Chicago Transit Authority YELLOW LINE EXTENSION ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS STUDY SCREEN 1 BOARDS BOARD: FTA’S REQUIRED NEW START PROCESS Flow chart of the New Start Process: Concept Development, Alternatives Analysis Study (present stage), Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Impact Statement, Final Design, Construction, then Operation. BOARD: Purpose and Need -- Transportation Needs * Enhance access to the concentration of institutional, employment and retail activity in the Old Orchard Road area * Leverage existing transit infrastructure to provide locally oriented rapid transit service * Support local land use and development goals * Alleviate traffic congestion due to expected growth in Skokie population and employment -- Opportunity for Improvement * Extend rapid transit service north from Dempster Street Yellow Line Terminal * Improve access to, within, and beyond study area * Support economic development and job opportunities * Shorten transit travel times through faster and more direct routing BOARD: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION Community participation is one of the key components of the alternative analysis -- Community Outreach * General Public * Elected and Appointed Officials * Community and Civic Organizations * Local and State Agencies -- Ongoing Public Involvement / Input * Meetings announced through public notices and advertisements * Project updates on the CTA web site: www.transitchicago.com. Accessible at local libraries BOARD ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS PROCESS Flow chart 1 illustrates the process of examining a universe of alternatives, application of evaluation criteria, and narrowing options during the Alternatives Analysis Process to arrive at a Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). Throughout the process, there is public involvement. Flow Chart 2 illustrates the Screen 1 process. Eleven technologies are added with four corridors and four profiles to obtain the universe of technologies, which includes 178 combinations including the no-build and the transportation system management alternative. The eleven technologies listed are Automated Guideway/Monorail, Bus Rapid Transit, Commuter Bus, Commuter Rail, Heavy Rail Transit, High Speed Rail, Light Rail Transit, Local Bus, MagLev, Personal Rapid Transit, and Streetcar. The four corridors listed are Edens Expressway, Union Pacific Railroad, Gross Point Road / Skokie Boulevard, Skokie Boulevard The four profiles listed are elevated, at-grade, trench, and underground. BOARD: TECHNOLOGIES EVALUATED Automated Guideway/Monorail Service area: airports, theme parks, circulars, ½ to 5 miles Typical Speeds: 30 miles per hour Station Spacing: ½ to 2 miles Picture: Example of a Monorail Bus Rapid Transit Service area: urban and suburbs uses, 1 to 10 miles or more Typical Speeds: 15 to 25 miles per hour Station Spacing: ¼ to 1 mile or at end points Picture: Bus Rapid Transit vehicle Commuter Bus Service area: suburbs to city, 15 to 100 miles Typical Speeds: 30 to 50 miles per hour Station Spacing: 3 to 7 miles or at end points Picture: Commuter Bus vehicle Commuter Rail Service area: suburbs to city, 15 to 100 miles Typical Speeds: 30 to 50 miles per hour Station Spacing: 3 to 7 miles Picture: Commuter Rail train BOARD: TECHNOLOGIES EVALUATED Heavy Rail Service area: Urban uses and loadings, 1 to 10 miles or more Typical Speeds: 25 to 40 miles per hour Station Spacing: ¼ mile downtown, up to 2 miles in neighborhoods Picture: Heavy Rail train car High Speed Rail Service area: Intercity, 150 to 300 miles Typical Speeds: 110 to 186 miles per hour Station Spacing: 20 to 50 miles Picture: High Speed train Light Rail Service area: Urban or suburban uses, 1 to 10 miles or more Typical Speeds: 15 to 25 miles per hour Station Spacing: ¼ to 1 miles Picture: Light Rail train Local Bus Service area: Urban or suburban uses, ½ to 5 miles Typical Speeds: 10 miles per hour Station Spacing: 2 to 4 blocks Picture CTA bus as an example of a local bus BOARD: TECHNOLOGIES EVALUATED MagLev Service area: Intercity, 100 to 300 miles Typical Speeds: 250 to 340 miles per hour Station Spacing: 20 to 50 miles Picture: MagLev train Personal Rapid Transit Service area: Small area networks or campuses, 1 to 5 miles Typical Speeds: 15 miles per hour Station Spacing: ¼ to 1 mile Picture: Personal Rapid Transit train Streetcar Service area: Urban and suburban streets, ½ to 6 miles Typical Speeds: 10 miles per hour Station Spacing: 2 to 4 blocks Picture: streetcar BOARD: STUDY AREA Map: Yellow Line Extension Alternatives Analysis Study Area with the boundaries of Dempster Street to the south, Old Orchard Road to the north, Skokie Boulevard to the east and Central Avenue/Harms Road to the west. At