CTA, citizens discuss near-final Brown Line design

By Al Turco
Special to Inside
The Chicago Transit Authority’s Web site declares a 2003 start date for construction of the $500 million Brown Line expansion project. On Monday CTA architects began a month-long presentation of station plans said to represent “an almost 90 percent” complete design phase. But as of this week residents and merchants don’t know what’s going to happen when the hard hats hit town.
“We’re not at 90 percent yet,” said architect Joe Hoerner of Teng and Associates, a design firm hired by the CTA to design new Brown Line stations. A formal 90 percent hearing would indicate the last significant opportunity for community input before construction. And it’s a good thing the CTA is still fielding questions because neighbors want answers.
Darren and Bernadette Brown, owners of the Beans and Bagels coffee shop at 1812 W. Montrose Ave., cannot predict how negotiations between their landlord and the CTA will work out. This has Mr. Brown “worried sick” about the future of his business. The CTA is trying to work out a deal so Beans and Bagels can remain in virtually the same spot, adjacent to the Montrose stop, but the Browns’ fate is out of their hands. Mr. Brown asked CTA Real Estate manager Barry Mullen for something in writing, but Mullen said he couldn’t make that kind of promise yet.
Robert Albert is worried that a pylon for the expanded Montrose stop will block one of the loading docks on the Honore St. side of his Polar Hardware Manufacturing Company at 1813 W. Montrose Ave. “The engineers say they’re not responsible for what’s below the tracks,” Albert said before the 90 percent design status meeting hosted by the CTA at Sulzer Library Monday night. The meeting addressed the Addison, Irving, Montrose and Damen stops, but afterwards Albert still didn’t know whether his loading dock would be accessible.
Colleen Flaherty, owner of the Tiny Lounge at 1814 W. Addison St., is fighting to keep her neighborhood bar in the neighborhood. “We’re trying to see what we can do for her while at the same time balancing the needs of the rest of the people and businesses in the area,” said Ald. Gene Schulter (47th).
With Schulter’s aid Flaherty has been negotiating with the CTA to expand the platform more to the west, leaving room for the Tiny Lounge east of the tracks. But Schulter said he must also ensure that businesses like Dupli-Graphic Processors at 3628 N. Lincoln Ave. still have room in the bordering Addison alley to load and unload the necessities of their businesses.
At the Jan. 6 meeting, CTA consultant Alaaeldien Waziry circulated forms for community feedback, and Hoerner cited sound barriers under station platforms and shorter elevator towers—achieved by mechanicals placed below grade—as specific instances of design changes made since the 60 percent hearings to satisfy community concerns.
Without getting into it, the specifics of how water would drain off new translucent canopies and why terra cotta tiles would look nice at the Montrose stop were discussed. For documents more detailed, and hopefully more accurate, than Iraq’s listing of weapons, see www.transitchicago.com, and search for Brown Line information.
The questions kept coming until feisty library security guards escorted the entire gathering into the cold. Some questions were answered directly: Ravenswood Industrial Council Executive Director Jim Soens wanted to know how wide Honore St. would be after the project. It’s 18 feet wide, but 60 percent plans had shown a reduction to eight feet. Anthony Zamer of Teng and Associates reassured Soens that the street would remain 16 feet wide, which, according to Teng computer models, is wide enough for trucks to pass.
“Will I be compensated for the loss of value of my home that used to be a block from the El but will soon have the El in my front yard?” asked a man from the back. “No,” Waziry said.
Other exchanges remained about as clear as the el’s PA system: “How will the contractual restrictions placed on workers not to leave messes or block garages for excessive periods be enforced?” asked a serious voice from the crowd. “The restrictions will be in the contracts,” said construction manager Dick Moewe.
Obviously they’re not down to the fine print, but the ink dries ever more swiftly as the process rolls along. To stay informed and involved watch this paper for meeting schedules and updates, and check the CTA Web site above and the Campaign for Better Transit site at www.bettertransit.com.