CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY NACTO – Designing Cities October 2, 2018 CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY Created in 1947 Serves Chicago and 35 nearby suburbs 1.5 million rides every weekday Rail System 145 Rail stations 224 miles of Track Bus System 130 Bus Routes <11,000 Bus Stops Fleet <1,800 buses <1,400 rail cars 2 2 AGENDA I. Pre-2010 Approach to Accessibility II. Infrastructure Accessibility Taskforce (IATF) III. What happened after IATF IV. All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) V. Next Steps 3 3 CONVENTIONAL WISDOM PRE-2010 Accessibility 63% pre- 2010 90 of 143 stations accessible Had hit our “key stations” goal in 2009 How can we avoid triggering accessibility upgrades here (to save money)? Accessibility is something we do only in the context of major rehabilitation or reconstruction. Accessibility improvements are a luxury we can’t afford. 4 HOW WE CAME TOGETHER July 14, 2010 – Infrastructure Accessibility Task Force (IATF) was formed to further develop and implement meaningful accessibility initiatives (CTA Board Resolution No. R010-6) Working group met monthly September 2010 thru June 2011: External Accessibility Experts: MOPD, CDOT, UIC (Assistive Technology Unit), Chicago ADAPT, Chicago Lighthouse, CTA ADA Advisory Committee, LCM Architects (Universal Design) CTA Internal Staff: ADA Compliance, Infrastructure/Engineering. Planning, Rail Operations Developed: Evaluation Criteria and Methodology; Prioritized Stations List; Station Conceptual Designs & Costs 5 IATF STATION PRIORITIZATION Weight Needs Criteria (%) Ridership and Gaps Station Ridership 15% Persons with Disabilities 5% Ridership Senior Ridership 5% Station Gaps 15% Origins Population 10% Paratransit Address 20% Senior Housing 5% Destinations Employment 7% University 7% Senior Services 7% Points of Interest 4% 6 IATF TOP STATIONS (BY AREA) Loop Northwest (NW) Randolph/Wabash Damen/Milwaukee State/Lake Belmont – O’Hare Adams/Wabash Irving Park – O’Hare Loop – Outer South – Dan Ryan Clark/Division 63rd North/Clybourn Garfield Division/Milwaukee 87th North West Wilson Austin- Lake Lawrence Pulaski – Forest Park Argyle Racine – Forest Park 7 IATF 10% DESIGNS Loop Northwest (NW) Washington/Wabash Damen/Milwaukee State/Lake Belmont – O’Hare Adams/Wabash Irving Park – O’Hare Addison – O’Hare Loop – Outer South – Dan Ryan CTA Quincy Station Rendering Clark/Division 63rd North/Clybourn Garfield Division/Milwaukee 87th North West Wilson Austin- Lake Lawrence Pulaski – Forest Park Argyle Racine – Forest Park Washington/Wabash Station 8 KEY IATF TAKEAWAYS Path of Travel To and Within Station Accessible entrances for main and auxiliary entrances Weather Protection Find ways to reduce elevator outage time Not just vertical access: consider all types of disabilities Phased approach: when funding is constrained, address as many accessibility features as possible Include accessibility at the beginning of project planning Keep it going: Continue to update station prioritization Continue to develop initiatives to reinforce CTA’s commitment to full accessibility 9 STATIONS COMPLETED Loop Northwest (NW) Washington/Wabash Damen/Milwaukee State/Lake Belmont – O’Hare Adams/Wabash Irving Park – O’Hare Quincy Addison – O’Hare Loop – Outer South – Dan Ryan Clark/Division 63rd North/Clybourn Garfield Division/Milwaukee 87th North West Wilson Austin- Lake Lawrence Pulaski – Forest Park Argyle Racine – Forest Park Addison Station Elevator Construction 10 ALL STATIONS ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM “During Wednesday evening’s ADA 25 Chicago celebration, CTA President Dorval Carter introduced plans for the creation of the new CTA Strategic Accessibility Program – a first-ever, comprehensive plan that will outline both short-term and long-term initiatives to make the CTA’s rail system fully ADA accessible over the next 20 years and plans to either repair and/or replace existing rail system elevators.” – January 7, 2016 Focused on vertical accessibility 42 remaining stations inaccessible (after Quincy) Developed a phased plan Added a wayfinding component Incorporated elevator rehabilitation 11 Why will it take 20 years to make CTA’s rail system fully accessible? Age and Condition - average age of 75 years Station configuration types (subway, elevated, median, at- grade) Platform Widths and Lengths Stationhouse Space Constraints Property Impacts Utility Relocation Adjacent Freight Rail Historic Resources Irving Park (Blue) Station 12 ASAP OVERVIEW ASAP Goal: To create a 100% vertically accessible rail system within 20 years 43 of 145 stations are currently inaccessible (Quincy currently in construction) 42 stations will be made accessible as part of the 20 year program Rehabilitate/replace 162 existing elevators at CTA rail stations 13 