This is a really long ramp. I've been down it—but not up it—a lot this past week, heading out to work on a story. I imagine a number of readers have been down it too. But you never know. sometimes the most obvious places can be the hardest to figure out.
Anyway, the first person to guess where this is will win one of my high quality collectible 2015 posters, such as this one, which was put up this week at Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston, the store that replaced the beloved Bookman's Alley when Roger Carlson retired. The new store is lovely in its own right, and I'm glad to see the tradition continue, with a modern twist. Co-owner Jeff Garrett put the poster up, and said it looked very fine against the weathered wood, resembling a "Wanted" poster from the Old West. Indeed it does. He has his; good luck winning yours. Place your guesses below.
Bookends & Beginnings, 1712 Sherman Road, in the alley, Evanston. |
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, planet Earth
ReplyDeleteThat's the wheelchair ramp at the Clinton/Lake L station, on the Eastbound side.
ReplyDeleteBingo Clark Street -- that's correct. Send me your address, at dailysteinberg@gmail.com and I'll send you your prize (I thought I might have your address already, but I don't see it). Congratulations.
DeleteI've never understood why the CTA didn't build a direct entrance for their employees from the top of this ramp to their HQ building, which is the building you see at the right side of your photo.
DeleteInstead, the very few that actually use the CTA L, must go downstairs, walk a block to the entrance.
So it's not just us paying passengers the CTA hates, it's also their own employees they hate.
They certainly don't make it easy on the customers.
DeleteWould've been nice for the Clinton station to still have the Northwest Passage open – a direct connection to Ogilvie without needing to go down to street level.
DeleteI think the ramps are there to meet ADA requirements, although I couldn't imagine how long it would take a non-powered wheelchair user to go up one of them. That said, ramps can't break down like elevators do, so it was most likely a cost-saving measure. And I doubt the station's design adequately anticipated the West Loop growth boom we've seen over the last 10-15 years.
The Northwest Passage was removed because they needed Track 1 back into service, because Track 1 was where the Passage was.
DeleteI would like them to rebuilt as an arcade over the Clinton sidewalk to the mezzanine of the L station.