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[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=39824.82

17 crossings may be eliminated
The NICTD preliminary concept for rerouting the South Shore through Michigan City eliminates 17 of the current 34 street crossings. The 17 intersections are marked on the preliminary concept for the South Shore relocation. While the crossing at Washington Street is not Xed out, that is the proposed location for a new train station. Based on the plan, the following crossings would be closed:

Carlon Court and adjacent alley, Donnelly Street and adjacent alley, Claire Street, Kentucky Street, Tennessee Street, Elston Street, Manhattan Street, Buffalo Street, Spring Street, Cedar Street, Lafayette Street, York Street, Oak Street, Maple Street and Phillips Avenue.
More South Shore details released

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Property owners with parcels south of current South Shore tracks on 10th and 11th streets await an uncertain future until plans for realigning the commuter train are adopted.

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District operates the South Shore and announced last week it intends to significantly re-configure more than two miles of track running through Michigan City. NICTD's preliminary downtown rerouting concept, developed by TranSystems of Chicago, shows the tracks heading south of 10th Street at Sheridan Avenue and proceeding through town to a point just east of Michigan Boulevard, where the regular route resumes.

John Parsons, NICTD spokesperson, said properties north of 11th Street will not be affected. He said the specific houses and properties that would be impacted by the change have not yet been identified. He said the project, estimated at $65 million, has been developed at a "gross level of detail" and changes could be made as the engineering process moves forward.

A map labeled "Preliminary Downtown Reroute Concept" shows a South Shore station and 775-space parking area between Franklin and Wabash streets and from Warren Street north to 11th Street. The map includes station information that lists the current 11th Street parking lot at 42 spaces and the Carroll Avenue station at 155 spaces. Those stations would be replaced with the new downtown station.

The new route is designed to eliminate the curve between 10th and 11th streets near the Amtrak intersection, and also remove the curve at Cedar and Lafayette streets. As now indicated on the map, the tracks run parallel but one row of houses south of the existing 11th street tracks between Kentucky Street and Michigan Boulevard.

At Sheridan Avenue, looking east, the proposed route angles to the right, eventually running well behind the houses on the south side of 10th Street and linking directly with the portion of track that would be just south of 11th Street.

Chicago Street would be rerouted, but it would retain a crossing of the South Shore tracks.

Depending on funding and station design, Parsons said a parking ramp could be constructed, allowing for private developers to create an activity center in the areas surrounding the station.

An environmental impact statement will be required before property can be purchased, Parsons said.

"An environmental impact statement and public hearing are required as part of the process," he said. "The specifics will follow as part of the on-going process to qualify for federal funding."

NICTD has yet to obtain funding for the detailed engineering plan that comes next, Parsons said.

Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie has reviewed the NICTD preliminary downtown route and will present the plan to the City Council for its approval. Parsons expects some issues to be raised by the council at that point.

"We certainly want to develop a plan in concert with Michigan City that meets their needs," Parsons said.

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.

[joe.black]

Critical questions to be answered by the north end folks include:

How are you going to get the Coast Guard to waive the bridge height requirement?

If they do waive it (allowing an essentially flat crossing of the creek), how does that affect the ability of boats to use that section of Trail Creek?

Is the north end route proposing to place NICTD's trains on Amtrak rails, under the control of Amtrak dispatchers?

If not, have they included the cost of separate tracks and facilities in the projected cost of the north end route? Also - will the new station have separate platforms for eastbound and westbound Amtrak and South Shore trains (in other words, 4 platform tracks)? If not, how do you propose to separate NICTD traffic from Amtrak?

How do they answer the assertion that an elevated railway will be a visual fence across the lakeshore, and diminish rather than enhance the city's connection to the lake?

Where is the extra funding for the north end route coming from? Don't say "stimulus" - that's a buzzword, and meaningless at this point. There's nothing about the north end route that is "shovel ready".

[Dave]

Critical questions to be answered by the north end folks include:

From what I gathered at the meeting last night (note: I am not an advocate of the "north end plan"):

How are you going to get the Coast Guard to waive the bridge height requirement?

