CTA to hold upcoming meetings to seek community input on comprehensive plan to encourage economic development following historic construction project
The CTA today announced it will hold two open houses to give community members the opportunity to provide input on how to redevelop available properties near the Red Line following the completion of the historic Red and Purple Modernization Phase One program.
The CTA strongly encourages local residents to participate in the creation by CTA of a promised Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan to promote redevelopment in the RPM Phase One project areas, which include portions of Lakeview and Uptown/Edgewater.
RPM Phase One will rebuild the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr rail stations and more than a mile of adjacent tracks and track structure. RPM Phase One also includes the construction of a Red-Purple Bypass where the Red, Brown and Purple Lines intersect north of Belmont station to improve reliability and increase capacity in its busiest rail corridor.
At the outset of announcing the RPM Phase One project in 2014, the CTA committed to the development of a TOD plan that would solicit community input to guide the creation of a realistic and desirable vision for development of available properties following the completion of RPM Phase One. CTA outlined in 2014 that it would need to acquire a limited number of properties for construction of the project.
The CTA plans the following meetings:
Red-Purple Bypass Area Public Meeting
(Belmont near the Red, Brown and Purple lines)
- Thursday, May 4, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Location: Hoover-Leppen Theatre , 3656 N. Halsted Street, Third Floor, Chicago, IL 60613
- How to get there: This location is served by CTA Addison station (Red Line) and CTA bus #8 Halsted, #36 Broadway, and #152 Addison.
- This facility is accessible to people with disabilities.
Lawrence to Bryn Mawr Modernization Area Public Meeting
(Broadway from Leland to Ardmore avenues)
- Thursday, May 11, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Location: 5917 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60660
- How to get there: This location is served by CTA Thorndale station (Red Line) and CTA bus #36 Broadway.
- This facility is accessible to people with disabilities.
These initial public meetings are the first of three rounds of public meetings on the TOD plan (3 meetings in both the RPB area and the LBMM area). Additional meetings will be scheduled in the coming months.
The TOD plan development began in early 2017 and will continue through mid-2018. The plan is part of the Federal Transit Administration’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development. CTA received a $1.25 million federal grant as part of the program.
CTA has partnered with the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, elected officials, and the consultant team, including Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB), to engage with stakeholders on the plan. For more information on the plan, visit: http://www.transitchicago.com/news_initiatives/planning/rpmodernization/todplan.aspx.
About RPM Phase One
The first phase of RPM will rebuild the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr rail stations and more than a mile of adjacent tracks and track structure. It will also construct a Red-Purple Bypass to improve overall service that will benefit the entire Red Line by improving reliability and increasing capacity so that more trains can be added to alleviate chronic overcrowding during peak travel times.
In January 2017, CTA signed the Full Funding Grant Agreement with the Federal Transit Administration that is the final step in securing the funding needed for the $2.1 billion first phase of the RPM project. A project groundbreaking is anticipated in late 2018 and construction is estimated to last 4 to 5 years into the 2020s.
CTA will work closely with the local communities, including residents, business owners and elected officials, to provide regular project updates and will work to minimize impacts to service and neighboring communities.
For more information on the RPM project, visit: http://www.transitchicago.com/rpmproject/.
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