CTA Announces Train Station Repair Initiative

The Logan Square Blue Line Station is the first of 100 stations to receive repairs. (Photo by Gabriel X. Michael)

Mayor Emanuel and CTA President Forrest Claypool announced a year-long "Station Renewal Initiative" that will bring 100 stations in the transit authority's system to some semblance of modernity.

The first station to get a facelift will be the Logan Square Blue Line station, where Emanuel announced the initiative with Claypool and 35th Ward Ald. Rey Colon this morning. “Chicago is an international, world-class city, and my Administration is committed to investing in what’s right, to make sure every piece of it shines,” said Emanuel. “With this new Station Renewal program we'll have cleaner, brighter, more functional stations for CTA riders.”

The work will be conducted by "Renew Crews" - work crews consisting of different trades put together to tackle multiple problems simultaneously and efficiently. Claypool said,“by consolidating disparate trades that used to operate independently - on different schedules and at different locations, the station renewal program will integrate supplemental specialized private trade contractors." The work done at each station will be determined by its specific needs and configurations.

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By Chuck Sudo in News on September 20, 2011 11:20 AM

Comments [rss]

twocee

I love the philosophy behind this. It's very "broken window" and I applaud the efforts. It's also nice to see that none of those stations on the redeye list are downtown, they are actually in the neighborhoods where no tourist (except maybe the California blue line) is probably ever going to see. Such a difference from Daley's priorities of making the Jackson and Chicago street stops veritable showplaces and ignoring the rest.

Tracy Swartz

Here are the first stations that will be cleaned/repaired: http://www.redeyechicago.com/n...

ScooterLibbby

Why the hell would they fix up Jarvis?
It's just 2 blocks from Howard.
Oh yeah, Joe Moore supposedly lives just down the street & not in his wife's Evanston home!
Any fixing up of Dempster in Skokie is stupid because if they ever manage to extend it to Old Orchard, they'll elevate at this point & completely replace the station.

ChicagoD

It is not going to Old Orchard anytime in the foreseeable future. Go ahead and clean up. It'll be dirty again by the time they knock it down.

ScooterLibbby

I didn't refer to cleaning the station, I said fixing it up is stupid. There's a difference between the two.

ChicagoD

Yes, and the article is mostly about the former. Unless basic repairs seem stupid to you because they *might* extend the line in your lifetime.

ScooterLibbby

Basic repairs are normal maintenance.
Fixing it up is remodeling or rebuilding.

oonagh1

To be fair, lots of those north of Addison Red Line stations need to be cleaned and repaired. They need to start somewhere. Personally, Morse and Wilson would've been first on my list but at least something is getting done.

I'd be really upset if Loyola goes before Morse. Thanks to its rich eponymous neighbor and benefactor, that stop is already getting a facelift. It had better not even be on this list.

Niles Baranowski

I'm flattered that you're starting in my neighborhood, really, but Logan Square is probably already one of the better blue line stations: everything seems to be in relatively good repair, there are train tracker TV screens, good elevator, lots of access, halfway decent convenience store, just cleaned (who knew those tiles were white, as someone else noted?) and that little plaza upstairs seems to be coming along nicely. I wish they'd start with one of the more depressing blue line stations (Chicago or Division, maybe).

If money was no object, what I would love to see are entrances added on the other side of Kedzie, or even down by Lula into a big underground area--you could even have more shops and kiosks or art installations down there. Then the station would be good for more than just taking trains; you could use it as a way to navigate the intersection more easily (I'm surprised more people don't do this to get across milwaukee already).

ChicagoD

Chicago, Division, Grand . . . they could all use very serious work. I get the impression this has to do with low-hanging fruit, not overhauls. Often I look at things in disrepair and think, "damn, if I just had a screw driver on me I'd take care of that for them." If they are going after those issues it would be worthwhile, but not the kind of thing that would make a big difference for the south-of-Damen subway stops.

kieller

That may be, but Logan looks wonderful right now. And it only took them maybe 4 days to do it. All I noticed was that they cleaned, threw up a fresh coat of paint, and some new lights. If they can do that in 4 days, the other stops have a chance of being decent, if not nice.

Mimihaha

I wonder if they started there because it was a relatively easy station to use as a test case. Find out what works, what doesn't, then move on to the more difficult stations.

Nicholas

This is extremely welcome. Much too often repair work is done at stations in a piecemeal fashion. They fixed the escalator at Clark/Lake on Blue Line, but a light directly above the entrance to that escalator has been broken, dripping and remains so. Why was it impossible for the CTA to fix both at the same time? I do hope this is the start of some real progress at the CTA with Claypool at the helm. Maybe, just maybe, my commute on the Blue Line won't be such a soul-sucking experience.

ChicagoD

Soul-sucking? Hmmm. I commute on the Blue Line every day as well. I think I may have a more firmly anchored soul than you do. In my world it's just a train ride.

Clayton Miller

Soul-sucking is a bit hyperbolic, but once you've taken a few rapid-transit trains in Europe, coming back to the Blue Line is a bit like going back home to a developing nation.

The northwest elevated stations like Damen are the best because they look like well-loved antiques, but apart from them, the whole thing needs some love. Chicago/Milwaukee and its ilk are the worst; they're like caves with a train platform in the middle. A little bleach and white paint would go a long way.

Navin_Johnson

“Chicago is an international, world-class city, and my Administration is
committed to investing in what’s right, to make sure every piece of it
shines,” said Emanuel. “With this new Station Renewal program we'll have
cleaner, brighter, more functional stations for CTA riders.”

Oh, and also, a shitload of wealthier people (and businesses) have moved into Logan over the last 10 years....hahaha. /cynicism

j/k I really am glad to see things like this being done. Good for Emanuel.