The outer shell is taking shape for the new Racine Blue Line station on Chicago’s Near West Side. The station, which lies between the inbound and outbound lanes of the Eisenhower Expressway, is part of the CTA’s $3 billion plan to reconstruct the Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line system. The Racine renovation alone, which extends from Racine Avenue to the east to Loomis Street to the west, is estimated to cost approximately $23 million.
New Racine Blue Line station under construction August 5, 2024. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Looking east from Loomis Street. Photo by Daniel Schell
A demolition permit was issued by the City of Chicago in July of last year to remove the existing Racine station; the Loomis auxiliary entrance two blocks to the west remains open for access to the Racine station. A new construction permit was then issued in August to begin work on the Ross Barney Architects-designed entrance at Racine. FH Paschen replaced the original general contractor via a revised permit issued in December. Finally, a permit issued in May of this year to install a passenger elevator completed the permit process to date for the station to date.
Rendering of new Racine station main entrance by Ross Barney Architects
Rendering of new Racine station Loomis entrance by Ross Barney Architects
Along with the new elevator, a primary focus of this new access station is to rebuild the station ramp, which was built too steep (and without landings) for wheelchair access. In fact, only four of the 11 stations along the Forest Park Branch are accessible. The wide-spread renovations will bring all 11 stations into compliance and make it easier for all Chicagoans to access Blue Line trains.
Demo permit, via Chicago Data Portal
Passenger elevator permit, via Chicago Data Portal
New construction permit, via Chicago Data Portal
The CTA plans to have the Racine entrance reopened early in 2025. At that time, the Loomis entrance will be closed for a renovation of its own.
The Loomis Street auxiliary entrance. Photo by Daniel Schell
The Loomis Street auxiliary entrance will be replaced after the Racine entrance opens. Photo by Daniel Schell
Loomis Street entrance. Photo by Daniel Schell
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I want to skateboard down that canopy
Throw it in with Chicago’s pitch for Winter Olympics.
Easily can be adjusted for a ski jump.
Do it. You’ll have to powerslide a couple times but it’s mad fun.
LOL, I thought the same thing.
I’m torn on whether the CTA stations in the middle of the highway should be our nicest (given the poor environment these have been dropped into) or whether we should just focus on nicer neighborhood stations that driver more commercial activity in their micro-area.
I wouldn’t consider this station among the nicest in the CTA. The new Racine station would be inline with the design of IMD one. My guess is that the other 6 stations scheduled to be rebuild will look the same as Racine. Now the new Damen green line station is top tier.
Good point, but we can do both and that’s what we have been doing, just very slowly. I personally hate the highway trains but I also appreciate how they were able to be built cheaply and conveniently. These stations are dying from some type of wall from the highway though, for noise and air pollution, or at the least some foliage or ideally both
All this money just for wheelchair access. Don’t get me wrong, handicap accessibility is important, but what percentage of CTA users are actually in wheelchairs? Just a huge expenditure for no reason.
And besides, going to the Loop doesn’t even matter any more as everyone seems to be working from home (doing God knows what?) while chilling on their couches. We need better access to River North and Streeterville from the west side, and vice versa
The Americans With Disabilities Act is a civil rights law. It’s federal law that the CTA has to comply with.
One is enough.
These stations are old and structurally need to be rebuilt. I love it when able bodied persons decide that elevators are not necessary; your comment is selfish and plain mean. Thank you to the CTA for opening up access to homes, work and shopping.
I’ve been hearing this kind of straw man opining for years, it gets old. At some point reasonable adults have to make decisions about how much we are going to spend public dollars on accommodations.
I don’t have any problem with elevators and you already knew that. And rebuilding the ramp? Fine. Nobody ever in a wheelchair uses this ramp or even the elevator. How many do you see in a year? 5?
Bottom line is, we need to make decisions with tax dollars without fear of being yelled at or berated by people who have nothing more to offer than to guilt-trip everybody around them.
The current ramp has a difficult slope (not code) and no resting landings. Also, there aren’t feeder buses to the ramped entrances; so, yes there is minimal use. Again, it’s easy for able-bodied persons to make these over-reaching generalizations without thinking it through. And you have actually surveyed the use of ramps and elevators? Your statements are selfish and plain mean.
No expenditure is too big to make transit accessible. it’s also an ADA requirement. the real money and tax dollars that are wasted are on highway expansions and parking lots that sit empty 90% of the time, using public land. go after those multi-million dollar money pits first before ever mentioning the pennies spent on helping people with disabilities.
The area employs and schools several people at UIC, Target, and the general vicinity of Little Italy and the West Loop. I know not as many people come into the Loop as they did pre-pandemic, but there are tons of people that need a viable CTA station to get to their jobs in the area. Also, people in wheelchairs need access to public services all the time. It’s not a percentage-point qualifier, it is American equity.
What is wrong with you? Access for the differently abled benefits everyone. Maybe you shatter a tibia playing pickleball, or your baby mama shows up with the triplets you fathered on a weekend of debauchery. That giant sized Scandinavian stroller or the carbon fiber crutches are a lot easier to navigate using handicapped access. Be a mensch, call your mom, and go outside and touch some grass.
So what would you suggest people with disabilities do if they can’t drive and can’t access public transit stations because there’s no elevator? Remember it’s not just people who are “handicapped” but also temporary injuries, elderly, strollers, and ANYONE who benefits from elevators. Use your brain
OK, I didn’t;t realize there was a ramp there, but still.
Was there any effort to improve the streetscape in front of the station, make it more pedestrian friendly with a larger sidewalk area or bike lanes?
I’d love to see more enclosed stations along the freeways to help make the platforms more quiet. I’d love to feel a bit more disconnected from the freeway when using the blue line.
I’ve thought the same thing. A sound barrier would do wonders to improve the station user experience.
When they knocked down the old Racine station, the date for the new one to open was Oct 2024. Now the date says “early 2025” which will probably mean April, and that is if they don’t miss the date again. CTA needs to keep focus on this and get it completed. The site was left with no work at all for several months after they knocked down the old station. Why did they waste all that time to get moving on this?