On a snowy Feb. 27, 2015, a Green Line light-rail train gets ready to board passengers at the Green Road station which is ADA-compliant. So are the Warrensville and Lee stations along Shaker Boulevard in Shaker Heights (Kevin Goodman). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
All GCRTA rail stations to be ADA-compliant
In 1990, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act became law. It was civil rights legislation which guaranteed that no one could be excluded from a public facility or public transportation because of their physical abilities.
But it has taken decades for many owners of public transportation vehicles, buildings and other facilities nationwide to comply with it. Case in point, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) three-route rail system has 47 stations.
The last eight of those stations, all on GCRTA’s Green Line in Shaker Heights east of Shaker Square, are about to become ADA-compliant more than 36 years later. That will happen thanks to a $20 million grant awarded by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to GCRTA.
The federal funds were awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FTA All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) that was created as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021. The transit agency attracted the grant by pledging $5 million of its own funds as a local contribution.
The $25 million will be used to rehabilitate eight of its 11 stations along the light-rail Green Line in the median of Shaker Boulevard to make the entire Green Line accessible for people with disabilities. Two years ago, GCRTA got a $16 million FTA grant for Blue Line stations along Van Aken Boulevard in Shaker Heights.
Among the stations to see improvements is Southington-Shaker which has a platform on the arriving side of Southington Road in the median of Shaker Boulevard. This eastward view down the Green Line is from April (Google).
Upgrades will include replacing 45-year-old platforms at each station with new concrete platforms, tactile-edge warning panels next to the tracks, redesigned ramps, new sidewalks, elevating a platform section (called a “mini-high”) to access trains, and improving parking stalls with curb ramps to access the stations.
Stations to see improvements are Coventry, Southington-Shaker, South Park, Attleboro, Torrington, Courtland, Belvoir and West Green. ADA-compliant stations along the Green Line east of Shaker Square are Lee-Shaker, Warrensville-Shaker and Green Road thanks to 21st-century investments.
In addition to ADA compliance, each station’s reconstruction will result in platform compatibility with GCRTA’s new railcar fleet, a $435 million project, while increasing safety and security at the stations. The first of GCRTA new trains in more than 40 years arrived Cleveland last week.
“This award represents a major milestone for GCRTA and Greater Cleveland,” said GCRTA CEO and General Manager India Birdsong Terry in a written statement. “Once this work is complete, every rail station in our system will be ADA-accessible.”
Members of Ohio’s Congressional delegation were instrumental in securing the federal funding from the FTA, she said, and thanked them for their efforts.
What a Green Line light-rail station looks like after it has been upgraded with new ADA-compliant platforms, ramps, shelters, lighting and landscaping. The Lee-Shaker station was rebuilt in 2017 for $1.7 million (Google).
“Greater Cleveland is currently dealing with crumbling platforms and deteriorated sidewalks limiting access for individuals with disabilities,” said U.S. Senator Jon Husted, R-Ohio.
He said the funded improvements will increase access to Downtown Cleveland from the eastern suburbs and provide reliable transportation for workers and visitors.
“This will strengthen the city’s economy and drive long-term regional prosperity,” he added.
“I’m proud to announce more federal funding is coming to Northeast Ohio thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, D-11.
“I was proud to advocate for this funding because this federal grant will help make GCRTA platforms more accessible, allowing more passengers and their families use the Rapid to get where they need to go,” Brown added.
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