Red Line Extension TSD Plan
Client
Chicago Transit Authority
Location
Chicago, IL
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Red Line Extension (RLE) Transit-Supportive Development (TSD) Plan represents a vision for transformational community impact, realizing the City of Chicago’s commitment to investing in the Far South Side.
Settled in the 1880s, Chicago’s Far South Side is rich in history and architecture, yet recent decades of population loss and disinvestment have devastated multiple neighborhoods. The Plan’s four new CTA stations offer a prime opportunity for restoring and renovating existing building stock as development comes to the area. The Plan’s vision, focused on transit equity through these four new stations, also prioritizes the generation of equity through opportunities for economic development, quality of life, and community around them. It provides a detailed vision for significant catalytic projects, strategic neighborhood infill development, open space connectivity, and multimodal improvements for pedestrian, bike, and bus access.
As a 5.6-mile extension starting from an existing terminal at 95th/Dan Ryan and terminating at 130th Street, the Plan will provide four new stations to increase transit connectivity and improve access to job centers and destinations. The Plan will foster economic development surrounding each new station to catalyze neighborhood revitalization through transit equity, which can spur the development of more livable, transit-supportive communities and help reverse decades of disinvestment in local business districts. Increased transit access will also attract customers and visitors from outside the community to local businesses, landmarks, and cultural centers, further bolstering community investment.
The planning team utilized its significant experience in Chicago and its depth of expertise across urban design, architecture, and city policy to craft a comprehensive implementation plan that includes detailed development proformas, a toolkit of policies, incentives to implement transit-supportive development and increase the number of people living near transit, plus incentives to expand housing choice options, support business development, and spur employment growth.
