Red Line Riders Prepare For Shutdown One Week Away
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In one week, on May 19, the CTA will shut down the south end of the Red Line for five months of reconstruction. Some riders are ready, others are not.
Red Line Riders Prepare For Shutdown One Week Away
CTA President Forrest Claypool said the transit agency is doing all it can to prepare riders.
"We're going to continue right down to the wire trying to get out as much information as possible," he said.
Waiting for a bus at the 47th Street Red Line station, rider Rochelle Parker said she is so unsure that she may break down and buy a car.
"I don't know," she said.
Parker did not know that Red Line trains would run instead on the Green Line to Ashland/63rd, or that there would be a network of shuttle buses, mainly running riders to the Garfield Green line stop.
Ryan Miller thought the Red Line would shut down completely, without a replacement and said it's good news that the trains will be rerouted. Still, she said, it would be inconvenient.
"Who wants to go so far when you're used to going one place?" she said.
Jeremy said he will take the Ashland bus instead of coming over to the Red Line but said it would be a much longer commute.
"Now, I get to my job early," he said.
Parker says she hopes this rebuild lasts.
"Whatever the reconstruction is, I hope it will be beneficial, for all the inconvenience of the people of the city," she said. "There's nothing I can do about it."
