Only three of nine Purple Line stations are fully ADA-compliant. So, when the Davis L station inbound platform elevator was closed for repairs in late June, it narrowed the already limited options.
For riders heading to Chicago, the closest accessible L station is Howard Street. Dempster, Main and South Boulevard stations only have stairs leading to platforms that are too narrow for wheelchairs and other mobility aids to maneuver. They are grandfathered in under ADA unless CTA undertakes major renovations.
One of the major priorities of the Red Purple Modernization project is to make Red and Purple line stations between Belmont in Chicago and Linden in Wilmette fully accessible. But CTA is only in the planning stages for the Purple Line, and construction is still decades away. In the meantime, as CTA acknowledged, there is very little the transit agency can do except to try to fix the Davis Street station elevator as quickly as possible.
The sign on the elevator states that the repairs will be completed by July 26. CTA told the RoundTable that, as of July 19, it expects the elevator to be back in service on Wednesday, July 24. The CTA website currently lists the completion date as July 31 (though it adds: “Date subject to change.”).
Purple Line accessibility
Davis and Howard street stations both have elevators, while the ground-level Linden has a ramp, and all have wider platforms with tactile edges, the textured hard surface indicators commonly seen at sidewalks. That’s because they were rebuilt after ADA was passed – Davis and Linden in early 1990s, and Howard in the 2000s. The other Purple Line stations haven’t seen any major changes since they opened in 1908.
Riders with mobility issues do have some options while the Davis inbound platform elevator is out of commission. They can take the outbound train to the Foster station, which, unlike Dempster and Main, has an island platform, making switching to the inbound train easier – though the width of the platform can pose challenges depending on the mobility device. Riders can also take CTA bus Route 201 or Pace Route 213 to Howard. Both systems use buses that have fold-out ramps, and Route 213 runs parallel to the L tracks along Chicago Avenue. But neither route operates on Sundays, and they both stop running hours earlier than the Purple Line.
Sarah FioRito, Evanston’s transportation and mobility coordinator, told the RoundTable that the nonworking inbound elevator is less of an issue in late evening, at least for the time being.
“As part of the track work happening this summer, the inbound track is currently undergoing maintenance overnight from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m,” she said. “During nighttime maintenance all boarding and exiting of trains is happening on the Linden-bound side.”
Riders wishing to travel directly to the Loop can also take the Union Pacific Metra line. The Davis Street Metra station has ramps, and Metra trains have wheelchair lifts.
FioRito also pointed to Pace’s paratransit service, which is available to riders with disabilities who have RTA-issued reduced fare permits. The service picks up and drops off passengers door to door using mini-buses that are equipped which wheelchair lifts. FioRito also pointed to Pace’s Rideshare Access Program, which subsidizes RTA permit holders’ trips on Uber and UZURV ridershare apps. Similarly to Pace’s long-running Taxi Access Program (TAP), riders pay $2, and the transit agency subsidizes anything above that up to $30. If the rides exceed $30, passengers have to pay the rest out of their own pocket.
CTA response
CTA has set a goal of making all the L stations accessible by 2038. FioRito said that an accessible Purple Line is an important priority, even if it takes a while.
“CTA’s work to make its system 100% accessible is vital and needed,” she said. “Like other lines in our transit network, the Purple Line is not yet ADA-accessible at many stations and this, of course, needs to change.”
Catherine Hosinski, the agency’s senior communications manager, told the RoundTable that in the meantime, “our options are pretty limited.”
“What we do is make sure that our riders are aware,” she said.
The agency does it through alerts on the CTA website, and riders can subscribe to email and text route alerts, which, Hosinski said, would give the most up-to-date information. Every L station has a dry-erase board that lists all the elevators that are currently out of order anywhere in the system.
Davis station elevator repairs highlight Purple Line’s accessibility issues is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.