Sun-Times: Hundreds of parcels may be needed for Red Line extension: CTA

The Sun-Times wrote about Tuesday night's Red Line extension meeting at Palmer Park:

About 200 Chicagoans showed up Tuesday night at the Palmer Park Gym, 201 E. 111th St., to view and discuss about two dozen poster boards outlining the project.

“There was a high level of interest,’’ said CTA spokesman Steve Mayberry. “Folks wanted as much information as they could get.’’

One board in particular outlined what may be the most controversial numbers associated with the project — how many parcels would have to be seized to extend the Red Line to 130th Street from its current endpoint at 95th Street.

The CTA in 2009 selected a “preferred” route down the middle of I-57 to 98th St., and then alongside existing Union Pacific tracks to 130th.

Under that “preferred” route, if an elevated were built east of the UP tracks, a maximum of 259 parcels would need to be purchased, 95 of them residential, the poster board indicated.

If an elevated were built west of the UP tracks, up to 195 parcels would need to be purchased, 30 of them residential.

In the article, they did go over the other alternatives such as routing the extension along Halsted Street and bus rapid-transit along Michigan Avenue from 95th and both alternatives meant fewer displacements of residential parcels, however it was noted:

CTA Red Line project manager Carole Morey said all alternatives are “on equal footing” and further engineering analysis could reduce some displacements. The community will be asked for input at public hearings after an environmental assessment of each option is completed in 2015, she said.

At that time, Morey said, some citizens may want to endorse alternatives that displace fewer people.

“I think it’s too early to reach any conclusions,’’ Morey said. “We really need to hear from the community and hear their concerns.’’

 Also noted in the article in discussing the purchasing residential parcels of land, there is no estimate on how many people would be displaced by any CTA purchases.

As always refer to the CTA's Red Line extension page for more information! Also here's what those presentation boards looked like at the meeting if you weren't able to make it to Tuesday night's meeting.
Curbed Chicago has more info on the Red Line extension complete with more maps and data.

ALSO, ABC 7 did a story about the meeting last night and also took to the 95th Street terminal to solicit opinion of other public transit riders who would be affected by this extension.