The North and Clybourn station on the CTA’s Red Line may become the iStop.
In exchange for Apple Inc. spending more than $4 million to renovate the scruffy station, the Chicago Transit Authority gave the maker of MacBooks and iPhones first dibs on naming rights, if the agency decides to go that route. It’s apparently the first such deal ever by the cash-strapped CTA. Apple also gets the exclusive right to buy all the ad space in the station, at 1555 N. Clybourn Avenue.
The CTA has been considering naming-rights agreements since at least 2005, but the idea is seemingly getting another look as President Richard Rodriguez scrambles to avoid hiking fares and cutting services to cover next year’s projected budget deficit of $178 million. A CTA spokeswoman did not respond to questions.
Cities nationwide are increasingly looking at corporate sponsorships to ease budget woes. The risk to the CTA is that slapping corporate logos on stations could confuse riders and cheapen the city’s image, and make only a small dent in the massive financial problems….
Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article by clicking HERE! From driving by the construction zone, you can see the general design of the store, which is different from the picture below. So far, I like where they’re going with it but I hope they keep it very light, open, and covered in glass.
According to this article from the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Transit Authority’s 144 train stations and eight train lines have seen quite the variety in this year’s ridership numbers compared to the same time last year. “El” train ridership has climbed 4.3% or 3.3 million riders from January to May 2009, compared to the same five-month period in 2008.
The worst rated subway station is the North/Clybourn Red Line station due to its need for a long awaited overhaul and mold that grows on the walls and ceilings. The best rated train station is the brand spankin’ new Howard Red/Purple/Yellow Line station due to its bright, airy design, new escalators, elevators and a new entrance near a commuter parking garage making it a major transportation center.
The article is pretty interactive and fun to look at because you can check out the ridership numbers other statistics about every train station from every train line. The South Loop, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and River West neighborhoods have seen a dramatic rise in rail ridership compared to the same time in 2008. Check the article out and a big thank to the Chicago Tribune.
Located at 60 W. Kinzie Street, the Greenway Self Park Garage is currently under construction in Chicago’s River North neighborhood with a completion date for mid 2009. Now that I think of it, it’s already mid 2009 so I guess the completion date has been pushed back a bit. Developed by Friedman Properties, the Greenway Self Park Garage has many exciting green elements including six wind turbines, which will provide electricity for all exterior lighting, even adding excess electricity to the city power grid. Other green features include a green roof, rain cisterns, a bike room, and six plug-in stations for electric vehicles on the first few floors.
GreenBeanChicago.com has a lot of information about the Greenway Self Park Garage…check out their site by clicking here.
After months and months of waiting and having to travel to either the Southport or Addison stops to catch the train, the Paulina Brown Line station has opened it’s brand spanking new station today, Friday, April 3rd. The new station is located at 3410 N. Lincoln Avenue. The Brown Line capacity expansion cost around $530M and helped to lengthen the station platforms to accommodate longer trains, to make every station accessible for people with disabilities, and to give each station a complete overhaul. Lets face it, those station looked like they’d cave in at any moment. Now, I haven’t been to the new station yet, but this is what it’s supposed to look like based on a picture from Paulina’s CTA website.
