Best and worst of L, subway stops
The Ride goes distance — to check out every station
May 12, 2008
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The CTA has been asking riders to be “Mystery Shoppers” and tell the transit agency what it’s doing well — and not. To do our part, The Ride rode the entire length of the CTA rail system — 242 miles of L and subway track. Here are 10 “bests” and “worsts” that stood out:
1. Scariest platform
State/Lake — with Clark/Lake not far behind. It’s the combination of the really narrow platforms with so many riders crowding onto them. At its deepest, the State/Lake platform is just eight feet front to back. In some spots, though, commuters have just 3½ feet to maneuver because of posts. An elderly woman was killed after she walked off the platform in 2003 — witnesses said she seemed distracted by something to do with her purse. The station, built in 1894, is the oldest in the Loop.
2. Ghastliest station
Tough category. This one could go to North/Clybourn on the Red Line, where stalactites caused by dripping water dangle from the filthy ceiling. Or, a little farther south on the Red Line, Grand and State, which is cold and dank — except in the summer, when it’s sweaty humid — and currently has all the tiles ripped off for remodeling.
But, no, our winner — er, loser — is the Division Street platform on the Blue Line, for the mush of garbage and water between the tracks, the bad lighting, filthy walls, noise and general sense of claustrophobic urban gloom.
3. Garden spot
The prettiest spot on the L has to be . . . the Conservatory/Central Park Drive platform on the Green Line. The Queen Anne-style station house originally was part of the 1890s Lake Street L. It was reconstructed at Garfield Boulevard in 2001. From the platform, this isn’t your usual L view — vacant lots, expressways, fast-food rooftops. Instead, this time of year it’s Garfield Park in springtime.
4. Coolest art
The 18th Street station on the Pink Line is covered with colorful Mexican folk designs — dancers and gods, saints and flowers.
At the next stop, near the entrance of the Damen station, is a glass mosaic by Juan Chavez depicting scenes from Pilsen. Chavez, along with artist Corrine Peterson, created the “Hopes and Dreams” mosaic in the transfer tunnel between the State/Roosevelt subway and the Green/Orange Line L station.
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