Chicago Red Line Extension Moves Forward as Some Push Cheaper Alternative

[marmar]

from the Transport Politic blog:


Last week, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced that it had received $285,000 in planning money from the federal government to pursue a draft environmental impact study on the extension of the Red Line rapid transit corridor south to 130th Street. The agency says that this project, which will bring rail transit service to the city’s southeastern border, is its top priority.

Inhabitants of the city’s far South Side have for years complained that they are left out of the rapid transit system, which was extended along the Dan Ryan Expressway to 95th Street in 1969. Their community is the city’s poorest but residents suffer from long travel times to reach the Loop downtown. Decades of plans have suggested lengthening the route further south, but to no avail; in recent years, the CTA has primarily focused its capital funds on the renovation of the older parts of its network.

Nonetheless, with most of the system upgraded to at least workable standards, the CTA is now promoting a 5.8-mile, $1.4 billion extension of its network, designed specifically to ensure rapid and transfer-free travel from the city center to its southern edge. This Red Line scheme, in addition to further extensions of the Yellow and Orange Lines, has been in planning for several years. Yet the high price of the project, combined with the existence of substantial transit infrastructure already in place in the area, suggests there may be other options.

Some local advocates and a taxpayers’ group argue that the conversion of an existing commuter rail line into rapid transit could be pursued at a cheaper price and provide many of the same benefits. They last made their appearance last summer when they were pushing for transit improvements to coincide with Chicago’s Olympics bid. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/10/04/chicago-red-line-extension-moves-forward-as-some-push-cheaper-alternative/

[nxylas]

1. Is the "taxpayer group' linked to Wendell Cox in any way, shape or form?

Just a wild stab in the dark, there.