The Neighborhood- You can see Wrigley Field in the distance!…read more Go Cubs Go! The neighborhood has a suburban feel which is nice-there is a small Japanese-Thai Restaurant to the right after exiting the station. It has outdoor seating-it is called Yindee. I want to go back and try it. https://www.yelp.com/biz/yindee-chicago There is also an animal hospital/clinic to the left after exiting the station which is good to know. The Platform and Trains- The Addison Station is extremely clean-there are even recycling bins on both sides of the platforms. Furthermore the layout of the interior of the Brown Line CTA train cars provide "individuals" with "individual seating" options instead of being squished in-between people on the Red Line.

I have a dorky side, and that dorky side was eagerly looking forward to the grand opening of the…read morenew and improved Addison brown line station. The day after the anticipated opening, I made a special trip here to absorb the wonderful newness and freshness that's so foreign to the CTA. Mind you, the special trip did not qualify as a day's trip, as I live only two blocks away. I'm not that big of a dork to travel any further for this. ;) For the first time in my life, I was not afraid to touch the door handles in order to enter the station, as they were new and shiny as opposed to the familiar rusty ones that are covered in muck and germs. Out of habit, I expected to smell stale piss as I entered the station, but, to my surprise, the station had the "new smell" of concrete and paint. Ah, what grandness! I was loving every minute of it! As soon as I arrived to the platform, the train was just pulling up. On any other day, I would've been thrilled, but on that particular day, I was disappointed as I wanted to explore the platform. Yeaaaaah, you don't need to say it. I'm a dork. On a later date, I was able to look around the platform. It's a lot bigger than it was before, and everything is brand new, except the stairs. That was kind of odd. The trains seem to run faster now, but it's probably because I enjoy being at the station so much that I don't mind waiting for a while as much as I did before when the station was still a disgusting mucky mess. Thanks, CTA!

Loyola Red Line station - I love that you have a heating area when it's cold. I love that you are…read morenear the University. I love that you have a Dunkin Donuts. I love that you have a Mickey D's express (well, that's gone now). I love that there is a CVS right nearby. You're just so darn convenient. I love that the bus line that stops right in front will take me right to my door! YOU ROCK! Public transportation is cheaper, more green and relatively more efficient than automobile transport. It is also inconvenient at times and the clientele can be challenging. But, you know what? I'll take it ANY day over sitting on LA's freeways or taking the buses and few trains there. Ya'll are spoiled. There, I said it. Yeah, you Chicagoans .... oughta try living in LA and getting around without a car. Yea, it can be done to a certain degree. But who the hell would want to? You think these trains are bad? At least you have them. I live in an area of the city where every day, I have so many options on how to get where I'm going, it's like a game to figure out which is best. Often, I can just catch the first bus available out of 3 and get to my destination just that quick. Or I can take the train, the bus. The train or the bus. I got so I hardly went anywhere in LA because of the traffic. I pretty much started staying in my neighborhood. Guess what that is? Isolating. Boring. But every time I got into my car to go somewhere, I'd get so aggravated, it just wasn't worth it. Red Line, I love how you connect with other El trains. You're so well designed! I just gotta say -- I also love that you connect with the Blue Line, because the fact that I can get to O'Hare Airport for so little is just ---- the most awesome thing ever!

Like the improvements and the new smoother turn or 'angle for the dangle'…read more the neighborhood gots lot more going on as well.

They are doing upgrades all around the station. A bit dusty now but should look great when they are…read moredone. The station house itself is well taken care of, it is on the south side of the tracks. Which makes sense as that is where commuters wait to catch the train into the city and their jobs. Nobody hangs around once they get off the train. And more importantly the announcement system is clear. I'm constantly taking different train routes and CTA routes so it is nice to know when a train is arriving and when delayed.

CTA has a station at 47th Street and it's not bad. It actually is pretty nice and clean. With the…read moreoutdoor platform there's very few bad smells. Even though the area isn't great it's not all bad or anything. The trains get here every few minutes. It seems to be one of the better stations in the area. It serves the Red Line. This also has great access to busses as many come to the bus stops just outside the entrance of this elevated station. It's also clean. There's not that bad smell like at underground stations. Also this above ground station gives you a good view of the surrounding area. This happens to be in the middle of the Dan Ryan Expressway so you can see cars whizz by and maybe see crashes or something else interesting. Good as far as transit stations go. It's cleaner than most others around here. This is mostly quiet except for the traffic and it's for the most part safe.

