Monday marked the beginning of a significant update to the CTA Green Line's Austin station, with Chicago's mayor, Brandon Johnson, on-site to oversee the groundbreaking. The Austin station, situated at 351 North Austin Boulevard, is set for a $25 million overhaul aimed at making it fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Addressing the long-standing issue of accessibility, this project will bring in an elevator, escalator, ramp, and other improvements, as reported by WGN-TV.
The project, fueled largely by federal funding, is part of a grander vision encapsulated in the CTA's All Stations Accessibility Program, launched in 2018 with the ambition of making all rail stations fully accessible by 2038. Out of the CTA's 148 rail stations, 70%, or 104 stations, are currently ADA accessible. The Austin station belongs to a group of 14 stations that are currently funded and in various stages of planning, design, or construction, as indicated by CBS News Chicago. The main entrance of Austin station is slated for closure come June, paving the way for major construction work expected to push into 2026, while retaining rider access through an auxiliary entrance.
According to Michelle Lee, a disability rights advocate, the Austin station improvements are much more than infrastructure upgrades. "Accessibility is really an investment in our communities, it’s an investment in our city, and it’s really and truly an investment to opening doors to jobs, to resources and to, really, life and all this city has to offer," she told WGN-TV.
Advocates for improved accessibility, like Karen Tamley, president and CEO of Access Living, emphasize the broader societal impacts of such projects. "Creating accessibility benefits everybody. It’s also a civil right that our community get equal access to our public transit systems," Tamley mentioned in an interview with WGN-TV.
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