18th Street Metra Stop Gets Some Much Needed Love

A reader writes:

The 18th Street Metra Stop is in rough shape. Old, weak wood and rusty nails. Well... Metra is sprucing it up! It should - the Electric Line and the 18th Street Stop gets a lot of use on game days. And more South Loop residents are catching on that it is a great way to zoom to work in Hyde Park or the Loop. 10 minutes to Millennium Station. Zone A rides are under $2.75, so comparable to CTA (which is $2.25). 

By the way... The morning trains North to the Loop from 18th are at 7:42am, 8:23am and 9:42am. Access the stop via the foot bridge off of Calumet Metra told me they'd add more Flag stops if Sloopers show demand is there and email them at metrarail_feedback@metrarr.com. 

Pictures attached (bird's eye view from the Tic Tac Toe towers): full platform on game day + empty while they replace boards - snapped this morning Oct 11. I also threw in a shot of the new bus drop off space the City added two weeks ago. It is accessible from the service drive, which hopefully means less party busses clogging Prairie District surface streets during Soldier Field events.

This seems like smart, collaborative transit and pedestrian planning. 

Kudos to the City, to Metra, and to Sloopers for teaming up! The South Loop just keeps getting better...

(Hat tip: SLV!)