EDGEWATER — Uptown and Edgewater neighbors can help determine what the new “community space” under the rebuilt Red Line will look like at a series of community meetings.
The CTA is planning to install roughly 10 blocks of community space under the rebuilt Red and Purple line tracks between the Lawrence and Ardmore avenues. It’s being done as part of the over $2 billion overhaul of the track infrastructure on the Far North Side.
Being removed alongside the old CTA tracks is the century-old embankment wall that supported the tracks, which was not needed to support the new structures. The removal of that embankment wall — plus the new tracks, which are higher off the ground and require less support beams — has allowed for the creation of the community areas.
This is the first time the CTA has had the opportunity to create public areas under rail infrastructure, according to the agency. To help design and program the areas, it is turning to experts and neighbors.
Site Design Group, a Chicago-based urban design and architecture firm, is being brought on to develop a block-by-block plan for the space under the tracks.
A series of community meetings will be held Jan. 10-11 for neighbors to weigh in on uses and plans for the land.
“Working with the community to enhance public spaces under the new Red Line is an
example of how CTA aims to create focal points in the communities we serve,” CTA
President Dorval Carter Jr. said in a statement. “We want to hear from the community on they would like to see to create useful and appealing community spaces for residents and customers to enjoy.”
There will be two meetings detailing the southern and northern portions. The meetings:
- For blocks between Foster and Ardmore avenues: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at St. Ita Catholic Church, 5500 N. Broadway.
- For blocks between Foster and Lawrence avenues: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave.
The meetings will include an overview of the project and what uses can and can’t be implemented in the community areas. Residents will be asked to provide ideas for each block of the project.
Examples of possible uses include additional neighborhood parking and open-air gathering areas, according to the CTA. The Uptown and Edgewater chambers of commerce will also help with planning.
Preliminary concepts will be unveiled at community meetings scheduled for the spring followed by the presentation of final schematics in the summer, according to the transit agency.
The rebuild of the Red and Purple line tracks between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr is slated to be completed in 2025, and the new community areas will come online after construction is finished.
Following the completion of the Lawrence to Bryn Mawr work, the CTA will focus on rebuilding the rest of the Red-Purple north branch, including the Sheridan station and the track infrastructure in Rogers Park.
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