CTA Awarded $38 Million in Federal Grants

A northbound train pulls into Wilson Avenue station, which will benefit from a $6 million project under the grant program. Image credit: hedgehog3457

CTA will use $38 million in federal grants announced Wednesday to upgrade its bus fleet, renovate the Wilson Red Line “El” stop and fund a study to improve lakefront bus service, the Tribune reported.

$30 million will go toward purchasing more energy-efficient diesel-electric hybrid buses. CTA currently has about 200 hybrids. They reportedly achieve at least 20 percent greater fuel efficiency than standard diesel vehicles, which comprise the rest of CTA’s 1800 buses.

The Wilson Avenue “El” station will be modernized to the tune of $6 million, with improvements including a new elevator and exterior rehab. When it opened in 1900, Wilson was the northern terminus of what was then called the Northwestern Elevated Railroad line. The station, which serves more than 55,000 people, has not received major upgrades in many years.

The remaining $2 million will fund a study of Chicago’s Lakefront Corridor to assess options for improving rapid transit. Currently 18 CTA bus routes carry 109,000 weekday passengers in the corridor, which extends along the shore from Howard Street to 103rd Street.

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By Chris Bentley in News on October 13, 2011 11:30 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

bms2535

I don't think that this money is a waste of money, despite CTA plans for a full blown renovation of the Red/Purple corridor from north of Belmont up to Linden Avenue in Wilmette. When that'll actually happens, who knows, but in the meantime, this is a good start. (And it costs 1/9 of what went into each individual Brown Line station during its renovation).

The other Red Line stations in Uptown have platforms too narrow to all for a mid-platform elevator, but Wilson's is much wider, owing to its former status as an 'L' terminal and through station on a commuter rail line. Add in the large number of persons with physical disabilities living in the immediate vicinity, and you have a means by which many trips can be switched from very costly paratransit service to more efficient fixed-route service, possibly making up for the cost of the renovation in the long term.

Robert Hamilton

They should not waste $6,000,000 on the Wilson station. It needs to be completely rebuilt. It is a neighborhood anchor spot and should be a model of what a transportation and neighborhood focus could be. That means an enclosed direct access point for Truman College students. Washrooms for the tens of thousands of people passing through that station each day, A small Chicago Police Department outpost manned 24 hours per day on site. And a facility designed to last another 111 years.