STATION PRIORITIZATION Weight Complexity Needs Criteria Complexity Variables (%) Penalty Ridership and Gaps Subway Station Ridership 20% Subway station configuration -3 Persons with Disabilities Number of adjacent buildings/properties impacted -1 10% Ridership Presence of a six-corner intersection -1 Senior Ridership 5% Other station configuration challenges -1 or -2 Station Gaps 15% Elevated / Median / At-Grade Connections 5% Station condition (repairs required) -1 Origins Station condition (reconstruction needed) -2 Population 10% Number of adjacent buildings/properties impacted -1 Paratransit 20% Need for land acquisition -1 Destinations Other station configuration challenges (e.g., site -1 or -2 constraints, adjacent to other infrastructure) Employment 7% University 4% Stations with higher complexity scores (5) are less complex and Points of Interest 4% those with lower scores (zero) are more complex. For both the need and complexity assessments, all stations Stations with higher need score (5) were assigned a score between zero and five, with zero reflect a greater need for accessibility. representing the lowest score and five the highest. 14 ASAP PHASE ONE • Includes installing new elevators at 8 CTA rail stations and rehabilitating/replacing 40 existing elevators. • CTA needs to obtain $140.3 Million to fully fund ASAP Phase One. 15 ASAP Phase One – Austin (Green) Proposed conceptual rendering 16 ASAP Phase One – Montrose (Blue) Proposed conceptual rendering 17 ASAP Phase One – California (Blue) Proposed conceptual rendering 18 ASAP Phase One – First Two Years of Elevator Replacement Program 2-Year Elevator Replacement Program Elevator Replacement Program Schedule Criteria Number of Station Station Ridership Line Station Elevators Elevator Age (years) Total Elevator Downtime (hours) Clark/Lake All 4 elevators Loop Washington/Wells 1 of 2 elevators Jackson All 4 elevators Red Loyola Only elevator Forest Park Only elevator Blue Western (O’Hare) 1 of 2 elevators O’Hare Only elevator Orange Midway Both elevators Purple Davis 1 of 2 elevators Jackson Station Elevator 19 20-YEAR ASAP PROGRAM COSTS • The full 20-Year ASAP Program (ASAP Phase One and Future ASAP Phases) includes installing new elevators at 42 CTA rail stations and rehabilitating/replacing 162 existing elevators. • This will achieve 100% vertical accessibility for the CTA rail system. • The 20-year ASAP Program will require $2.1 Billion in total funding. 20 20-YEAR ASAP PHASING PLAN 21 WAYFINDING RECOMMENDATIONS Six wayfinding options identified in the report: • Select pilot station locations for tactile ground surface indicators and additional floor graphics. The CTA will need to analyze both how this works functionally and the materials that could be used. • Coordinate with CDOT on pedestrian routes outside rail stations that connect with bus stops and potential installation of APS. • Explore tactile signage at bus stops to assist with exact location. CTA is currently preparing rail station guides to assist with navigation inside rail stations, which will be available online soon and will serve a similar purpose as tactile maps. • Further enhance directional signage and lighting in stations. • Seek feedback on wayfinding APPs from users in other systems on adaptability and usability of these APPs. The CTA will remain engaged on the topic with the goal of potentially adopting something similar when the technology is more advanced. 22 NEXT STEPS: ADVOCATING FOR ASAP FUNDING • Long-term federal and state funding solutions are needed. • Implementation of ASAP Phase One and Future ASAP Phases will heavily rely on a stable and reliable source of state capital funding as well as a new federal funding program. • A new federal funding program is needed to incentivize accessibility improvements beyond the ADA requirements. • CTA has complied with the core requirements of the ADA and is ready to go beyond requirements to a create a fully inclusive and accessible system. • A new state capital bill is needed to support the $140.3 Million projected cost of ASAP Phase One. • Existing funding sources are not adequate to support ASAP Phase One. 23 ASAP STRATEGIC PLAN RELEASE • The ASAP Strategic Plan was publicly released on July 19th, which coincided with several disability-focused events in Chicago. 24 Appendix ELEVATOR REPLACEMENT PRIORITIZATION To rehabilitate or replace all 155 existing passenger elevators on the CTA rail system and bring to a state of good repair over 20-year period, an average of 8 elevators per year would need to be completed. Elevator Replacement Program Score Ranges Criteria Station Ridership 1 – 5 Needs-Based Elevator Age (years) 1 – 5 Criteria Total Elevator Downtime (hours) 0 – 5 Prefer that two adjacent accessible stations not be under construction in the same year Prefer that no more