Morgan (CTA station)

Morgan
Location	958 West Lake Street Chicago, Illinois 60607
Coordinates	41°53′08″N 87°39′08″W / 41.8856°N 87.6522°WCoordinates: 41°53′08″N 87°39′08″W / 41.8856°N 87.6522°W
Owned by	City of Chicago
Line(s)	Green Line   Pink Line
Platforms	2 Side platforms
Tracks	2 tracks
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	November 6, 1893 (original station opened) May 18, 2012 (current station opened)
Closed	April 4, 1948 (original station closed)
Rebuilt	August 2010–May 2012
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	806,111[1]  14.3%
Rank	87 out of 143[lower-alpha 1]
Services
Preceding station   Chicago "L"   Following station Ashland toward Harlem/Lake Green Line Clinton toward Ashland/63rd or Cottage Grove Ashland toward 54th/Cermak Pink Line Clinton toward The Loop
Route map Legend Green Line and Pink Line west to Harlem/Lake and 54th/Cermak Morgan St. Sangamon St. Pink Line and Green Line east to the Loop, Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove

Morgan/Lake is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's Green and Pink Lines in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.^[2] The original station on this site was closed and demolished in early 1949; after years of intense lobbying by local residents and members of the Fulton Market Merchant Association,^[3] the Chicago Department of Transportation rebuilt the station from 2010–2012. The new station opened on May 18, 2012.^[4][5]

History

The first station

The first Morgan station was one of the 29 stations along the Lake Street Elevated Railroad when the line opened in 1893. Service to Morgan operated continuously until April 4, 1948, when the newly created CTA closed the station, due to low ridership and an attempt to speed up and simplify rail service along the line.^[6] Soon afterward, the station was demolished. The neighborhood continued to receive elevated service at the Halsted Street station, two blocks to the east.

Other former services

Halsted continued to serve the neighborhood until January 9, 1994, when the CTA closed the Green Line for an rehabilitation and renovation project. This project included the closure of six stations, and among them was the Halsted station. With the closure of Halsted, no Green Line stations remained in the West Loop or Fulton Market areas, leaving a gap of 1.3 miles (2.1 km) between stations at Ashland and Clinton . The closure of Halsted was unpopular, and since that date, community residents, businesses, and local organizations have argued that this area needs a new "infill station" to restore rail service. Heightening the need for a new station, significant amounts of growth have occurred near the line in the last 15 years, including large residential buildings and many popular restaurants and nightclubs.

New station

View of the new station under construction, looking North on Morgan Street

Morgan was a logical location for a new station, as it is located halfway between Ashland and Clinton, and the intersection of Morgan/Lake is close to much of the new development in the area. It also sits near many art galleries that have opened recently, as well as Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios, a major tourist attraction. In the early 2000s, the CTA began to work with local groups and city officials to plan and identify funding sources for the new station. Initially, the neighborhood planned to cover the entire cost with funding from a local tax increment financing district. Later, however, the Chicago Department of Transportation decided to seek federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program funding to cover $8 million of the cost, allowing some of the TIF money to be used for other purposes. The final cost of building the station was $38 million.^[5]

Construction began in Summer 2010.^[7] TranSystems led the design team,, in conjunction with Ross Barney Architects.^[8] Like most currently active Green Line and Pink Line stations, Morgan is ADA-accessible, with an elevator on either side of the tracks. The station will also have bike storage.

The new Morgan station officially opened on May 18, 2012, and grand opening ceremonies were held on May 24.^[9][10]

Notes and references

Notes

1. Due to possible double-counting of physically-connected stations, the CTA's official 2015 tally of stations was 146, but for ridership purposes reported having only 143 stations.

References

1. "Monthly Ridership Report – December 2015" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority Ridership Analysis and Reporting. January 11, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
2. Stations: Morgan, Chicago-L.org.
3. Butler, Patrick (November 1, 2001). "RFMA Succeeds in Getting Morgan Street Station", The Gazette. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
4. "Customer Alert: New Morgan Station Opens". Chicago Transit Authority. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
5. Hilkevitch, Jon (May 25, 2012). "CTA Dedicates New 'L' Station at Morgan and Lake — The First New Chicago Stop to Open in 15 Years", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 27, 2012
6. "10 Stations Closed as CTA Speeds Up Lake St. Elevated". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 5, 1948. p. 4.
7. Morgan CTA Green/Pink Line Station, City of Chicago web site.
8. CTA Morgan Street Station on the Ross Barney Architects website
9. Hilkevitch, Jon (May 24, 2012). "Grand Opening for New Morgan CTA Station", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
10. Kamin, Blair (May 29, 2012). "Gleaming New CTA Station Raises Question: What Price Architecture?", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 12, 2012.