Northwest Indiana Transportation Discussion
11 April 2007 04:08 PM | Indiana, NW Indiana and Porter
County
Christopher Hedges has a good post: Northwest Indiana Transit Brain
Storming.
My hat is off to Christopher for coming up with some innovative ideas. I particularly like his idea for a people mover or monorail running down Broadway in Lake County, I would not mind seeing the same sort of thing running from the South Shore in Chesterton to Valparaiso. (I read in the paper that Valparaiso is looking at scheduled bus service between that city and the South Shore which would be a great idea to start.) Christopher's article points out the need for public transportation not only to get to Chicago but also to get from point to point within Northwest Indiana. Not only is this part of making the Region more livable but it also lets our workforce commute to jobs from one town to another within Northwest Indiana. I think that might attract more businesses to locate here and not in Chicago. We need that badly.
This is the kind of discussion our state and local political leaders should have been having for a long time. No one highway, like the Illiana is going to solve NW Indiana's traffic problems. It needs a well thought out and comprehensive plan, involving the local governments, the regional transportation authority, Indiana and Federal governments all working together. It might mean some highways need to be built, but they must be part of an overall coordinated effort at the transportation problems of the whole region and a combination of transportation methods: bike trails, busses, light rail, inter-urban rail, roads, highways and even just sidewalks that actually go somewhere and link up with each other (are you listening Merrillville?).
I suspect dedicated right of ways could be acquired in the old north county cities fairly cheaply. Indeed there are some old rail road right of ways that are still mostly intact and still not too badly encroached upon or being used for bike trails. Parts of the old Nickel Plate RR ROW come to mind in Gary. These could be used for light rail or a people mover branch line.
Northwest Indiana, in the 1910's had a very extensive traction (streetcar or light rail) network for both passengers and freight. The Gary Traction system once linked to Hammond in the West, the square in Crown Point to the south in Lake County, to Chesterton in the East and from Chesterton south to Valparaiso. (The line may have gone even further east to connect with Michigan City but I'm not sure of my facts on that part.) The rise of the automobile and the subsequent paving of roads led to it's decline, which is a shame because now the glut of automobiles and traffic gridlock have us wishing we had a working traction system today.
Additional Reference: Post Illiana: We still need to talk about (mass) transportation.
UPDATE: I found this Chesterton Tribune article about electric street car trains in Chesterton and Valparaiso 100 years ago.
My hat is off to Christopher for coming up with some innovative ideas. I particularly like his idea for a people mover or monorail running down Broadway in Lake County, I would not mind seeing the same sort of thing running from the South Shore in Chesterton to Valparaiso. (I read in the paper that Valparaiso is looking at scheduled bus service between that city and the South Shore which would be a great idea to start.) Christopher's article points out the need for public transportation not only to get to Chicago but also to get from point to point within Northwest Indiana. Not only is this part of making the Region more livable but it also lets our workforce commute to jobs from one town to another within Northwest Indiana. I think that might attract more businesses to locate here and not in Chicago. We need that badly.
This is the kind of discussion our state and local political leaders should have been having for a long time. No one highway, like the Illiana is going to solve NW Indiana's traffic problems. It needs a well thought out and comprehensive plan, involving the local governments, the regional transportation authority, Indiana and Federal governments all working together. It might mean some highways need to be built, but they must be part of an overall coordinated effort at the transportation problems of the whole region and a combination of transportation methods: bike trails, busses, light rail, inter-urban rail, roads, highways and even just sidewalks that actually go somewhere and link up with each other (are you listening Merrillville?).
I suspect dedicated right of ways could be acquired in the old north county cities fairly cheaply. Indeed there are some old rail road right of ways that are still mostly intact and still not too badly encroached upon or being used for bike trails. Parts of the old Nickel Plate RR ROW come to mind in Gary. These could be used for light rail or a people mover branch line.
Northwest Indiana, in the 1910's had a very extensive traction (streetcar or light rail) network for both passengers and freight. The Gary Traction system once linked to Hammond in the West, the square in Crown Point to the south in Lake County, to Chesterton in the East and from Chesterton south to Valparaiso. (The line may have gone even further east to connect with Michigan City but I'm not sure of my facts on that part.) The rise of the automobile and the subsequent paving of roads led to it's decline, which is a shame because now the glut of automobiles and traffic gridlock have us wishing we had a working traction system today.
Additional Reference: Post Illiana: We still need to talk about (mass) transportation.
UPDATE: I found this Chesterton Tribune article about electric street car trains in Chesterton and Valparaiso 100 years ago.
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