Issue date: 5/25/07 Section: City

Media Credit: Pat Markan/The Daily Northwestern The CTA Yellow Line, also known as the "Skokie Swift," runs between Skokie and the Howard El station. [Click to enlarge]

By Annie Martin
The Daily Northwestern

For decades, Evanston residents have watched CTA Yellow Line trains, or the "Skokie Swift," pass behind their backyards without being able to use it. Now, the possibility of adding a stop in one of three proposed locations could improve transportation options for south Evanston residents.

"The Yellow Line runs though the entire 8th Ward without even slowing down," said Ald. Ann Rainey (8th). "Many people thought that was a waste of public transportation."

About 75 residents attended a meeting Thursday at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave., to discuss the results of several surveys concerning the Yellow Line that have been sent to residents in the past few months.

The most recent and largest survey, which was sent to 1,900 Evanston residents in April, garnered more than 500 responses, said Chris Kopp of Cambridge Systematics. Participants were asked whether they would prefer a stop at Asbury, Dodge or Ridge avenues and whether they had any comments or concerns about adding a new stop. The survey also collected demographic information from respondents.

Each stop had about equal levels of support, Cambridge Systematics representative Audrey Wennink said. More than one-third of respondents said they use public transportation for school or work trips, of which about 75 percent said they use the Red or Purple lines. Some said they would be able to sell their second car or drive less if another stop were put in. A small percentage of respondents opposed adding a new station.

The results from the study will be posted on the city's Web site in the next month. An engineering study determining approximate costs is the next step in the process, Kopp said.

Respondents expressed concerns including increased crime and noise around the new stations.

Richard Martin, a member of local advocacy group Evanston's Transportation Future, said he would be in favor of adding more transportation options to Evanston. Martin said he lives on Brummel Street, between Ridge and Asbury avenues.

"I'm not at all bothered by the noise," Martin said. "I just wish I could get on the trains."

Ben Schapiro, who lives on the 1700 block of Brummel Street, said he's also in favor of adding an Evanston Yellow Line stop. Schapiro said he commutes each day and would use the El if there were another station. He also said having a station near the Levy Center would make it easier for senior citizens to access the facility. Schapiro is on a citizen committee for the new El stop.

"Being against this is like being against working people," Schapiro said. "There's a lot of people with families for whom public transportation makes a lot of sense.

Reach Annie Martin at a-martin@northwestern.edu.

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