Wandering around Chicago’s lakeshore near the Shedd Aquarium I was walking over the Roosevelt Road Bridge and realized this rickety looking shanty (in my photo above the train) was actually in service as the Roosevelt Road commuter rail stop for the Metra. This station, which appears likely to ignite into flames at a single carelessly dropped match, is at the end of a gangplank like uneven wooden walkway. In addition, riders are forced to wait on a small narrow uncovered platform between busy tracks.

As far as the appearance of safety – it looks one notch above a hastily assembled carnival in a K-mart parking lot. I have a certain appreciation for “lost in time” structures, but I usually see that in semi-collapsed barns of the midwest. Not in a gleaming modern place such as this Chicago area.

Good news however for those who want to see this station updated: I googled “Roosevelt Street Station” and found this Sun-Times article describing plans for improvement which will commence shortly.

Built in the 1920s, the Roosevelt Road stop is a wooden relic noted for rickety stairs, a dilapidated station house and slick walkways and platforms. It’s also among the most unfriendly stops for riders with disabilities. As the South Loop area boomed the past 10 years, the station stuck out like a sore thumb amid new condominiums and other residential and commercial development.

Last year, the stop averaged about 1,000 riders a day, a 20 percent increase in the past six years, Metra officials said. In place of the old facility, plans call for rebuilt platforms, two new elevators and stairs to connect to the 11th Street pedestrian bridge.

The plans also include two new station houses connected to the inbound and outbound platforms, canopies and warming areas.