If they do waive it (allowing an essentially flat crossing of the creek), how does that affect the ability of boats to use that section of Trail Creek?

It was said that current regulations require clearance above water level to be 45 feet, but it could possibly be negotiated down to 25 feet. My thought: so much for sailboats docking in Trail Creek -- most masts aren't going to fit under a 25 foot clearance.

Is the north end route proposing to place NICTD's trains on Amtrak rails, under the control of Amtrak dispatchers?

If not, have they included the cost of separate tracks and facilities in the projected cost of the north end route? Also - will the new station have separate platforms for eastbound and westbound Amtrak and South Shore trains (in other words, 4 platform tracks)? If not, how do you propose to separate NICTD traffic from Amtrak?

Their plans appeared to me to have a single platform at the station with tracks on either side, the northern set of tracks for Amtrak and the southern set of tracks for the South Shore. From a conversation I had with you, Joe, I understand that running freight trains next to a platform is a problem, but I didn't have the opportunity to ask them about it. Anyway, one set of rails for Amtrak and one set of rails for NICTD on the elevated section.

How do they answer the assertion that an elevated railway will be a visual fence across the lakeshore, and diminish rather than enhance the city's connection to the lake?

They had a pretty picture of their proposed station, with all sorts of pretty design elements. They even had an artist's conception of what the view from the station, which they suggest would be just west of Swingbelly's (the old Amtrak station). The artist's conception shows a view of the Chicago skyline. That view looks to me like what one might see from the beach -- through a telescope. My guess is that a view from the proposed location is going to primarily be the backside of the NIPSCO power plant, which I suspect doesn't fascinate many artists.

Where is the extra funding for the north end route coming from? Don't say "stimulus" - that's a buzzword, and meaningless at this point. There's nothing about the north end route that is "shovel ready".

My questions last night were about cost and funding. Mr. Miller answered that the bridge over Trail Creek was estimated at $200 million, and when I pressed him on that, that was just for the bridge -- with the approaches, the new station, and the rest, the cost would go up to at $250 million or $300 million or more (close to $10,000 per person living in Michigan City.)

The answer to my question as to where the money would come from? What many on the internet would refer to as "hand waving." Federal funds, NITCD, Amtrak, bond issues for $50 million paid for by Blue Chip riverboat money over 10 or 15 years (errr, aren't those funds shrinking due to lower revenues at the casino? Not to mention casino revenue may not be high enough to pay that off -- do we get more than $7 million per year from the riverboat (to cover principal and interest on those bonds)?), bonds paid for with TIF funds (I almost laughed out loud at this -- we at the Elston Grove Neighborhood Association have been waiting a couple of years to get decorative streetlights in the neighborhood which would cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Good luck getting the millions for a bond issue!)


Years ago I remember seeing some grandiose plans proposed during the 1920's for the Chicago lakefront, including airports built on floating islands out in Lake Michigan. My reaction was "Gee, that looks cool! Would cost so much it would never happen, but sure looks cool!" My impression of the north end proponents is that they came up with the idea that "gee, that looks cool!" but didn't get to the "Going to cost so much that's never going to happen" part.

I've previously stated that I think the NICTD proposal is their Christmas list of everything they could conceivably want, but that a lesser version would be something they would accept -- the current proposal is simply where they want to start negotiating from. If Michigan City essentially gives NICTD 11th street and reduces the number of grade crossings, and tell them they have to landscape the corridor and maintain it without putting up fences that aren't there now and we've managed without for a hundred years, NICTD won't be concerned about knocking down 150 or so houses, because they'll get their tracks out of the asphalt.

One of the reasons that I can't take the north enders too seriously is that they were talking about getting politicians on board, and suggested getting Senator Lugar involved. Why they figured the Republican senator from Indiana would be enthusiastic to propose spending upwards of $300 million in federal funds in the most solidly Democratic section of the state instead of , oh, say, Senator Bayh, the Democratic Indiana senator, in my opinion shows how well connected to reality they are.