I don't think so. I read all that as well trying to figure out the final sketches of the area and what was going to be the finished product.

If you walk down Grand in front of Rock Bottom and look where the entrance use to be, you'll see absolutely no clue that there has ever been an entrance on that spot - at all.

It's all brand new nicely finished concrete, completely reconstructed street, curb, gutters and sidewalk. This is a finished product, not temporary.

Across the street on the East side you also have this brand new concete and reconstruction - but you'll find a subway entrance has been built into the sidewalk as well.

CTA Oakton Street Station, Schematic Design

http://www.skokie.org/images/Downtow...0Rendering.jpg

My guess is that the entrance is being relocated, either around the corner on State Street or further west on Grand. The station renovation project involves the expansion of the mezzanine into sidewalk vaults as well as virgin dirt... logically, if the mezzanine is getting bigger, then the entrances would need to shift outward as well.

http://www.skokie.org/images/Downtow...0Rendering.jpg

^Boy, that's $14 million worth of station, all right!

And the renderer couldn't even get the typeface right for the signage.

:previous:

Man that thing is ugly, welcome to ye ole train station. Here is a great posting by The Urbanophile about the importance of compelling design when it comes to train/bus stations/subway entrances, etc.

That's true, but on the east side, the street is wider. If the sidewalk on the southwest side maintained an entrance at this point, Grand might be down to 1 lane. I think it's possible that they will keep that entrance there once they're done with the northwest side.

We should all email feedback@transitchicago.com and ask them/tell them we want the SW entrance to remain. And maybe also email Ald. Reilly

Again, we're treated to a retro design, this one gothic inspired. I getting more puzzled by the day as Chicago's leadership must know what is going on in competitor cities around the design of public space.

Skokie is in charge of the design of the new station, not CTA. CTA simply places signage and staffs the station.

They can't be serious....

lol, i like it. I like it better than the SOM stuff on the blue line anyway...

At least it seems to have a canopy.

Joliet Intermdel from State Journal-Registar
 

http://www.sj-r.com/high-speed-rail/...wide-rail-push

Joliet center part of statewide rail push

By TIM LANDIS
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Sep 16, 2009 @ 11:30 PM
Last update Sep 17, 2009 @ 06:04 AM
JOLIET —


Springfield’s concerns with high-speed rail service and increased freight train traffic are part of a much larger rail-improvement push in Illinois involving hundreds of millions in state and federal dollars.

The biggest push, by far, is in the Chicago region.

The Union Pacific Railroad broke ground this month on the $370 million Joliet Intermodal Terminal, which promises to create 6,900 to 7,400 full-time jobs and an increase in annual freight capacity equivalent to 500,000 cargo-ship-sized containers.

As plans stand, some of that increased freight traffic would use the Third Street corridor in downtown Springfield.

“Right now, there’s probably about 2,000 tradespeople out there working. There’s probably more earth-moving machines on that property than any project in the Midwest,” said John Greuling, president and CEO of the Will County Center for Economic Development.

Greuling said the Will County group first learned of the Union Pacific construction about four years ago, though the goal of making Joliet a hub for one of the nation’s largest “inland ports” is part of much more ambitious long-term plan.

“We are marketing ourselves as part of the global supply chain. … It’s a pretty aggressive plan we’ve been working on for eight years,” said Greuling, who added that six other major rail carriers will use the Joliet facility.

____________________________________

About the Union Pacific Joliet Intermodal Terminal

* Estimated cost: $370 million; joint project of the UP and CenterPoint Properties, a California-based investment company that specializes in development of industrial real estate and transportation projects.

* Location: 785 acres five miles south of Interstate 80 and seven miles east of Interstate 55.

* Construction schedule: First phase scheduled for completion in June 2010. Facility then will expand based on demand.

* Capacity: Annual capacity equivalent to 500,000 ocean-going containers; four 8,000-foot tracks capable of handling 107 “double-stack” rail cars; six 8,000-foot tracks to sort cars by destination; six tracks in a car staging area; more than 3,400 parking spaces for trailers and containers; four cranes and two mobile-packers to load and unload freight cars.

Source: Union Pacific; city of Joliet.

__________________________________

More

http://www.sj-r.com/high-speed-rail/...wide-rail-push

Realistically, given this project is already at nearly twice the original budget, I doubt any design changes whatsoever are feasible at this point. I guess at most it speaks to the need for at least some public involvement in the early design stages to avoid obviously detrimental steps like this.

^ Wow, I'd love to take a drive out there just to see that massive construction site.

It's great to see more job-creating infrastructure being created in the southern half of the metropolitan area. Anything to help balance things out...

One would think that additional CTA stations in Skokie would b in keeping with the Insull era station at Dempster, not a yellow birdcage. And can we put those shepard hook lights to sleep already? They look like what the early 90's sounded like.

http://marquettetribune.org/2009/09/...il-jk1-jm2-mn3

Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail moves ahead

By Tim Seeman. Published September 17, 2009.

The absence of a functional regional transit authority did not discourage members of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission from presenting a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed commuter rail connection between the cities of Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee Wednesday.

The research found that overall, potential adverse environmental effects throughout the areas affected by the proposed railroad would be minor. Most of the stations and tracks the proposal would use already exist, said Ken Yunker, executive director of SEWRPC.

The proposed line would run 14 trains per day between Milwaukee and Kenosha, stopping in several municipalities in between. It would also allow for transfers to the existing rail connection between Kenosha and downtown Chicago, Yunker said.

...

Anyone know the exact location of the Oakton station? I know it's going to be west of the tracks and north of Oakton, but how far north?

Island station (i.e. in between the tracks) north of the street. I believe the platforms will be 4 cars long (Skokie Swift currently only ever runs 2 car trains), but obviously the station is designed so that the platforms could be easily extended to 6 or 8 if somehow needed in the future. There is a little signal hut just north of Oakton that I dont think is being moved, so the platform doesn't start until north of that (you can see it from Google Maps aerial).

I know at one point there was talk of a walkway on the north end for an auxiliary entrance/exit at Searle Parkway but I'm not sure if that's being built now or just being left as a 'hook' in the design for future construction. I would guess it's not being done now since it would also require removing/relocating a track crossover which would be an unnecessary expense given the expected ridership level for the forseeable future. In happier economic times there was some talk of a midrise TOD on the triangular parcel at Skokie Blvd and Searle which could potentially have paid for transit improvements in exchange for a density bonus, but I assume that proposal is dead as a doornail for the time being.

I honestly don't think the design is that bad. Obviously, there could be so much more done, but it seems to be a station with generous platforms, a full canopy, and a large sheltered/interior area. It gets the fundamentals right, even if the style is not to your liking.

Yeah, I don't find the station all that bad either. It looks more spacious than similar surface stations near the end of the brown line. And the yellow coloring certainly keeps with the color theme of the line. Ultimately I'm just happy that there will be a station serving downtown Skokie (well technically the station's a few blocks east, but close enough....).