10/6/03
New Parking Facility Will Make Auto to Rail Connections Easier
The Chicago Transit Authority today broke ground on a new 117-car, 24-hour Park & Ride facility to serve customers using the Garfield 'L' station on the south branch of the Green Line. The new Park & Ride lot will provide commuters a quick and convenient connection to CTA buses and trains.
Park & Ride facilities add to a customer's overall rapid transit experience by allowing more travel flexibility and providing even greater access to the CTA bus and rail system. "Any time you can provide commuters with another travel option it is a plus," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?We look forward to bringing this additional amenity to our existing customers, and hope to attract new customers who will appreciate this convenient alternative for traveling into the Loop."
The Green Line Garfield Boulevard Park & Ride facility will be built on vacant land located on the west side of the station. Amenities will include lighting, canopies to protect customers from the elements, bike racks, landscaping and fencing. For added convenience, CTA will build a new entrance leading directly from the parking lot into the Garfield Boulevard station. The CTA operates another Park & Ride facility on the Green Line at the Ashland/63rd Street terminal.
Contractor Oakley Construction Company, Inc., of Chicago is building the $935,000 project, which CTA expects to have complete by the spring of 2004. Funding was provided by the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Improvement program, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Regional Transportation Authority.
The addition of the Green Line Garfield Boulevard Park & Ride facility will bring the total number of parking lots in the CTA system to 16, and parking capacity to 6,055 spaces.
Green Line trains serve the Garfield Boulevard station weekdays from 4:01 a.m. until 1:06 a.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. until 1:05 a.m. and Sunday/holidays from 7 a.m. until 1:05 a.m. Green Line service will not be affected by the construction.
In July 2003, average weekday ridership at the Green Line Garfield Boulevard station was 1,105, up 14 percent compared to July 2002. There was also a 10 percent increase in Saturday ridership, and a 26 percent increase on Sundays and holidays.
In 2002, the Green Line was the CTA's fourth busiest rail line with a grand total of 9,390,822 rides taken.
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