the southern boundary of the map is the Skokie / Dempster Street Yellow Line terminus. The map also illustrates CTA and PACE bus routes in the study area. The following CTA or PACE bus routes currently connect with CTA Yellow Line trains at Dempster Street: 54A, 97, 250, and 626. The following CTA or PACE bus routes currently service Old Orchard Mall: 54A, 97, 201, 205, 208, and 422. BOARD: CORRIDORS EVALUATED Maps of each corridor Identified: Edens Expressway, Union Pacific Railroad, Gross Point Road / Skokie Boulevard, Skokie Boulevard -- Map of the Edens Expressway Corridor. The corridor begins in the south at the Dempster Street Yellow Line Station. If then follows Dempster Street west to the Edens Expressway. It continues north along the Edens Expressway to its northern terminus at Old Orchard Road. -- Map of the Union Pacific Railroad Corridor: This corridor begins at the Dempster Street Yellow Line Station and continues north along the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way. Near the Edens Expressway, it offers an east or west possible alignment and location for the terminal station at Old Orchard Road. The east option is near Niles North High School and Old Orchard Mall and the West option is near the Cook County Courthouse. -- Map of the Gross Point Road / Skokie Boulevard Corridor: This corridor begins at the Dempster Street Yellow Line Station. It follows the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way to Gross Point Road. At Gross Point Road, the corridor turns right and travels northeast on Gross Point Road to Skokie Boulevard. At Skokie Boulevard, the corridor turns left and continues north to Old Orchard Road and the Old Orchard Shopping Mall. -- Map of the Skokie Boulevard Corridor: This corridor begins at the Dempster Street Yellow Line Station. It travels east on Dempster Street to Skokie Boulevard where it turns left (north). At Skokie Boulevard, the corridor continues north to Old Orchard Road and the Old Orchard Shopping Mall. BOARD: PROFILES EVALUATED The four profiles listed are elevated, at-grade, trench, and underground. Each profile has a sample picture and cross section illustrating the profile in an urban mass transit environment. BOARD: STEP 1 -- TECHNOLOGY EVALUATED In a table format, each of the 11 technologies is evaluated based on its ability to meet the “measure of effectiveness” and then it is determined if it will advance for further screening. The effectiveness measures are: length of commute, typical station spacing, operating speed, and system applicability. Based on the analysis of the measures of effectiveness, the following technologies or modes of transportation will be advancing for further screening: Automated Guideway, Bus Rapid Transit, Heavy Rail Rapid Transit, and Light Rail Transit. BOARD: STEP 2 -- TECHNOLOGY AND PROFILE EVALUATION In a table format, the 4 technologies that moved forward from the last screening (Automated Guideway, Bus Rapid Transit, Heavy Rail Rapid Transit, and Light Rail Transit) are evaluated with each of the four profiles (Elevated, at-grade, trench, and underground). They are evaluated based on the following criteria: air quality, system capacity, travel time, compatibility, traffic, and project cost. Those combinations that rate positively will advance for further screening. Based on the analysis in this table, the following combinations of technologies and profiles will advance forward for further evaluation: * Bus Rapid Transit elevated * Bus Rapid Transit at-grade * Heavy Rail Transit at-grade * Heavy Rail Transit elevated * Heavy Rail Transit trench * Heavy Rail Transit underground BOARD: STEP 3 -- CORRIDOR EVALUATION In a table format, each of the four corridors (Edens Expressway, Union Pacific Railroad, Gross Point Road / Skokie Boulevard, Skokie Boulevard) ) are evaluated based on the following criteria – land use, neighborhood, under-served population, transit usage, and accessibility. Based on this analysis, the following corridors advanced forward for further evaluation: * Union Pacific Railroad * Gross Point Road / Skokie Boulevard * Skokie Boulevard BOARD: STEP 4 -- COMBINED EVALUATION In a table format, previously identified combinations of technologies and profiles from Step 2 are combined to each of the remaining three corridors from Step 3 to determine which are recommended to advance for detailed evaluation. BOARD: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS The following combinations of technologies, profiles, and corridors will advance to Screen 2 of the Alternatives Analysis process: * Bus Rapid Transit, at-grade, Union Pacific Railroad corridor * Bus Rapid Transit, at-grade, Gross Point Road / Skokie Boulevard corridor * Heavy Rail Transit, elevated, at-grade and trench, Union Pacific Railroad corridor