East 55th (RTA Rapid Transit station)

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East 55th
RTA Rapid Transit and light rail station
Station statistics
Address 2890 East 55th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44127
Coordinates 41°28′50″N, 81°39′7″W
Lines
Red Line
Green Line
Blue Line
Connections Bus # 2 (East 55th–East 79th)
Bus # 16 (East 55th)
Community Circulator # 805
     (Slavic Village)
Structure At-grade
Platforms Side platforms
Other information
Opened April 11, 1920
Owned by Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

East 55th is a station on the RTA Red, Green and Blue Lines in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The station entrance is located on the west side of East 55th Street just north of the intersection with Bower Avenue and the eastern terminus of Interstate 490.

The station is fairly unique in that it serves both high-level boarding rapid transit or heavy rail trains and low-level boarding light rail trains. The high-level boarding platforms for the Red Line are located at the eastern end of the station at the end of the stairs leading down from the station entrance on East 55th Street. The low-level boarding platforms for the Green and Blue Lines extend from the western end of the high-level platforms.

Contents

[edit] Notable places nearby

[edit] History

The station was first used for the Shaker Rapid Transit, the predecessor of the Green and Blue Lines. The Shaker Rapid Transit opened along private right-of-way from Shaker Square to East 34th Street on April 11, 1920.[1] The station then consisted of a low-level island platform and a wooden stairway to East 55th Street.

The Shaker Rapid Transit was able to use an island platform at this station and at East 34th Street because it used left side running on its dual tracks west of East 65th Street (that is, each train traveled forward on the left track of the pair, instead of the right as is common and as done over the rest of the line). Therefore, the doors on the right side of each car opened onto the island platform at these stations. The switch from right to left side and vice versa was accomplished at a complex of tunnels located at East 65th Street. The tunnels also provided access from the trunk line to the Kingsbury Car Yard and Shops located in the Sidaway Valley, and they allowed for connection to the proposed line along the right-of-way eventually used by the Red Line.

When the CTS Rapid Transit (today's Red Line) was built, high-level side platforms were installed on each side of the island platform to accommodate the subway-style cars. Separate stairways were constructed from the two side platforms to a fare booth located at the East 55th Street entrance. The CTS line was opened on March 15, 1955.[2] The CTS Rapid Transit and the Shaker Rapid Transit stations operated independently. Since the CTS Rapid Transit and the Shaker Rapid Transit were separately owned and since there was no transfer provided between the lines, there was no reason to have a connection at track level between the two stations.

When the Regional Transit Authority was formed on September 5, 1975,[3] it merged the CTS and Shaker Rapid Transit systems, so convenient connection between the lines was needed. RTA first encouraged passengers to transfer at East 34th Station where a platform level connection had existed since 1971.[4] Eventually, the island platform was eliminated along with the separate stairway to East 55th Street, and new low-level platforms were constructed at the western end of the high-level platforms. The high-level platforms were shortened, since RTA no longer ran the longer trains for which the platforms were originally designed.

RTA opened its new $23-million Central Rail Maintenance Facility on April 29, 1984 on a 20-acre site adjacent to the station.[3] The new yard for all rapid transit cars was built on the site of the former rail yard of the Nickel Plate Road. The nearby Kingbury Shops originally built for the Shaker Rapid Transit were closed as operations were consolidated in the Central Rail facility.

The station has not yet received a substantial improvement since its original construction, and it remains ADA non-compliant. RTA has received several suggestions regarding improvements that can be made to the station.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Toman, James (1990). The Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. Glendale: Interurban Press, p. 22. ISBN 0-916374-95-5. 
  2. ^ Exner, Rich. "Red Line rapid marks 50 years in service", The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, March 14, 2005, pp. A1. Retrieved on 2007-06-02. 
  3. ^ a b About RTA: History of Public Transit in Greater Cleveland. RTA Website. Retrieved on 2007-06-03.
  4. ^ Toman. p. 94.
  5. ^ Harter, Kevin. "Better access wanted to E. 55th Rapid Station", The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, May 14, 1998, pp. 6B. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. 

[edit] External links

Preceding station   RTA Rapid Transit   Following station
toward Airport
 Red Line
toward Windermere
Green Line
Blue Line