Morgan and Lake, to be precise. In general, a new station is a good idea, if the capital is available. The West Loop has really boomed, and having an additional El stop would help traffic flow in the area.
[The new station will basically be right here - there is a sign for Rubenstein Lumber in this photograph, and Rubenstein's address is 167 N. MORGAN STREET.]
A new el station will be built on the Green Line at Morgan Street in order to serve an increased population in the northern part of the West Loop. The station, expected to cost between $35 million and $40 million in tax increment financing dollars, will be built despite a feasibility study that found more potential riders for a Western Avenue stop on the Green Line.
Brian Steele, a spokesman for the city's Department of Transportation, said a 2002 study that examined daily boarding at potential stops on the western and southern Green Line branches found that around 1,000 people each day would board a new station on the Green Line at Western, with 800 boarding at Morgan. But Steele said the facts have changed.
"Since that time, the area around the Morgan station has seen big jumps in residential and commercial development," Steele said, speaking anecdotally. The '02 study, said, "was based on 2000 census numbers. This is 2008. Clearly, the Morgan station has seen significant growth, much more than the area around Western. Another thing that led to the decision was in 2006, the CTA introduced the Pink Line service, which goes through the corridor the Morgan station will serve."
[From A Green Line station at Morgan]
Lake Street Green line, from my building's roof. The new station would be about 5-6 blocks west.
