Don't panic ... NICTD spent the money to see what could be done. They are still many years away from actually choosing an option.
A new report shows a single South Shore "gateway station" for Gary would be cheaper and draw more riders than significant upgrades at each of city's two main stations.Rebuilding both stations (or at least Miller and letting some developer pay for the Gary Metro relocation/upgrade) is my preference. The numbers provided are off as they do not include a parking structure in Gary for the existing and expected new riders. I also question who the new riders will be ... hopefully the will be new riders and not just pulling existing South Shore riders from other stations. A train full of new riders would not be a bad thing.
The report prepared by engineering firm American Structurepoint puts the cost of a consolidated gateway station located at Interstate 65 and U.S. 20 at $37.7 million and concludes it could draw about 730 more riders per day.
The report, delivered at NICTD's regular meeting Friday at the Dune Park Station, projects the cost of bringing the Metro Center and Miller stops up to current NICTD standards at a combined $51.8 million. The two upgraded stations would draw a total of 577 more daily passengers.
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/business/transp ... ece7d.html
