A study group has identified Asbury Avenue just north of Howard Street as the best location for a new CTA Yellow Line station in Evanston.

Evanston officials presented the findings of a feasibility study during a public meeting Jan. 24 at the city’s Levy Senior Center. And while they think an Asbury station makes the most sense, officials reminded residents that much needs to be done before it is built.

“The goal coming out of the feasibility study is not so much to eliminate other sites,” said city engineer Paul Schneider. “It’s what’s the site we feel most comfortable presenting that could be funded.”

Officials estimate that an Asbury Avenue station could cost about $23 million to build, and $900,000 annually to operate. Acquiring federal dollars, which Schneider said could potentially cover about 70 to 80 percent of the building cost, would require “a bit of a sales job” to convince the feds of the station’s merits and growth potential.

If Evanston secures federal funds for a Yellow Line station, the city would still need to kick in about $6 million as a local match, Schneider said. That money could come from the state or from the city, he added — perhaps through creation of a tax increment financing district.

Evanston began this process in 2007, when it joined Skokie and the Regional Transportation Authority in a project to examine how to expand the Yellow Line. Officials evaluated three possible station locations — on Dodge, Asbury and Ridge avenues.

The Dodge site is is near Mulford Street. The Ridge site is in between Brummel and Case streets.

Those areas had seen transit stations prior to 1964 and the inception of the Howard-to-Dempster “Skokie Swift” service.

The study found that depending on location, a new station could increase the number of Yellow Line commuters by as much as 45 percent, and attract up to 1,000 riders per day.

In the course of three public meetings, an advisory committee comprised of citizens and Evanston officials presented the pros and cons of each location, and gathered feedback from residents.

With its close proximity to the Howard Street CTA station and South Boulevard Purple Line station, Ridge Avenue was the first station to fall out of favor with the committee.

When comparing Dodge and Asbury, officials found that the area around Dodge is less densely populated than Asbury. Another key factor against a Dodge Avenue station location, officials said, is that the existing 85-year-old CTA bridge would need to be reconstructed to support a new station. That work could tack on another $10 million to the capital cost, officials said. Dodge Avenue did garner more support than Asbury in an online survey, officials said. Of the 426 respondents, 249 preferred Dodge to Asbury, with 51 respondents saying both locations were ideal.

A primary benefit to Asbury is that a new CTA station could best impact the surrounding area, officials said.

“The area along Howard near Asbury is a potential area that could be the focus of future redevelopment efforts,” said Tom Coleman, a consultant with Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Those in attendance appeared to have mixed emotions with regards to the study’s conclusions. Some worried about the price tag, while others questioned the decision not to include a parking component in the study.

“You mean to spend millions of dollars to build a station that 15 to 20 people in a four block area will walk to 12 months a year?” resident Joyce Markle questioned. “Why wouldn’t you consider parking?”

Officials said parking was not considered because they envision a station similar to many found along the CTA Red Line, which do not offer designated parking for train passengers.

Other residents said they would be happy with either location, but see the benefits of an Asbury station.

“There’s already congestion around (Dodge),” said resident Nancy Pinchar, 55, who cited Dodge Avenue’s proximity of James Park and the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation.

Adding a CTA station to Dodge, Pinchar said, could result in “a lot more population exploding on to the street.”

Fellow resident Chris Goedde, 50, also found positives in either a Dodge or Asbury station, but said that Asbury could be the better choice based on its potential for less noise impact on surrounding neighbors.

He also said that any drawbacks to a new Yellow Line station would be small compared to the advantages.

“The money could fall on residents,” he said of the potential cost. “But I see it more as an investment than a burden.”

Officials said the committee should conclude its feasibility study in February and present its findings to Evanston’s City Council for approval. If approved, officials would then need to identify potential funding for a phase one engineering study.