The day before President Obama gave his farewell speech at McCormick Place, his administration announced a parting gift for Chicago: about $1.1 billion in grants that, along with roughly $1 billion in local money, will pay for the first phase of the CTA’s Red and Purple Modernization Project, a much-needed overhaul of these el lines north of Belmont. Phase one includes rebuilding the tracks from Lawrence to Howard, upgrading signals, and reconstructing the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn, and Bryn Mawr stations to make them wheelchair accessible.
One of the most prominent voices against the bypass was the Coalition to Stop the Belmont Flyover. The group’s campaign included an unsuccessful November 2014 ballot referendum that involved the three affected precincts of the 44th Ward, in which 72 percent of the 800-some people who voted did so against the measure.
CTA spokesman Jeff Tolman promised that the redevelopment plan for the empty spaces left by demolition would be “significantly” guided by feedback from the community. The process will be funded by a $1.25 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s new transit-oriented development planning program, and public outreach is slated to begin in the first half of this year.
However, Rosa said his group’s members are optimistic that the planning process can lead to community benefits such as high-quality TODs and unique public spaces. They’d like to see the flyover project tweaked to include include colorful, attractively designed support column and public art, possibly with with amenities like a pedestrian path or a skate park built alongside or below the tracks. Some of the open space could also be used for grassy parks, community gardens, or plazas for farmers’ markets and other events, he said.
