Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday announced a makeover scheduled for 100 rail stations throughout the city.
According to NBC Chicago, 100 stations will be cleaned, repaired and repainted over the course of the next year as part of a Station Renewal Initiative. Emanuel announced the plan from the Logan Square Blue Line station, the first station slated to receive a facelift. Next up will be the California Blue Line station nearby.
"Chicago is an international, world-class city, and my Administration is committed to investing in what’s right, to make sure every piece of it shines," Emanuel said in a statement. "With this new Station Renewal program we'll have cleaner, brighter, more functional stations for CTA riders."
The effort comes with a $25 million price tag, money that, according to the Chicago Tribune, will be available because of cutbacks at the CTA's main office -- namely by not filling 54 vacant positions. When fare hikes came up, neither Emanuel nor CTA president Forrest Claypool dismissed that possibility.
The upgrades will be done by a "SWAT team"-like crew -- the "Renew Crew." The team will go into each station to make the improvements concurrently.
Emanuel said the Brown Line will not be included in the initiative. This will probably come as a disappointment to its riders, who already are dealing with rapidly deteriorating wood platforms despite the entire line being overhauled in a $530 million project about two years ago, according to a previous Tribune report.
WATCH Emanuel and Claypool discuss the initiative:
View more videos at: http://nbcchicago.com.