CTA holds public meeting on potential El stop changes

By Lindsey Kratochwill

6:48 p.m. Jan. 27 2011

The Chicago Transit Authority held its fourth public scoping meeting to address potential changes to the purple and red rail lines. And while Northwestern students may be fearing for their Foster stop, the meeting offered six potential alternatives ranging from “No Action” (making only minimal changes) to “2-Track Underground” (turning the purple line into the red line, building a new underground segment).

“The main purpose here is that the CTA needs to modernize the North Side red and purple lines,” said Kevin O’Malley, general manager of strategic planning for the CTA. “We are beginning the early steps of planning.”

The rail lines in question are around 100 years old in some parts, according to O’Malley. There are certain concerns, such as foundation issues, water drainage and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. To solve some of these problems, the CTA may need to expand the footprint of the station, go into the community and acquire more land.

As a part of this process, the CTA must perform an environmental impact statement, which not only addresses the natural resource and energy concerns, but also safety and security, cultural and historic resources and neighborhood compatibility. As part of the federal requirements, they must elicit the community and public response and comments.

The following alternatives were on display at the meeting:

No Action: No stop consolidation for the purple or red line. The absolute minimum repairs to keep the purple and red lines function, keeping travel patterns the same. No additional ADA access and likely increase in travel times and degradation in service reliability will be necessary in order to operate safely.

Basic Rehabilitation: No stop consolidation for the purple or red line. All stops will be ADA compliant, renovating one station on the purple line and five on the red line.

Basic Rehabilitation With Transfer Stations: The purple line will be affected the same as the Basic Rehabilitation Alternative. The red line will add new transfer stations at Wilson and Loyola, extending the purple line stops.

Modernization 4-Track: Stations would be reconstructed or renovated to meet ADA standards and safety. Stop consolidation would affect Foster, South Blvd, Jarvis and Lawrence, with additional entrances added. There will also still be transfer stations at Loyola and Wilson, as in the Basic Rehabilitation With Transfer Stations.

Modernization 3-Track: The purple line will remain the same as in the 4-Track. The red line will then limit the express service to only inbound in the mornings and outbound in the evenings. The station consolidations will remain the same as in the 4-Track.

Modernization 2-Track Underground:The purple line and red line will merge, eliminating transfer times at Howard. The consolidation will remain, but new transfer stations will no longer exist. The purple express will no longer exist, but an underground line will exist between Loyola and Belmont. The timing will be comparable to a purple express, due to quicker underground travel time, though it may take longer.

The alternatives were created based on a previous vision study meeting, held in 2009. As of this meeting, none of these alternatives are certain to be implemented. Many are still in the planning stages.

“We tried to put together scenarios that incorporated everything that we heard from the public. People want their service, they want public transit and that’s a good thing,” O’Malley said. “We’re not wedded to any of them. we’re just here to put the ideas out there and elicit response from people and find out what it is they link in their transit and what they don’t like.”

The crowd was mostly community members and campus media.

“I think that as with anything, students need kind of a nudge in terms of being engaged in the community, but the most important thing to stress is just the relevance of this to our day to day lives,” ASG President Claire Lew said.

From the status quo option to the most drastic alternative, students’ day-to-day lives may be affected if the CTA is a part of their transportation plan. When voicing opinions, be sure to be specific. Students may not want to see Foster go, but without any clear reason, the argument is not compelling.

Email your constructive comments until Friday, Feb. 18 to RPM@transitchicago.com or send written comments to:

Steve Hands
Strategic Planning & Policy – Chicago Transit Authority
PO Box 7602
Chicago, IL 60680-7602