhoods need help, and I think public transit is a great way to help neighborhoods in need. But there are other parts of the city that are just as troubled with far less transit options, like the neighborhoods in the triangle between the Orange Line, Red Lines, and 55th, or the neighborhoods in the triangle between the O'Hare Blue Line, the Harlem Green Line, and Harlem Road. Are the priorities right? Does that matter here? (if you can't answer the second question you're from out of town...)

Tadman wrote:I don't argue that those neighborhoods need help, and I think public transit is a great way to help neighborhoods in need. But there are other parts of the city that are just as troubled with far less transit options, like the neighborhoods in the triangle between the Orange Line, Red Lines, and 55th, or the neighborhoods in the triangle between the O'Hare Blue Line, the Harlem Green Line, and Harlem Road. Are the priorities right? Does that matter here? (if you can't answer the second question you're from out of town...)

In the latter case, this area actually did have better public transportation service at one time, buses on North Ave., Chicago Ave., and Central Ave. ran 24 hours, and there was much more service at the Hanson Park station on MD-W, especially in its days under legacy ownership. Neighborhoods in the Blue/Green/Harlem triangle haven't been perpetually underserved like other areas of the city, but it has become so nowadays due to the gradual service Metra and CTA service cutbacks over the years, as well as traffic improvements by the city that has come at the expense of diminishing public transportation options, like grade separating busy streets that result in the isolation of CTA and Metra service in areas that once provided a convenient transfer between the two. While it's probably not practical to undo some of these changes, rolling back some of the service cuts would be a start, and beefing up Metra service at Grand/Cicero wouldn't hurt either, but unfortunately Tad, I agree: It's just not a priority right now...

For whats its worth I'm for the red line extension project just there implementation in my vision is a bit shot sighted. Im more inclined to believe that this project is intended to make up for neglecting the far south side for far to long. Fact is that the CTA has rail lines to the north and west of the city ( blue, yellow, and purple ) that extends to the cities limits and beyond its barriers. You only have to ask yourself does the south side not deserve the same or at least comparable? The red line extension Is far overdue, however this would have made perfect sense in my opinion back in the late 80s early 90s when the population was still there. IMO I do believe there trying to bring back the suburbanites from the south and southwest burbs to ride CTA by extending it to 130th st. instead of Metra. Can you imagine if there was no yellow or purple line? I honestly don't see any of those north shore suburbanites taking a bus to catch a CTA train @ Howard street, they would all migrate to Metra instead. ( If you never caught A CTA train at Howard st. then you have no idea why I say that).

Tadman with the south triangle I agree there should be another option as space is permissible, 55th is not as bad with the overflow of riders as it use to be however Western is, was and will remain a mess. Green line could be extended up to the freight ROW ( just cant remember who's it is at the moment) that parallels Western ave and travel from 63rd down to 79th ( to ease congestion of the 79th and western bus terminal) or down to 87th and follow the old freight ROW into the Dan Ryan woods that is now the Major Taylor Trail. the north side triangle well is a bit more tricky in my opinion as that area is a lot more population dense with less ROW access, unless your going to build a new "L" ROW along the Metra MD-W route then branch it off after the Galewood stop and take the old branch line that would end new "L" line behind the Brickyard Mall. that just my opinion.

PS... for those who don't know I grew up all over the south side and south burbs.