NICTD - West Lake Corridor (Hammond, Munster: townhomes, neighborhood, buy)

[Northwest Indiana]

Safe to say that the project is going to be officially underway! In my short life, many projects that have been spoken about for literally decades have seen real action...the demolition of the Sheraton Hotel in Gary? Done...the demolition of the Munster Steel to make way for the Calumet/45 underpass? Done. And now securing the funding for the South Shore West Lake Corridor extension? DONE!

Pence signs state budget funding South Shore expansion

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Safe to say that the project is going to be officially underway! In my short life, many projects that have been spoken about for literally decades have seen real action..

It's definitely an exciting time to be in NWI!

[Northwest Indiana]

Gary just pledged 7.5% or $300,000 annually of their CEDIT funds...here is the article...

Gary commits to South Shore rail extension

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Gary just pledged 7.5% or $300,000 annually of their CEDIT funds...here is the article...

Gary commits to South Shore rail extension

Weren't Gary citizens and politicians against the funding?

[iidreamtheaterii]

What a horrible mislabel of the Headline of this article.

South Shore plan gets boost from Schererville

Boost? It's dropped 24% from the initial commitment. Schererville looks to gain a lot in terms of commutability being in the town next to the stop. Too bad they backed off of the initial 34% they originally committed to.

"We're being told there's a carrot out there for 20 percent, but we're not being told what it is," Councilman Jerry Tippy, R-2nd, said after a presentation in support of the project by state Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville.

Does that sound 'politically charged' to you? As in "I won't give 20% unless that carrot is worth it for us." It could simply be "show me how this benefits the town as much as you say it will." though.

Also, I thought this CEDIT money was already being utilized with the initial commitments for the past year. Are towns able to adjust this number every yearly budget?

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by iidreamtheaterii

What a horrible mislabel of the Headline of this article.

South Shore plan gets boost from Schererville

Boost? It's dropped 24% from the initial commitment. Schererville looks to gain a lot in terms of commutability being in the town next to the stop. Too bad they backed off of the initial 34% they originally committed to.

"We're being told there's a carrot out there for 20 percent, but we're not being told what it is," Councilman Jerry Tippy, R-2nd, said after a presentation in support of the project by state Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville.

Does that sound 'politically charged' to you? As in "I won't give 20% unless that carrot is worth it for us." It could simply be "show me how this benefits the town as much as you say it will." though.

Also, I thought this CEDIT money was already being utilized with the initial commitments for the past year. Are towns able to adjust this number every yearly budget?

That last part is a very good question. I thought that once the commitment was made, it was "locked in"...does anybody have more insight into how this will exactly work?

Also, I would say that the vast majority of residents in Schererville take 394 to Chicago when they go and would be passing in close proximity to the proposed Dyer station. The rest of the residents in the northwest section of town may take Indy Blvd or Calumet Ave and would be closer to the proposed Munster station. Schererville is the one town that does not have the station coming through that would probably benefit the most...and other towns who will not see any major benefits are donating more...interesting!

[Northwest Indiana]

Study zeros in on South Shore Munster station locations

Instead of Munster and Dyer each having a station, it seems like now, Dyer will have no station and Munster will have two stations - one at Ridge Rd & Manor Ave and another one at Columbia Ave & Main St (on the Munster-Dyer border)...this would have major traffic implications for those areas (especially the Manor Ave station as it would definitely draw residents from Highland, Lansing, and probably some of Griffith too; however, it would also have positive affects such as a serious boost in property values and stability of the town.

The Dyer Town Administrator seems to support this plan as he believes that the station on the border will serve town residents. However, while that station would probably be the obvious choice for residents in northern Dyer and northwest Schererville in the tri-town area, if I were a resident in the southern part of Dyer, the rest of Schererville, or St. John, I would probably be mad that Munster had two stations and Dyer got none. It is still better than driving to EC or Hammond, but still...Thoughts, anyone?

I would also wonder what this would mean for a future Dyer station if the extension went further south. Is there a possibility that Dyer could be skipped and a station would go to Saint John? I still think that with some property acquisition, a station at Rt. 30 would be great.

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Study zeros in on South Shore Munster station locations

Instead of Munster and Dyer each having a station, it seems like now, Dyer will have no station and Munster will have two stations - one at Ridge Rd & Manor Ave and another one at Columbia Ave & Main St (on the Munster-Dyer border)...this would have major traffic implications for those areas (especially the Manor Ave station as it would definitely draw residents from Highland, Lansing, and probably some of Griffith too; however, it would also have positive affects such as a serious boost in property values and stability of the town.

