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View Poll Results: Would you support the "West Lake Corridor" NICTD (South Shore rail) service extension?
YES! 55 85.94%
NO! 9 14.06%
Voters: 64. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-03-2010, 12:23 AM
 
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Would you support this extension?

West Lake Corridor - South Shore Rail Extension
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Old 08-03-2010, 01:14 AM
 
Location: On the Rails in Northern NJ
12,380 posts, read 26,751,821 times
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How many miles are the 2 proposed lines? And is there any chance of a line going out to South Bend - Elkhart - Fort Wayne - Toledo - Sandusky - Cleveland or something like that?
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Old 08-03-2010, 06:30 AM
 
Location: Turn Left at Greenland
17,763 posts, read 39,583,552 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey View Post
How many miles are the 2 proposed lines? And is there any chance of a line going out to South Bend - Elkhart - Fort Wayne - Toledo - Sandusky - Cleveland or something like that?
the south shore already ends in South Bend ...
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Old 08-03-2010, 06:35 AM
 
Location: Turn Left at Greenland
17,763 posts, read 39,583,552 times
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I hope this can happen. I remember, though, when I lived in Valpo, a lot of the natives were vehemently opposed to bringing the South Shore into Valpo becuase of the perceived element public transit brings ... sigh ... yea, Naperville and Evanston are such slums

I'd imagine the line will gain approval to Lowell mainly for the fact that Crown Point is very desireable. But the Valpo people and their resistance to change will prevent it from going to their town.
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Old 08-03-2010, 09:39 AM
 
811 posts, read 2,323,655 times
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Yes! This would be unbelievable. I've only skimmed through the links and documents on that page, is there any new (newer than 06 or 07) news on if this is even a possibility any longer? I feel like it was gaining steam before the recession and haven't heard much about it since, other than on these boards. Also, is there any discussion of how this would be paid for?

I also think that it's underestimated how much this would improve the area. Not only would it bring people from Chicago and the Chicago suburbs to NWI, but it may also sway people already living in NWI to look for work downtown (as opposed to current jobs in the burbs or in NWI), since it would be much quicker to commute downtown. Seeing as how jobs in Cook County typically pay more, this would help our communities even more. Essentially what I'm saying is that it would be worth it based on the current amount of people living in NWI that work downtown, but when you factor in the increase of NWI residents that will switch to working downtown as a result of this, I don't see much of a downside to it.
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Old 08-03-2010, 10:45 AM
 
2,155 posts, read 5,451,336 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey View Post
How many miles are the 2 proposed lines? And is there any chance of a line going out to South Bend - Elkhart - Fort Wayne - Toledo - Sandusky - Cleveland or something like that?
The line would be for commuter rail so the eastern terminus would likely remain at South Bend (where it is currently)...any farther than that would be candidates for high-speed train service which is a whole 'nother debate (that I also support)

Quote:
Originally Posted by domergurl View Post
I hope this can happen. I remember, though, when I lived in Valpo, a lot of the natives were vehemently opposed to bringing the South Shore into Valpo becuase of the perceived element public transit brings ... sigh ... yea, Naperville and Evanston are such slums

I'd imagine the line will gain approval to Lowell mainly for the fact that Crown Point is very desireable. But the Valpo people and their resistance to change will prevent it from going to their town.
Ya I remember all of the Valpo opposition. This is part of the reason why that route was evidently discarded. The only "elements" this extension would bring is wealth, commerce, and an AMAZING alternative to driving to Chicago for most of Lake County. And don't forget to add Hinsdale, Winnetka, Glencoe, Northbrook, and all of those suburbs to the list of "slums" LOL.

Quote:
Originally Posted by svillechris View Post
Yes! This would be unbelievable. I've only skimmed through the links and documents on that page, is there any new (newer than 06 or 07) news on if this is even a possibility any longer? I feel like it was gaining steam before the recession and haven't heard much about it since, other than on these boards. Also, is there any discussion of how this would be paid for?

