Arnab Chakraborty : DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR BETTER
MEDIAN STATION ENVIRONMENTS
Improving stations and their immediate physical
environment is as necessary for a transit agency as maintaining
frequent and up-to-date schedules. As transit agencies everywhere
try to maintain their existing infrastructure while looking for
funding to improve services, this thesis looks into some avenues
to spend it, namely, improvement of median station environments.
Median stations are stations located in expressway medians with
a stable island platform with tracks at-grade with the expressway
and access from bridges, overpasses and underpasses. Different
complementary and mutually exclusive improvements are important
for the proper functioning of median stations, for example - bike
parking, kiss and ride etc. Together with an open design for security
and protection from weather, these amenities enhance the riders’
impression of the public transit.
This study explores many ideas that demonstrate how to enhance
station environments. The study includes graphics to demonstrate
how these features can be included in proposed guidelines for
new median stations. Features such as enhanced inter-modal connections,
proper accessibility and mobility in and around the stations,
good pedestrian and disability access and comfortable waiting
spaces are included. Since the project was conceived with the
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) median stations in mind, the project
makes references to and draws examples from the many median stations
on the existing CTA system.
Arnab Chakraborty is currently pursuing a PhD in Urban Planning
at the University of Maryland at College Park. He can be contacted
at: arch@umd.edu
|
