Transit access on the Far South Side is about to get a little better. Last week the CTA board passed an ordinance to extend the #111A Pullman Shuttle route father northeast to the newly built Pullman Community Center and a nearby shopping center.
Service along the #111A started in fall of 2013 to provide direct access between the Kensington/115th Street Metra station, located at 115th and Cottage Grove Avenue, and the then-new Pullman Park Plaza, anchored by a Walmart store, at 109th and Doty. Buses run every 25 minutes seven days a week from about 6:20 a.m. until 7:40 p.m.
With the extension, the route will go 1.7 miles farther northeast, passing the community and Olive Harvey College before terminating at a CTA garage. This will nearly double the length of the route and provide connections to five nearby bus routes: #J14 Jeffery Jump, #15 Jeffery Local, #26 South Shore Express, #28 Stoney Island, and #106 East 103rd.
The route extension launches on March 31. The extra service will cost about $405,000 annually, which has been added to the CTA’s operating budget.
“At the heart of any Chicago community is public transit linking members of the community together via buses and trains to their jobs, schools, parks, shopping and more,” said CTA president Dorval Carter in a statement. “Our goal with this service enhancement is to help foster the ongoing growth this historic community has seen in recent years and improve the lives of those who work and reside in the area with a stronger and more convenient transit network.”
The $20 million Pullman Community center opened on November 8. It's a 135,000 square-foot facility housing year-round indoor sports and educational and community programming. This includes three full-sized indoor sports fields, basketball courts, rooms for mentoring, tutoring and computer-based learning, plus common space for community events. Programming is being led by the Roseland Youth Center and the Chicago Park District.