Three things cause me to evangelize…read more 1. Living the car-free lifestyle 2. Seamlessly integrating useful technology into people's lives without adding more clutter or useless, expensive gadgets. 3. A Genoa salami sandwich on sourdough bread with brown mustard and lettuce. For the purposes of this review, we are going to concentrate on #1 and 2. Though eating the #3 sandwich while riding the Red line somewhere interesting would be great too. I don't usually use the 47th street station, riding to Garfield instead on my weekly trek down to the U of C campus. Today, flush with the pheromones of change, I took a different bus route home that took me to the 47th street station. This station was clean, neat and extremely well lit. In front, near the bus waiting area, was a giant flat screen showing the CTA bus tracker arrival schedule for the routes that serve this station - CTA Buses #15, #24, #47, #51. Beautiful! Walking inside the station, was another flat screen TV showing Red line northbound and southbound arrivals. Mon dieu! This is a beautiful thing for People Like Me that have not scurried down the iPhone rabbit hole just yet. Both of these TVs worked, and were *not* splattered with effluvial swill!! In my happiness at seeing this efficiency, I dared to dream that all Red line stations would be quickly outfitted with these features - yet wistfully wondered how long it would be before the screens got broken and/or stolen. But at any rate . . . this station is a score for the CTA.

Well, the lobby is big and spacious, and there's a nice large sign with upcoming departures…read more.. however, the platform is the polar opposite. One of the most stunning things about Thorndale is how narrow the platform is. While the CTA isn't known for roomy platforms (that little passage at Granville being a great example), Thorndale dials it up a few notches. With the two stairwells, a large portion of the platform is uncomfortably tight. Another frustration with this station is the lack of upcoming departure signage at the platform level. Especially as there's no countdown until trains leave Howard, this is particularly necessary. Besides, if the temporary Bryn Mawr station can have such signage, there is simply no excuse. At this point, I'd like to add that the station is not accessible; however, Granville, a couple blocks north, is. What I do like, other than the spacious lobby, is that the station is relatively clean, and there's a greater than average amount of seating.

CTA Thorndale, is one of the safest train stops in Edgewater, other than CTA Berwyn from what I've…read moreheard. What really catches my eye at this stop is the the bike locking area. Not bad, but I'd never leave my bike there, unless i was trying to get rid of it. Kudos for it having a bike pump there as well, but nope! I'd rather not leave my bike there. Just like CTA Bryn Mawr, Berwyn, and Granville in Edgewater; Thorndale has a decent set of restaurants, and businesses surrounding it: Swift Elementary, Broadway Armory, Moody's Pub, Grand China Express, Corner Cafe, Rice Thai Asian Kitchen, and Thorndale Cafe to name some. Decent CTA stop; I haven't really experienced running into panhandlers in this area, and haven't really heard of incidents in this area; Chicago Police keeps an eye on it pretty well; thank God. I end this review by saying it is also an easy access to Thorndale Beach/Lane Beach or whatever you want to call it. Check it out! : )

Nothing fancy going on at this station. Nothing negative either. I've stopped here a couple times…read moreand have never smelled urine (some stations it's the norm) or seen rubbish strewn about. There are a couple areas on the platform that are semi-protected from weather, though a stiff winder wind will get you. The station has convenient access to Cermak and the 21 bus route, being less than two blocks away.

I parked my car at Kedzie for 3 days overnight while I stayed near The Loop as a tourist. It's only…read more$2 for 12 hrs. So the rate is great! The downside is you have to use the ParkMobile app to renew your parking and the app is awful. The major issue is you can only renew your parking until midnight, or immediately after midnight. So if you're parking overnight, you must be awake at 12:01am to renew your parking for another 12 hours. Needless to say, 3 days in a row, that is unsatisfactory. Unfortunately the app does not let you know that in advance; you simply find out at 11pm when you want to go to sleep and realize you can only renew parking for 59 minutes unless you try again after midnight. My car was safe for the three days it was at Kedzie. But the surrounding are is a neighborhood to avoid at night, with all due respect. Note: the lot is on the north side of the CTA station. It is not marked with a sign at the entrance. It is hard to find by driving. But if you circle the perimeter of the station to the north you'll see it.

One of the most beautiful terminals during the Spring and Summer months. It's a must-see! Lots of…read moreflowers and plants are in full bloom at this terminal. If the CTA really tried to make the OrangeLine as unique as they wanted it to be, they surely succeeded with this station, thanks to the flowers and trees here. This station allows you to connect to four bus routes #47, 51, 51A, and 52. Next to the south side of the station is a strip mall containing Aldi, Kmart, and several other nice stores. AJ Wright just closed all their stores so it's gone. Overall, five stars all around. Great station on one of the CTA's safest L lines.

This station is pretty run down in numerous aspects. Wouldn't utilize it if I didn't have to.read more

You need to go under the bridge and the side walk is full of pigeons sh*t. It is dark and scary…read morethere. Even you're lucky to get upstairs, the platform is very narrow, so you should be really careful there. I cannot imagine how people with disabilities should behave there. It is nearly impossible to use that station for the am. And of course it is very noisy and probably super cold in winter, considering the wind speed on a highway.