Shaker Square (RTA Rapid Transit station)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blue and Green Lines

		South Harbor



		North Coast



		Amtrak



		West 3rd



		Flats East Bank



		Settler's Landing



		Tower City



		East 34th-Campus



		East 55th



		East 79th



		Woodhill



		East 116th



		Shaker Square



		Drexmore

		South Woodland

		Southington

		Onaway

		Ashby

	Lee

	Avalon

	Kenmore

	Lynnfield

	Farnsleigh

	Warrensville

	Coventry

	Southington

	South Park

	Lee

	Attleboro

	Eaton

	Courtland

	Warrensville

	Belvoir

	West Green

	Green

Shaker Square Station is a station on the RTA Blue and Green Lines in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It is first station west of the junction of the Blue and Green Lines and thus serves as a transfer point between the two lines.

The station is at street level on the western side of Shaker Square. It marks the dividing point between the line's grade-separated portion and its at-grade portion, with trains running on a grade separated right-of-way west of this station to Tower City and running at-grade along the medians of boulevards east of this station.

Fares are collected on the train for passengers leaving the train westbound or boarding the train eastbound.

1 Nearby destinations
2 Bus connections
3 Accessibility
4 History
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Nearby destinations

Shaker Square—historic shopping center featuring restaurants and retail outlets.

[edit] Bus connections

48 and 48A (University Circle-East 131).
25B and 25W (Madison-Buckeye).
821 (University Circle/Heights Area Community Circulator).

[edit] Accessibility

Since renovation of the station in 2006, the station is accessible by means of wheelchair lifts located on both sides of the tracks.

[edit] History

On April 16, 1920, the predecessor of what is now the Green Line began operation through Moreland Circle, then a empty traffic circle. The junction with the line along Van Aken (then named South Moreland) Boulevard was in the middle of Moreland Circle, Thus, the station stop was located on the western end of the circle.

Development of Moreland Circle into Shaker Square began 1927, when construction started on the planned suburban shopping center. The circle was transformed into more of a square (actually an octogon),^[1] and the rail junction was moved about one-quarter mile to the east. Conductors on the train were instructed to begin call the stop “Shaker Square” as of August 29, 1928. ^[2] The Shaker Square development was completed in 1929, but no provision was made for an extensive station facility at the location. The station consisted of small wooden shelters on the western side of the square.

In 1949 Rapid Transit officials proposed replacing the shelters with a combination three-story passenger station and retail complex to straddle the tracks at the western end of Shaker Square. However, Shaker Square merchants opposed the plan, and proposed an alternative smaller station, which was eventually built and opened in October 1952. The wooden shelters were replaced by a coffee shop with an adjoining sheltered passenger platform along the westbound side, and a concrete and steel waiting area along the eastbound side.^[3]

This station lasted until 1984 when a new station was proposed. The result was two brick and glass pavilions designed in a Georgian style to match the existing architecture of the Shaker Square buildings that surround them. The old coffee shop was retained, but a new exterior was built around it. Designed by Cleveland architect William Gould, the new station opened in July 1986. It won design awards from both Cleveland and Ohio architectural societies.^[4]

A proposal to rent the coffee shop space to a McDonald's franchisee in 1996 met stiff opposition and was eventually abandoned.^[5]^[6]

Further changes were made to the 1986 design as a result of the overall upgrade of the Shaker Square right-of-way in 2006. The station buildings were enlarged, and wheelchair lifts were provided to provide car boarding accessibility. The new station was opened on September 20, 2006.^[7]

[edit] References

^ Van Tassel, David D., ed..; John J. Grabowski, ed. (1996). "Shaker Square". The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (2nd ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33056-4. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
^ Toman, James (1990). The Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. Glendale, Cal.: Interurban Press, p. 31. ISBN 0-916374-95-5.
^ Toman. pp. 79-81.
^ Toman. p. 120.
^ McIntyre, Michael K.. "RTA's Big Mac attack runs into flak", The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, August 14, 1995, pp. 1B. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.
^ Zapinski, Ken. "RTA rejects Burger Chain's bid; critics argued McDonald's outlet would ruin Shaker Square atmosphere", The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, February 21, 1996, pp. 1B. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.
^ Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (September 20, 2006). Two RTA projects to increase quality of life on historic Shaker Square. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.