CTA Brown Line closings
To the Editor:
The CTA's Brown Line stations will be temporarily closed, beginning in September 2005. In all, 15 of 18 stations between the Chicago and Kimball stops will be closed at different times during construction to save $22 million. In a letter sent to newspapers, Ald. Gene Schulter (47th) and state Rep. John Fritchey said the CTA should be ashamed at how it has handled the Brown Line's budget problems: "The CTA's negligence and reluctance to have an open dialogue with residents and business owners has given us no other choice than to adamantly oppose the Brown Line station closing.”
According to the CTA’s plan, the Fullerton, Belmont and Western stops will remain open throughout construction. The Armitage, Sedgwick and Chicago stops will be open on weekdays but closed for six straight weekends. The Damen, Montrose, Irving Park, Addison, Paulina, Southport and Wellington stops all will be closed for up to a year. The Kimball, Kedzie, Francisco and Rockwell stops will be closed for up to eight months.
While the Western Avenue station will not be affected, the planned closings of the Damen and Rockwell stations will be a devastating blow to the local business community. Ignorantly, the CTA has deemed this a “short-term inconvenience.” It’s not surprising that the CTA fails to grasp the impact of this ill conceived plan given its own poor management and inability to forecast.
I urge you to email Carole L. Brown, Chairman of the CTA, and request that she consider other options. Ms. Brown’s email is cbrown@transitchicago.com. I also urge you to contact your State Senator and State Representative to urge them to not support any additional state funding for the CTA until they revise the Brown Line plan and pledge significant restructuring.
Brad Leibov
Executive Director
Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce |
