Proposed Upgrades to Chicago Union Station

[neroden]

Also, she is a smoker but says she can manage.

I have advised smokers to bring the patch or the gum just in case they start really suffering from withdrawal.

 

[neroden]

Which, if any, parts of CUS are currently closed off for construction?

Only the parts which have been closed off for decades; don't worry about it.

 

[NorthShore]

After several visits to Union Station, I finally figured out that those repeating track announcements are ADA requirements for the benefit of blind people.

I would hope blind folks would have actual assistance from redcaps and such instead. If my sight was gone and I ended up with a heightened sense of hearing those loud and constantly overlapping announcements would be as appealing as fingernails on a chalkboard. I've never seen anything like that at any other train station or bus station or airport or seaport. What on earth is a blind person supposed to do when they reach the gate? They can't go anywhere without permission from the gate dragon anyhow.

Remember, most trains at CUS are not Amtrak, but commuter. No one is likely to be helping travelers to the proper gate or train, especially in the evening rush. And many of the platforms, especially on the north terminal where you can walk through to Madison Ave., are open and available. Now, agreed, whether the talkers are actually offering any helpful information, such as what train in awaiting on the associated track and its departure time, is another matter entirely. And the cacophony is as annoying as all can be. Whether regular commuters are able to zone it out as mere background noise, I don't know.

 

[NorthShore]

Interestingly, I don't think they have such annunciators at the other downtown commuter rail terminals.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

The annunciator does help a blind person. Remember they have better hearing than you and can follow the sound.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

After several visits to Union Station, I finally figured out that those repeating track announcements are ADA requirements for the benefit of blind people.

I would hope blind folks would have actual assistance from redcaps and such instead. If my sight was gone and I ended up with a heightened sense of hearing those loud and constantly overlapping announcements would be as appealing as fingernails on a chalkboard. I've never seen anything like that at any other train station or bus station or airport or seaport. What on earth is a blind person supposed to do when they reach the gate? They can't go anywhere without permission from the gate dragon anyhow.

Remember, most trains at CUS are not Amtrak, but commuter. No one is likely to be helping travelers to the proper gate or train, especially in the evening rush. And many of the platforms, especially on the north terminal where you can walk through to Madison Ave., are open and available. Now, agreed, whether the talkers are actually offering any helpful information, such as what train in awaiting on the associated track and its departure time, is another matter entirely. And the cacophony is as annoying as all can be. Whether regular commuters are able to zone it out as mere background noise, I don't know.

That's a good point, although I wonder how they get down there in the first place and what they do when they embark or disembark at the other end. Most of Chicago doesn't strike me as especially handicap friendly, at least with regard to public transportation. As someone with average sight and hearing I just find the announcements annoying and their location curious. Sometimes the answers aren't as interesting as the mystery which precedes them.

 

[neroden]

I have better hearing than most people, including most blind people. The track number announcements at CUS are simply not fit for purpose. "Tra- 2 - Tra - Tra - 3 - ck - 2 - Tra - 1 - ck - Tra - 2 - ck - 3..." Sound announcements need to be triggered to be useful, not just going off constantly.

Furthermore, the platforms lack the tactile edging strips which are *actually* helpful for blind people.

I think this was a misbegotten attempt at assistance for the blind which failed. They should try again, maybe they'll do better this time.

 

[jis]

I have better hearing than most people, including most blind people. The track number announcements at CUS are simply not fit for purpose. "Tra- 2 - Tra - Tra - 3 - ck - 2 - Tra - 1 - ck - Tra - 2 - ck - 3..." Sound announcements need to be triggered to be useful, not just going off constantly.

Furthermore, the platforms lack the tactile edging strips which are *actually* helpful for blind people.

I think this was a misbegotten attempt at assistance for the blind which failed. They should try again, maybe they'll do better this time.

I agree. I cannot imagine how anyone, blind or not can make any sense of that cacophony that goes on there. Specially with the noise bouncing off various walls forming an echo chamber, it is probably not very useful in terms of directionality of the individual annunciation either.

 

[lstone19]

Now, agreed, whether the talkers are actually offering any helpful information, such as what train in awaiting on the associated track and its departure time, is another matter entirely. And the cacophony is as annoying as all can be. Whether regular commuters are able to zone it out as mere background noise, I don't know.

After three years of Metra commuting, I normally never hear them anymore. Come down the escalator, check the board to make sure nothing is flashing (indicates a track change from the regular track) and no notes of service problems, and head to my train. Beyond that, I'm on auto-pilot as I move through CUS.

But to the condition of CUS, a month ago, some concrete falling from the ceiling closed Tracks 1 and 3 for a few days (open again but every time I look at the ceiling over my morning arrival track (7), I worry about that section). So for a week, my 5:05 departure went from Track 19 even as a Hiawatha was loading across the platform on 17. It was kind of comical: Amtrak gate dragons trying to control the flow out of the Amtrak area going to the Hiawatha even while we were crossing that flow unrestricted to get to 19 (Amtrak gate dragon control access to Amtrak departures but Metra trains are freely accessible - even when sharing a platform!).

 

[MARC Rider]

Now, agreed, whether the talkers are actually offering any helpful information, such as what train in awaiting on the associated track and its departure time, is another matter entirely. And the cacophony is as annoying as all can be. Whether regular commuters are able to zone it out as mere background noise, I don't know.

After three years of Metra commuting, I normally never hear them anymore. Come down the escalator, check the board to make sure nothing is flashing (indicates a track change from the regular track) and no notes of service problems, and head to my train. Beyond that, I'm on auto-pilot as I move through CUS.

One of the most awesome things about CUS is watching the evening commuter rush. When I'm catching the Captiol (this was especially true back when it left after 7 PM), I head up to the Food Court at 5 or so, get a Chicago style hot dog at Gold Coast Dogs to tide me over until dinner in the diner. and then after eating the dog out by the river if the weather is nice, I enter the station with the throngs of people flowing up the streets from the Loop and into the station. All the escalators are set to "down", and I just go with the flow and watch the crowd flow down the escalators, on the the concourse and head for their respective gates. It seems like there are nonstop train departures and a nonstop flow of people. It certainly beats the MARC rush at Washington. It must be rivaled by NYP, but the tracks are on 2 levels, a lot of that crowd is fed into the station directly from the 2 subway lines, and I try yo avoid NYP during rush hour, anyway.