Only elevator at Millennium Station shut down for replacement, leaving disabled riders in the lurch

Many Metra riders with disabilities have been forced to reroute their trips due to Monday's closure of the only elevator providing access to the Electric Line at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.

The elevator is expected to be out of service until next winter while it is being replaced, and accessibility advocates said the move raises concerns about transit equity. 

Metra Electric rider Kam Mitchell said signs warning of the elevator's closure popped up on Monday, when the only ADA accessible elevator on South Water Street was shut down and locked away.

"There was very little notice," she said.

Stairs aren't an option for Mitchell, who needs a walker or pushcart to get around, and takes the Metra Electric Line twice a week to care for her mother.

"The whole situation is just kind of crazy," she said. "We need the accommodation for the disabilities, and it's not an unreasonable thing to ask."

Metra pushed back on Mitchell's claim that there was little notice about the elevator closure. The agency said they worked with their ADA Advisory Committee to give notice about the closure, reached out to advocacy groups including Access Living, made announcements on Metra Electric trains, handed out flyers at the station, and put notices on the seats of all Metra Electric trains. 

Metra also said they put out a news release in late April about the coming closure, included a story in their on board customer magazine, posted alerts to their website starting on April 27, sent alerts to customers who had signed up for them and created a separate webpage to notify riders and provide them with new maps and information to help them. 

Metra said it put up signs on the platform about the elevator closure a week ago, alerted their partner transit agencies —- CTA, Pace and RTA —- about the closure to get their help spreading the word, put information on digital train-tracking signs, posted about it on social media and included the information on their elevator hotline. 

Metra said riders who need ADA access to the Metra Electric Line can use the elevator at the Van Buren station about a half mile south, but Mitchell said that elevator is often listed as out of service — like it was on Monday morning.

Even when it's working, Mitchell said the route still requires a half-mile walk to get to Millennium Station, a difficult distance for many people with disabilities.

Mitchell said she's worried her visits to see her mother could become much less frequent.

"It may be me today, but it could be you tomorrow that something that you need is no longer available," she said.

A Metra spokesperson said the South Water elevator is expected to be closed until next winter. They understand that closing the elevator is a major inconvenience and they will work to replace it as soon as possible.

As for the unreliable elevator at Van Buren, a spokesperson said, "We will do everything we can to make sure it is operational and to fix it ASAP if it fails."

Laura Saltzman, senior policy analyst with Access Living, an advocacy group for the disabled, said the situation underscores broader accessibility gaps across all of our public transit systems.

"It can have a really significant impact on one's life, especially when, you know, the system is already not fully accessible, right? This is why it's important to increase accessibility," she said.

She's looking to what accessibility lessons can be learned by this summer, when the Regional Transportation Authority – which oversees Metra, Pace, and the CTA – will be replaced by the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority

"Actually, there's going to be an Office of Disability Policy and Planning that oversees specifically that, which will be new for this system," Saltzman said.

Meantime, Mitchell said she wants all riders to understand how one broken elevator can bring the whole journey to a standstill.

"They say you can still use the station. You just can't get down there," she said. "That's just not acceptable."

Millennium Station also serves the South Shore Line to northwest Indiana. South Shore passengers who need an elevator can also use the Van Buren station while the Millennium Station elevator is being replaced.

The elevator closure is part of the renovation of the hole South Water entrance, which is why the elevator is being replaced, Metra said. The South Shore Line is not impacted.