Kedzie (CTA Brown Line station)

For other 'L' stations named Kedzie, see Kedzie (CTA).
Kedzie
Station statistics
Address 4648 North Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60625
Lines
  Brown Line
Structure At-grade
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened December 14, 1907
Rebuilt 1975, 2006
Accessible
Owned by Chicago Transit Authority
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 591,280[1]  3.6%
Services
Preceding station   Chicago 'L'   Following station
Terminus
 Brown Line
toward Belmont or The Loop

Kedzie is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown Line. It is a surface level station located in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood at 4648 North Kedzie, with an auxiliary entrance at 4649 North Spaulding Avenue. The adjacent stations are Kimball, the terminus of the line about one third of a mile (0.536 km) to the north west, and Francisco, which is located about one third of a mile (0.536 km) to the east.

This station was the site of a fatal 1977 accident involving an intoxicated Korean immigrant who was electrocuted by the third rail while attempting to urinate on the track. The CTA was found 50% responsible and the $1.5 million judgment against them was eventually affirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1992.[2] The majority opinion noted that there was evidence before the trial court that this particular stretch of railroad line is one of the only railroad lines in the United States that uses an unprotected, unguarded, and unfenced third rail.

History

Kedzie Station was originally constructed in 1906/07 as part of Northwestern Elevated Railroad's Ravenswood line. The station house was replaced in 1975, and the whole station was demolished and rebuilt in 2006 as part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. The new station, which opened on August 16, 2006, can support eight railcars, and is ADA compliant. On October 1, 2009, the parking lot for this station was closed.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Annual Ridership Report: Calendar Year 2010" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/ridership_reports/2010-Annual.pdf. Retrieved January 29, 2011. 
  2. ^ Lee v. Chicago Transit Authority, 152 Ill.2d 432, 605 N.E.2d 493 (1992).
  3. ^ "Customer Alert: Kedzie Park & Ride Closure". Chicago Transit Authority. http://www.transitchicago.com/travel_information/alert_detail.aspx?AlertId=3544. Retrieved 28 March 2010. 

External links