Chicago Transit Authority RED 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 * Significant Bus and Passenger Congestion at 95th Street Red Line Station * Lengthy Bus Trips to Access 95th Street Red Line Station * Far South Area Residents Experience 20% Longer Commute Times than Rest of City * Traffic Congestion is expected to grow along with Study Area Population and Employment -- Opportunity for Improvement * Extend rapid transit service south from 95th Street Red Line Station * 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 * Faith-based Organizations * 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 nine corridors and four profiles to obtain the universe of technologies, which includes 398 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 nine corridors listed are I-57 Expressway, Halsted Street, Union Pacific Railroad, Wentworth Avenue, State Street, Michigan Avenue, King Drive, Cottage Grove Avenue / Metric Electric, I-94 Bishop Ford Freeway 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: A map which displays the study area with existing CTA rail service and bus routes, Pace bus routes, and the terminus of the Red Line at 95th Street. The study area is bounded by 95th Street to the north, the Cal-Sag Channel/Little Calumet River and 134th Street to the south, Stony Island Avenue to the east, and Ashland Avenue to the west. The following CTA or PACE bus routes currently connect with CTA Red Line trains at 95th Street: 8A, 29, 34, 95E, 95W, 103, 106, 108, 111, 112, 119, 352, 353, 359, and 381 BOARD: CORRIDORS EVALUATED Map of the I-57 Expressway Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It continues along the I-57 right-of-way to a new terminus at 127th Street. Map of the Halsted Street Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It follows I-57 southwest to Halsted Street. The corridor joins Halsted Street and extends south to the intersection of Halsted and Vermont Streets. Map of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It follows I-57 southwest to the UPRR right-of-way. It joins the UPRR right-of-way, following it until about 120th Street, then continuing south to 130th Street near the intersection of I-94. BOARD: CORRIDORS EVALUATED Map of the Wentworth Avenue Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It briefly follows I-57 southwest to Wentworth Avenue, where it turns onto that street. It follows Wentworth Avenue south to a new terminus at 127th Street. Map of the State Street Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It continues straight south from 95th Street along State Street to 127th Street. Map of the Michigan Avenue Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It briefly follows I-94 southeast to Michigan Avenue. It turns onto Michigan Avenue, following it until the southern terminus at 127th Street. BOARD: CORRIDORS EVALUATED Map of the King Drive Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It heads east on 95th Street to King Drive. It turns right and heads south on King Drive to the southern terminus at 130th Street. Map of the Cottage Grove / Metra Electric Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street. It heads east along I-94 to Cottage Grove Avenue. At Cottage Grove Avenue, the corridor turns south. At approximately 117th Street, the corridor leaves Cottage Grove to use the Metra Electric right-of-way. It continues south along the Metra Electric to 130th Street. Map of the I-94 Bishop Ford Freeway Corridor. The corridor begins at the Red Line terminal station at 95th Street and continues south / southeast along the I-94 Bishop Ford Freeway right-of-way. The corridor southern terminus is near the intersection of 130th Street. 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 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 advance 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, 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 nine corridors (I-57 Expressway, Halsted Street, Union Pacific Railroad, Wentworth Avenue, State Street, Michigan Avenue, King Drive, Cottage Grove Avenue / Metric Electric, I-94 Bishop Ford Freeway) are evaluated based on the following criteria – land use, neighborhood, under-served population, transit usage, and accessibility. Based on the analysis, the following corridors advanced for further evaluation: * Union Pacific Railroad * Halsted Street * Michigan Avenue 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, Halsted Street corridor * Bus Rapid Transit, at-grade, Michigan Avenue corridor * Heavy Rail Transit, elevated and underground, Halsted Street corridor * Heavy Rail Transit, elevated and trench, Union Pacific Railroad corridor * Heavy Rail Transit, elevated and underground, Michigan Avenue corridor