Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
I love this idea, but the problem is how you separate TSA “sterile” from “non-sterile” passengers who may both be going to OHare?
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Easy, the blue line.
I think any downtown-to-gate terminal should be for TSA-cleared passengers (or sterile air-side employees) only. Regular commuters wouldn't cough up the $25 one-way anyway, and shaving 10 minutes off the blue line is good enough for most people (which I believe the latest blue line track work is supposed to do).
Doubling down on my previous post, such a development would make downtown literally the same travel-time as Rosemont--making Rosemont moot and redundant. Every downtown hotel then becomes an airport hotel (imagine the travel websites reflecting that too), every top restaurant a nearby airport restaurant, and the mag mile puts the Rosemont fashion outlet mall out of business as THE airport-accessible premier shopping destination in the U.S. (way better than the airport tram that goes to Mall of America). A whole new industry of mini one-hour tours and "Chicago experiences" would be born, catering to connecting passengers who have a 2+ hour connection at O'Hare.
The cherry on top would be connectivity to the overall baggage system. Someone flying into Chicago with checked luggage could have their bags tagged with "CHI," designating the downtown terminal.
If this happens, we ain't seen nothing yet in terms of companies moving downtown.
Make no little plans, Chicago.