Why does the Brown Line stop west at Kimball? (Chicago: living, price)

[jojopuppyfish]

I've lived in Chicago/Lincoln Square about 1 yr now, and living next to the Western Brown line, I've been curious why it stops at Kimball?
Has the CTA ever considered building a 2 mile extension west to Jefferson Park on the Blue line?
And if I may be so bold, why not have a brown line from Ohare. From the airport, a Brown line could run express from the airport to Jefferson Park, then it would hit the regular brown line stops.
Someone else on the internet suggest a different plan:
From the Red line at Lawrence, build a subway line going west to Jefferson that uses part of that brown line right of way then would become subway after Kimball to Jefferson Park.
Maybe these are pie in the sky ideas, but they would all make the brown line more efficient.
Any thoughts? Has the CTA ever studied ideas similar to this?

[oakparkdude]

These are great idea, but as you've probably noticed, the CTA isn't overflowing with excess capital funds. These idea would probably cost over $10 billion. Its a drop in the bucket compared to what we're spending in Iraq, but for public transit its an almost impossibly large amount of money.

[andrew61]

Sukwoo nailed it. Right now it's all the CTA can do to maintain what they already have.

[jojopuppyfish]

I agree.....although I guess I was originally surprised that the brownline stopped at kimball in the first place. It in a middle of nowhere.
I think a subway from kimball to Jefferson, which is about 2 miles, would cost around $400 million. The other options I suggested might cost around 1-2 billion.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

There are a million things we wish would happen with the CTA. A few years ago, someone made this: Gapers Block: Detour - A CTA Map for 2055

It's a CTA map for 2055, and it's all pretty interesting. Maybe if fuel cost continue to climb and the city grows in population and revenue, it'll happen.

[Johnny Northside]

A long time ago, the CTA had ambitious plans such as this. The 1939 subway extension plan included a line under Belmont Avenue all the way to Oak Park Avenue. Another line west from Humboldt Park (an actual spur of what's now the Blue Line) to North and Central. A southward extension of the Brown Line along Wood and Ashland, meeting the Blue Line at Division. A map of these plans are available at the same website referenced in the Gapers Block article: http://www.chicago-l.org/plans/images/1939subways.jpg

Within 10-15 years, the CTA was instead rolling back its rapid transit lines from places like Westchester.

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by CarolinaBredChicagoan

There are a million things we wish would happen with the CTA. A few years ago, someone made this: Gapers Block: Detour - A CTA Map for 2055

It's a CTA map for 2055, and it's all pretty interesting. Maybe if fuel cost continue to climb and the city grows in population and revenue, it'll happen.

aww, yes, we can dream, can't we?

[Avengerfire]

Getting the train over the Edens would cost a crapload of money alone and screw up the Edens for a long time.

I think if anything they should run non-stop express buses back and forth between Jefferson Park and Kimball once every hour in each direction.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by jojopuppyfish

I agree.....although I guess I was originally surprised that the brownline stopped at kimball in the first place. It in a middle of nowhere...

Well when they built it there was not much west of it but farms. O'Hare and the expressways did not exist back then.

They had plans to extend it west years and years ago but we know how that goes. Now it would cost way too much. You could build the Cicero North/South for the same price.

[oakparkdude]

Maybe when Obama wins he'll find some money to build transit. I'd love to see the Midcity transitway built in my lifetime.