OH: A new RTA rail station, with overhead heat on demand

RTA trustees this week approved plans to build a new light rail Rapid station that will serve as a pilot project, testing on-demand heating for waiting riders. The station will also include wheelchair access and connect directly to a nearby neighborhood park.

Located on East 79th Street, about 250 yards south of Opportunity Corridor, the station for the Blue and Green Rapid lines is now little more than a stairway in need of repair, and isolated platforms.

Lighting and more covered spaces will be added to the stop, along with public art and sidewalks tying the station into the adjacent Hillside Community Park.

Total cost of the project is $9,984,587, approved unanimously on Tuesday by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority board.

Plans are to close the station sometime in June for the year-long construction, said Brian Temming, manager of quality assurance for RTA.

Temming said RTA worked with the neighborhood’s local development corporation - Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc. - to seamlessly incorporate entrances from the organization’s park into the station.

“One of the biggest things is the connections to the community,” Temming said.

There currently is no direct link to the 1.5-acre park next door.

Heat for waiting passengers

Heaters that riders can turn on with the push of a button will be installed in a new bus shelter next to the East 79th Street station, as well as on both the eastbound and westbound train platforms — testing a concept that’s been used in other cities.

RTA General Manager and CEO India L. Birdsong Terry said she suggested the idea because she grew up using such heaters in places like Chicago and other northern areas.

“It is a life saver at times when you’re waiting for the bus or the train and you’re in inclement weather and you’re hoping to have a little bit of warmth,” Birdsong Terry said.

“We do have to be vigilant and make sure folks do continue on their journey. It’s not intended to be a place of respite and shelter aside from your public transit journey. So that’s going to be something that we have to monitor.”

The overhead heaters will run for about 15 minutes at a time.

Birdsong Terry said if it works out, such heaters may be used elsewhere in the system.

The art

RTA selected Lakewood artist Bob Peck from among 16 applicants to design artwork, much of which will involve colorful station walls facing the park.

“It’s not only just paint on the walls. There will be die-cut stainless steel panels that will be attached to give it a little bit of a 3-D aspect. Those panels will also be located on some of the other walls throughout the station,” Temming said.

The station is the last of the combined Blue and Green line stations to be brought into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. There will be both ramp and stairwell options to access the platforms.

All access is from the south side of the tracks. But the new station also was designed so a separate entrance could be added later from the north, depending on future developments in the area.

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