Evanston resident Michael Pearce, who uses a wheelchair, used to ride the CTA’s Purple Line to visit his grandparents. However, Pearce said he ran into so many issues around platform accessibility that he has stopped using the trains.
“When I pressed the button to call for elevator assistance, I’ve had no one come,” Pearce said. “I don’t want to run into those issues again.”
He added that sometimes stations’ elevators don’t work at all.
The Purple Line currently has three stations that are considered accessible based on the Americans with Disabilities Act. ADA standards include ensuring the scope of space accessible to everyone is the same.
The Linden station in Wilmette has a ramp and the Davis and Howard stations have elevators. Other stations on the line do not currently have either.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s Red and Purple Modernization Project aims to improve accessibility in stations across the Red and Purple lines. The plan aims to widen platforms for access and ensure stations are accessible in compliance with the ADA, according to a CTA presentation given to the city’s ADA Advisory Commission in June.
The project is currently in Phase 1, which aims to improve the Belmont station and stations between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr on the Red Line, according to CTA spokesperson Tammy Chase.
The phase’s pre-stage began in 2019, and construction is projected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Evanston’s Purple Line stations are part of later phases of the project, Chase said.
“The timing and funding for that work has not yet been determined,” she wrote in an email to The Daily.
Evanston resident Julia Pantoga, a member of the Commission on Aging and Disabilities, said it seems like the CTA does not prioritize helping “vulnerable populations.”
While she can climb stairs independently, Pantoga said her disability requires her to use a walker for long distances.
When she has to take the train, Pantoga doesn’t always bring her walker. At a certain point, she said it is so inconvenient and exhausting to use the CTA that she would rather pay for a cab. However, not everyone with a disability has that option.
“If someone is in a wheelchair, they cannot take a cab because their wheelchairs are too heavy and too big to get in a car,” she said.
Pantoga said the CTA is basing its plans for improvement on previous station use data. As a result, the agency isn’t aware of the increase in demand Central station will face once Ryan Field is complete in 2026, she said.
Lauren Ruiz, the city’s ADA coordinator, said her priority is making every station accessible as soon as possible, but Central station is high on the list. The stadium itself will incorporate universal design standards to be accessible for people with disabilities and those with strollers or arthritic knees.
“The stadium might be the most accessible stadium, but if people can’t get to that stadium, that takes away from it,” Ruiz said.
She said the community’s main accessibility concerns — based on surveys published by the city — are regarding transportation and sidewalk accessibility. In response, the city launched a sidewalk improvement program to create a safe, non-vehicular transportation option for community members.
Pearce said wider platforms, more responsive call-buttons and reliable door-platform levelers would improve the CTA’s accessibility.
For Pantoga, functioning elevators are key. She said sometimes, if one elevator isn’t working, riders with accessibility needs have to cross the street, go up the elevator on the wrong side and ride in the opposite direction until they reach a station with two working elevators to make the switch.
No matter how long it takes, Pantoga said accessibility improvements are crucial.
“They take a long time, but I also understand there’s a lot involved with these things with the city and the state and the feds, and it takes a lot of money and time,” Pantoga added. “But it is very rough on people.”
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Email: [email protected]
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