Thank you for your inquiry, and we apologize sincerely for the delay in our response. Regarding the Wilson station, in February the CTA Board approved an ordinance authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Chicago to utilize $3 million in funding from the Wilson Yard tax increment financing district for the cost of station and concession space improvements at Wilson Station (Red Line).
Planned improvements are focused on rehabilitation and preservation of the historic 1923 stationhouse (the "Gerber Building") and the adjacent concession spaces. The project includes replacing the roof, upgrading the electrical, plumbing and heating/cooling systems, as well as replacing flooring, windows and railings inside the station. Concession spaces will be refinished to provide basic utilities and drywall, which the tenant can finish to suit his or her needs. The project also includes relocating the fare equipment and Customer Assistant booth to the first floor and reopening both sides of the staircase. Security cameras will be installed in the station through a different project.
Design work has already begun and is expected to continue through the summer, with construction starting in the fall and continuing for 6-12 months following that.
If this is what happens each election I wish they happened more often!
ReplyDeleteI don't recall seeing improvements like this prior to the last election.
ReplyDeleteAmazing what one annoying little website can accomplish, no?
Sorry Yo. As influential as this website may be, it had nothing to do with moving the CTA board to take a vote on this last February. Last I saw, restoration schedules (older than this website) were weighted according to condition and ridership and contingent on funding.
ReplyDeleteNo offense taken, Yo. But you are really more articulate and resourceful than that. So, if you know differently, I suggest you bring it.
ReplyDeleteThere are a ton of people in the area who with disabilities and this place still doesn't follow ADA guidelines. All the surrounding L stations get ten times the amount of funding for renovation.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that this station located in the middle of a TIF doesn't get a dime from it? I see one variable that sticks out and her initials are H.S.
@ John: I'll jump on Hellen with the rest of you, but I'll also be fair. Lawrence still doesn't have a real station house since the last one was demolished due to it's "poor condition" and replaced with a "temporary" one in 1995 that's still there today: http://chicago-l.org/stations/lawrence.html. As for Sheridan, I feel that that station is grungier than Wilson. At least at Wilson we have a well-light and nicely painted canopies and fairly new decking. Sheridan has paint flaking off everything and the decking looks as worn and abused as it probably has for the last 20+ years.
ReplyDeleteIf you're referring to the Brown Line, that was a major capital project with hundreds of millions in federal transit money. I'd love to see Wilson get a serious makeover, but baby steps right now. Moving the fare controls to the lobby is the first step, as from here they'll be able to cut a hole in the roof and add in an elevator straight to the platform. Sure it'd be nice if they did that at the same time, but again, one step at a time. Come next election season, I'm sure we'll see an elevator being proposed for Wilson. ;-)
-Brian
I think the plan is probably to build a new station to the south of Wilson and that is where the elevator will be. Of course, let's not all hold our breath for that.
ReplyDeleteSounds like they want to keep the existing station for retail (and we all know how stellar a landlord the CTA is).
And public restrooms...PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE include public restrooms (with some kind of security, of course).
ReplyDeleteIt's a "woman thing," ok?
Public restrooms are the last thing this station - or any CTA station needs. I can only imagine what would be going on in the restrooms - especially at Wilson. We have too many social ills in that area to think about public restrooms.
ReplyDeleteThink about it Gayle, would you really want to use a toilet at the Wilson station - even if they clean the station up? Ick.
This ain't the 1920's and 30's when we could expect that patrons would respect public property and no f-ck it up. My God, people already use the outside of the station as a toilet anyway. They'd probably use an indoor restroom as their own private residence.
Heh.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
Though, to Suzanne's point, on the basis of rules of debate, I don't have to provide "proof".
All I have to do to introduce doubt.
Which is amazingly easy since Suzanne's point is an inherently impossible one to prove since it's based on a blanket statement:
it had nothing to do with moving the CTA board to take a vote on this last February
There is no logical way that Suzanne can sustain that point.
But, it is quite simple for me to introduce doubt:
July 28, 2009 - a Red Eye's reader poll declares the Wilson Stop as the "Crustiest CTA Station", which UU covered.
Now, ask yourself ... if the Wilson stop "won" that covetted award, who voted for it?
Folks on the southside? Brown line riders?
Probably not.
More than likely, the folks who use the Wilson stop, or have at least passed through its gates.
And who might a healthy number of those folks be?
UU readers who may very likely have been frothed after reading criticisms on Wilson in the posts, or comments, of this website.
Unless Suzanne can prove that there is absolutely no connection between the CTA board's vote and the bad press that particular stop received (arguably stemming from UU's "influence"), then ... ding!
Ring me up.
But, put that bit aside and look at Marathonman's introduction of the TIF argument - as well as the time line.
July 28, the CTA receives a very public black eye - and garners the attention of the CTA Prez, who then states that he needs to find the funding to make the necessary repairs.
September 8, 2009 there's that "hearing" for the WYIF amendment.
Among the "affordable housing" folks making statements was ... who?
Yep. A CTA rep.
During the WYTIF amendment meeting held at Truman ..., where was the discussion of Wilson and/or a CTA rep?
Any where?
Buehler?
Nada.
Again, unless absolute proof that no connection exists, my claim of bullshit is as valid, actually moreso, than Suzanne's statement of "nothing to do with".
I never claimed that UU had everything to do with the rehab.
Nor did I claim that there is direct causation between the pissing and moaning on this site and the rehab.
All I claimed was that Suzanne's point is bullshit.
Cuz, it is.
Again, no offense.
Ms. Kitty - wow, I expected that kind of response from the males on this thread but not from another female. Guys can "improvise" a lot easier than gals can when an "emergency" arises (not that I like that either). And men are less likely than women to be accompanied by kids who, being kids, will often have a sudden need for the restroom during a long CTA ride from, say, south-Loop to Howard. And don't get us started on those "lady problems" that demand immediate attention.
ReplyDeleteI said in my previous post that there should be proper security measures in public restrooms (CTA and elsewhere); heck I'd even be willing to pay extra taxes to hire matrons (and their male equivalents) to clean and keep tabs on the place, just like in the fancy hotels. Considering the "alternative" - and I believe UU is very "considerating" of THAT - this seems to be a smart way to...uh...go.
Yo, you make it too easy. So much vitriol and conjecture, no little proof, though I hasten to point out this isn’t a court of law and all I asked for was information to back up your inelegant response--and correct my information if you could.
ReplyDeleteAs for what I wrote, I don't know about logically sustaining it since what I was referring to are the capital plans and ridership studies published by the service boards--CTA, Metra, Pace. If you've ever read them, or attended a service board meeting, you know what a dicey proposal it is to set logic out as a standard ;-)))
This and other station renovation projects have been in the offing for years, contingent on funding. And in this case TIF dollars moved the schedule forward, much like federal dollars do when they become available. You claimed it was this website. That, my dear, was the bs.
*sigh*
ReplyDeleteAnswer me this:
Was timing of the use of TIF dollars for the Wilson station part of an existing planning schedule, or not?
If it was, then you have a point.
If it was not, then you don't.
The timing of the use of the TIF dollars mean nothing to me anyways. All hope of having any trust in anything Helen does has been destroyed and there's no chance of ever restoring that trust.
ReplyDeleteIs Helen unfairly judged? I don't care anymore. Her little games to maintain her powerbase has forever destroyed her reputation. She's reaping what she sowed.