CTA – Belmont-Blue

Overall a good stop, my home stop and under ground which is very handy for the bi-​polar weather of Chicago. We sadly, don’t get the express trains so it’s frustrating to watch the express trains bypass only to stop at Logan Square, as if hey sorry people we don’t care about you.
Pretty clean, cleaner than downtown stations and I feel safe here the only time I do no feel safe is coming out at night after dark late sometimes some shady people are just hanging around outside. I’m not sure what they are doing which is what makes me feel nervous, and they stare and all that. However, overall it’s a great stop.

This station is not so bad, It’s the one closest to my apartment and it’s the first stop on my way into work every day. The only negative, when it snows a lot the steps are always a half inch deep in water. I’m not sure if there’s a practical way to fix this but (I hope the CTA see this) you should fix it.
The staff I usually see are nice, one guy was really patient when helping me with a question I had about a Ventra issue I had with my card. I don’t think the CTA keeps their employees at a regular stop. I wish they would, it be nice to develop a relationship with the employees at the stop I usually go to.

I take it all back!
Trying to load money on the Ventra Card has turned out to be not so easy-​smooth!
Those darn machines!
I have lived here in Chicago all my life and have traveled a lot via the CTA,
whether it be trains or busses.
Now, I know I can get grumpy sometimes but I usually don’t complain about specific
bus routes or train stations, they would have to get on my nerves really bad
in order for that to happen!
Well, let me tell ya, that happened tonight Big Time and it happened at the
Kimball/​Belmont Blue Line Station.
Now, in all fairness to that new Damn Ventra card that I own I wanted to give
it a fair shake, like anything new, we have to try to adjust!
Well, all I’m sayin is I don’t want to adjust because these Ventra Machines are
confusing as Hell and are not very quick or easy.
I mean. Hello CTA, I am trying to give you money here and your new Ventra Machines
made it very difficult for me to attempt to do this tonight, finally after I was standing
there for 5 minutes repeatedly trying to add money on my card using my Debit
Card the CTA person on duty came over to me and asked if I needed Help.
No, I’m just standing here admiring your stations new machine. Yes, I need
help. DUH!!!
So, what it amounts to is this, make sure you always press the button below
the option that you want, because thats the only way you’ll get anything done.
So, finally with the assistance of Mr. CTA man my card was loaded and I was
on my way.
On my way. but aggravated!!!
So, this Ventra stuff is turning out to be a pain in the butt, I was going to give it
a fair chance and I think I did that.
I suppose that I still would rate this station better than my home station, the
very nasty Wilson/​Broadway Redline Station.
Geez, CTA. will you ever get it together?
Me thinks not.:(

If it was cleaner I’d give it a 5, but my BUS IS ALWAYS ON TIME!
Not my favorite park of chicago but… it’s busy enough where you don’t feel afraid to wait for the bus.

My stop! Overall, a pretty good train station, the Blue Line gets me to school and downtown whenever I need to. Also able to transfer to the #77 and #82 buses here as well. The main issue, lots and lots of panhandlers every now and then!

This station is just a normal stop on the blue line. I like that its underground especially since we all know how bipolar Chicago weather can be. What’s interesting is that the customer reps are nice and I’ve caught them a few times helping out first-​timers and commuters who were lost. As another Unilocaler has stated, this stop is served by the #77 Bus and #82 Bus, which I often see folks running after. Overall it’s just a plain, normal stop… nothing fancy… however, occasionally there are panhandlers lurking around this station at night.

Looking much cleaner! Looks like they painted, power washed and revamped this stop.

This is my el stop. .. Definitely not fancy.
It’s served by CTA #77 (Belmont, my route) and CTA #82 (Kimball, not my route) and the station itself is underground. There’s a bike rack. .. underground. Not sure how most people get their bikes up and down the stairs yet I always see different bikes down there.
Speaking of stairs there’s also an escalator. .. Last year it was broken for several months and this year it’s been broken since the fall and boarded up with a sign that says «Repairs coming soon»
There’s also a little convenience store down there. .. Unfortunately it just doesn’t look like a place I’d want to be so I haven’t checked it out.
Just another stop on the blue line.