CTA tweaks aesthetics but handicap access
still difficult
By Al Turco
Special to Inside
Engineers are working hard to make the Brown Line prettier, quieter and more “sympathetic” to its quaint surroundings, but after the $500 million project is finished in 2008, people in wheelchairs will still need the assistance of a Chicago Transit Authority attendant with a manual device to board the train. “They will still need to use the bridge,” said CTA spokesman Alaaeldien Waziry in response to Old Town Triangle neighbor John Craib-Cox’s question about citizens in wheelchairs entering and exiting el cars. The bridge is a small ramp, which the attendant must carry out and set up.
Federal funding for the Brown Line project—lengthening the platform to accommodate more cars—is contingent on meeting numerous requirements listed in the Americans with Disabilities Act, such as wider platforms and elevators from the street to the platforms. But the problem is that Chicago el cars vary in height above the platform, and the federal funds do not pay for altering the cars. This was discussed for two minutes on Jan. 13 at the Brown Line renovation’s 90 percent design status hearing for the Armitage, Sedgwick and Chicago stops. The bulk of the meeting at the St. Teresa of Avila Church at 1950 N. Kenmore Ave. was spent talking about the canopies, new and old, over the stations.
Plans and complaints
The historic stations at Armitage, Sedgwick and Chicago will be preserved, and architects from Gonzalez & Hasbrouck have developed unique plans for each. According to the 90 percent plans for Armitage, the new station will begin immediately to the east of the old one and mimic the design in materials but not exact design or color. The idea is to distinguish old from new without making the new station appear out of scale or place in the neighborhood. Historic canopies will remain as they are north of Armitage Avenue, and new canopies will be installed south of Armitage Avenue. Two elevator towers loom in the background.
The 90 percent plans for Sedgwick show newer canopies over the street at the intersection of North Avenue with the historic canopies along the berthing area just past the slight bend in the track. However, Craib-Cox suggested using the historic canopies over the intersection with North Avenue where they would be more visible from broader sight lines throughout the neighborhood. The original station will continue in service with glass-dominated additions adding space on both sides and elevator towers set back 30 feet from the front of the building.
Also, the architects revised their 60 percent plans to change an exit from the Sedgwick stop onto Hudson Street into an emergency-only exit. This was done in response to community concerns about routing el foot traffic through a residential street, Waziry said. He listed this, sound abatement under all the platforms, and work to reduce the noise of the tracks just south of the Sedgwick stop as examples of the CTA’s collaboration with the community. The CTA has even set up a noise committee to talk quietly amongst themselves about loud public address systems.
Metal fabrication sculptors at 1544 N. Sedgwick Ave. aren’t worried about noise. Not surprising. But they are worried about the CTA’s plans, and, surprisingly, these artists are not concerned with aesthetics. The wall of an old CTA building destined for demolition is attached to the artists’ space. Artist John Adducci brought this to the CTA’s attention Jan. 13, and before the meeting had concluded he was out in the hall talking to CTA Real Estate Manager Barry Mullen.
The Chicago station is designed to be “a gateway to the Loop,” according to architect Charlie Hasbrouck’s vision. More glass, new canopies and fare collection at the platform level are intended to give this station the look and feel of a downtown station, but at the same time the brickwork would let commuters know “they’re heading back into the neighborhoods,” Hasbrouck said.
Citizens at the Jan. 13 meeting liked the glass elevators planned for the Chicago station and encouraged this feature to prevent people from using the elevators as toilets. Someone suggested a self-cleaning shower mechanism to remove the foul odors known to frequent CTA elevators.
“How about adding drains in the elevators to address the problem at both ends, so to speak,?” quipped another fellow.
But seriously folks
Craib-Cox asked how people were notified about the meeting. Fewer than 50 citizens were present. Mark Meconi, past president of the Near North Property Owners Association, asked about the space under the tracks. Parking for neighbors who lose spots to commuters, and fencing and lighting to prevent crime, were on his mind. Another inquisitive face in the crowd asked about the overall funding.
CTA Public Relations Representative Alicia Obando said that she announced the Jan. 13 meeting by notifying the local ward aldermen, emailing everyone who had signed the email sheets at past meetings, calling those people who had previously called her to request notification of upcoming meetings, and distributing flyers to the three stations.
Hasbrouck told Meconi in an informal conversation after the meeting that the CTA has not made up its mind about what’s going to happen under the tracks. The fact that the city has yet to be guaranteed full funding may be why the CTA is hesitant to make promises outside the scope of the original project.
“The funding has not come as fast as we’d like, but we have planned for this,” Waziry said. And the CTA is moving too fast to hit the brakes. Construction begins this year.
To find out more or add your two cents to the debate, check out www.transitchicago.com or email brownlinecomments@ctacipm.com |