I would also wonder what this would mean for a future Dyer station if the extension went further south. Is there a possibility that Dyer could be skipped and a station would go to Saint John? I still think that with some property acquisition, a station at Rt. 30 would be great.

Putting in the infrastructure such as this would always have major traffic implications, however, that should be done in the study and planned accordingly. There's a huge potential to drastically improve the Munster side of Ridge Road in this area. Potentially, Lansing could have a big resurgence as well benefitting from a lot of commuters being so close to this potential station. The bigger houses on State Line could finally see a boost in their property values to get back to what they should be.

I'm a bit disappointed that Dyer wouldn't see the potential of having a MAJOR hub on Rt. 30. With so many commuters already using Rt. 30 to get to 394, a lot of the already normal commuters could instead take the South Shore now, keeping the trains packed (making $$) and sparking a lot of new development to beautify that stretch (also making $$). They're already on their way with taking the Railroad stop for CSX out of the annoyance with the overpass. The walking trail could connect into the area. This area could become a new hub of the town. There's a lot of commercial success over there already and possibility for more.

Main Street makes little sense to me to put a stop. Yes, IL has put in the road infrastructure from Joe Orr Road to make the connection (whenever Indiana figures out how to get the residents to see the value in that). But that area is in the middle of a subdivision and on the old downtown on Sheffield Ave.

Is the idea to try and revitalize Sheffield to be a modern commercial hub? I think that's a rather bold plan, especially with the town's lower income housing in this section. Sure, it COULD spark a movement to get some energy into this part of town, but why not sell to the major transportation hub that can support the flow of traffic. Being off the beaten path may actually hinder commuters from wanting to use it not being "in plain sight". Mind over Matter actually does matter with people.

[Northwest Indiana]

According to these plans, it appears as though almost half of Community Estates in Munster (that luckily, has not not had any homes built in the covered area) would be purchased if the layover plan was put through. I don't believe there is much opposition to this part of the project on Munster's end. It appears that the most opposition is to the layover yard and maintenance facility being put in Dyer. A layover yard would have much less negative impact than a maintenance facility but it would also have much less economic impact as well. If I were a Dyer resident and lived right by where the site is, I would probably be thinking "so we don't exactly get a station IN Dyer but we will get to look at a big maintenance building while Munster gets the nice polished station?" so I can understand some of the backlash. However, in Munster, the maintenance facility would mean that the station and parking lot would be pushed further north requiring almost all of Community Estates to be taken. The townhouse there are about $300k each and the new home built in that park about $500-600k and so not only would this be an expensive endeavor, it may be drawn out. Curious to see what the thoughts on this are.

South Shore officials give residents view of West Lake extension

Here is also a presentation on the plans for the Dyer-Munster station. As a side note, I do think it would be great if Munster does get both the Main St station and the Ridge Rd station.

West Lake Corridor Project - Dyer Town Council Meeting

[iidreamtheaterii]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

South Shore officials give residents view of West Lake extension

Here is also a presentation on the plans for the Dyer-Munster station. As a side note, I do think it would be great if Munster does get both the Main St station and the Ridge Rd station.

Not rattling your feathers any, but being a Munster resident and seeing the value of the possible revenue stream for 2 stations, that makes sense

On a serious note though, I understand this is simply a designer's rendering and not factual, but what gives with NOT extending Main Street to IL yet? Illinois, amid their financial disarray, put in their part of a connection point to alleviate traffic and spark economic development from Joe Orr Road over 2 years ago. The residents have been 100% against the connection as it would effect their quiet area, but this seems to take the cake on disruption by putting a commuter train station + cleaning yard right smack dab in the middle of it. They'd HAVE to connect IL to here to allow maximum exposure from IL to ride an Indiana funded train system.

I wasn't a fan of this location for a long time when I first heard of it, but connecting this to the IL side could actually benefit it in a lot of ways, turning it into more of a modern commercial hub that I wasn't sold would actually work in this area. Sheffield from Rt. 30 to Main St. really does need an overhaul though if this is going to get put in here. There's already some pretty nice looking 50 and older condos in this area. I could see more of this taking over the older homes lining Sheffield if this goes in.

If there was an alternative though, the Dyer Auto Auction just south of this location on the same rail line on Rt. 30 is really the prime location for both the cleaning facility and the station without altering any residential subdivision. Buy Frankie's Auto Sales and the Auction and you could make a pretty sweet looking walking area/station.