I also think that it's underestimated how much this would improve the area. Not only would it bring people from Chicago and the Chicago suburbs to NWI, but it may also sway people already living in NWI to look for work downtown (as opposed to current jobs in the burbs or in NWI), since it would be much quicker to commute downtown. Seeing as how jobs in Cook County typically pay more, this would help our communities even more. Essentially what I'm saying is that it would be worth it based on the current amount of people living in NWI that work downtown, but when you factor in the increase of NWI residents that will switch to working downtown as a result of this, I don't see much of a downside to it.
I totally agree with you on this! These lines run right through the hearts of the towns it would serve and it would not only encourage more folks to choose Indiana to reside in, but the wealth it would bring would spur more commercial development and and larger tax base which is always good! As for paying for this, local, state, and federal funding would likely be the majority of it. If taxes are increased a little to help fund it, I wouldn't mind either. It would pay itself back through increased property value (when & IF we would decide to sell).
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Old 08-03-2010, 11:47 AM
 
320 posts, read 950,036 times
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All this talk is moot until you fix the single track crossover at Kensington, and get Metra to give the South Shore more slots at rush hour. Currently, Metra is all too happy to run their electric line trains at 60% capacity at rush hour, rather than give the South Shore one more slot to alleviate overcrowding on the 4:58/5:10/ 5:28/5:32 trains.

This would probably qualify as a shovel-ready stimulus type of infrastructure project. However, you will get stiff oposition from people in Lowell and all along the line that for some reason think that people will come from Chicago on the train, burglarize their homes, and then take the train ride back.
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Old 08-03-2010, 09:07 PM
 
29 posts, read 80,479 times
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This would be sweet! I'm moving back up there in September and will eventually be working out of DT Chicago, so I would love to be able to quickly hop on a train from South County and head up to the city, rather than driving for a half hour to EC and THEN getting on the train. I didn't really read the whole website, but did anyway see what the timeframe is on this plan?
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Old 08-06-2010, 07:36 AM
 
Location: Hoosierville
16,902 posts, read 14,231,907 times
Reputation: 11250
Okie dokie, I'm going to weigh in as a Valpo resident.

If you would've asked me 10 years ago when we moved out here if I would've supported the train line to Valpo, it would've been a definite yes.

Now that I've lived out here for a decade and experienced the growth in this region, I've changed my view a bit: I'm not a fan.

Would it bring more prosperity & population & development to Valpo? Most definitely. But at what cost? More suburban sprawl? No thanks.

The old-timers don't want it. And it took me a long time to "get it" - and now, I don't blame them. There are families who've lived out here for generations who love Porter County because it's not like a typical Chicago suburb. And for years now, they've had people who've moved here to escape those Chicago suburbs try to change Valpo INTO those same communities that they moved away from.

ETA: I didn't vote in the poll ... since it's more about Lake County than Porter County - but I wanted to addresss domer & NWI's Valpo comments. Change isn't always a good thing.
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Old 08-06-2010, 08:06 AM
 
Location: Turn Left at Greenland
17,763 posts, read 39,583,552 times
Reputation: 8243
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity View Post
Okie dokie, I'm going to weigh in as a Valpo resident.

If you would've asked me 10 years ago when we moved out here if I would've supported the train line to Valpo, it would've been a definite yes.

Now that I've lived out here for a decade and experienced the growth in this region, I've changed my view a bit: I'm not a fan.

Would it bring more prosperity & population & development to Valpo? Most definitely. But at what cost? More suburban sprawl? No thanks.

The old-timers don't want it. And it took me a long time to "get it" - and now, I don't blame them. There are families who've lived out here for generations who love Porter County because it's not like a typical Chicago suburb. And for years now, they've had people who've moved here to escape those Chicago suburbs try to change Valpo INTO those same communities that they moved away from.

ETA: I didn't vote in the poll ... since it's more about Lake County than Porter County - but I wanted to addresss domer & NWI's Valpo comments. Change isn't always a good thing.
I see your sentiments. I guess my point was that when I lived in Valpo, the people who opposed the South Shore coming into Valpo made it about socio-economic class and I found that offensive. They were looking at the South Shore coming into Valpo as "oh nooooooo ... we're going to become Gary!!" Which is wrong.

I remember talking to one of your collegues when we were interviewing realtors to sell our house in Valpo. He specifically made it clear that his office courted Chicagoans to move to Valpo. What do you expect? People want it all ... they want the lifestyle, but they also want the conveniences. I'm not entirely clear on what the downside to the South Shore coming into Valpo is ... specifically? When we lived in Valpo, it was a housing boom ... neighborhoods popping up everywhere ... new shopping centers .... suburbia in full effect. Seemed that the Valpo glitterati dug the money that it generated, maybe now, not so much????
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