The Chicago Transit Authority today announced that it has installed LED signs at 14 rail stations that provide elevator status information. The new LED signs are located above the accessible turnstiles at accessible rail stations and provide the most current information on elevator outages. By providing this information at the station entrance it allows riders who need elevator access to check on the status of the elevators at their origin and destination station before they pay their fares.
“It is paramount that public transit be accessible to all people,” said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Terry Peterson. ”CTA continues to find ways to improve the quality and convenience of its service and knowing what elevators are working or not working allows customers to plan their trips accordingly.”
“The installation of these electronic elevator status displays is a small yet significant communication modification that provides a consistent and easy way to keep customers informed about which elevators on the system are out of operation;” said CTA President Richard L. Rodriguez.
LED signs are being installed in three phases at a total of 77 accessible stations and are expected to be completed later this year. The first 14 accessible stations with LED elevator status displays are:
- Red Line - 95th/Dan Ryan, Howard and Chicago/State
- Orange Line - Midway
- Orange/Green Line - Roosevelt
- Green Line - Harlem/Lake and Ashland/63rd
- Loop Elevated - Clark/Lake
- Brown/Red Line - Belmont and Fullerton
- Blue Line - Jefferson Park, Illinois Medical District an d Forest Park
- Pink Line - Polk
Of CTA’s 144 rail stations, 91 (or 63 percent) currently are accessible to customers with disabilities with either an elevator or a ramp. The Red Line’s Cermak-Chinatown and Grand stations presently under renovation will bring the total to 93 accessible stations when construction is complete in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Construction of two new rail stations will soon begin – the Oakton Yellow Line and Morgan Green Line stations – which when completed also will be ADA compliant.
The cost of the project is approximately $120,000, and was already factored into the agency’s annual capital budget for system communication upgrades.
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