All aboard: Good news for commuters who like to board the Metra train at the downtown Highland Park station but avoided the popular stop during renovation.
Seven months and $900,000 after the depot closed last summer, the building reopened last month. The 1,118 people who Metra officials say board trains there can set their watches by an 8-foot-square clock on the station’s most prominent new feature: a 46-foot-high clock tower. If they don’t take the stairs, they can maneuver up a ramp proscribed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which spurred the renovation, according to Mayor Ray Geraci.
Riders can take shelter in what city officials refer to as Metra Modern, a sterile, white-tiled waiting room. Officials say it is a matter of getting what you pay for. The city picked up just $200,000 for the tower and outside accouterments. Metra paid for–and determined–the rest.
