Chicago Avenue Entrance and Greenspace
Chicago Avenue is a likely station location for the future Midtown Greenway rail transit line. If the station is located on the south side of the Greenway between Chicago Avenue and Midtown Exchange then it will be located at the bottom of the stairway behind the Sheraton Midtown Hotel. Although the location of the hotel precludes the creation of a spacious plaza down in the Greenway here, opportunities exist to create a public platform serving rail trasit here. Such a platform could potentially continue west underneath the new Chicago Avenue bridge to allow Greenway transit access from both the east and west sides of Chicago Avenue.
Drawing by Jeff Liljegren, 2005.
On the north side of the Greenway between Chicago Avenue and Midtown Exchange there is a retaining wall alongside the trails, a grassy embankment north of that, and then 40 feet of City-owned land north of that. The City-owned land is currently being used for a roadway to access a parking lot and loading docks. If the open land here north of the Greenway and south of the Abbott Northwestern parking ramp were to be developed, such as development would present a prime opportunity to improve Greenway access and safety. New buildings here could open onto a lawn and trail entrance ramp occupying the City-owned land, thereby providing proper bicycle and wheelchair access to the Greenway on the west side of Midtown Exchange and from Chicago Avenue. |
