Last June, residents and other stakeholders were invited to provide input on a streetscape plan to make Clark Street between Devon (6400 North) and Arthur (6500 North) avenues more pedestrian friendly. The proposed changes are part of an overall redesign of the Clark corridor in Rogers Park called Vision Clark Street which the Rogers Park Business Alliance released at the end of 2017.
The goal of Vision Clark Street is to “elevate Clark Street into a more vibrant and sustainable commercial corridor.” One aspect of making Clark more vibrant is to make changes to the built environment. Currently Clark in Rogers Park is a somewhat unwelcoming landscape for folks on foot and bike. Many intersections are challenging to cross on foot, and most of the corridor lacks bike lanes. As was stated during the last community meeting, bike lanes will not be added to this streetscape project since the nearest bikeways on Clark are a mile south in Andersonville, and the city feels it doesn't make since to install a single block of bike lanes that don't connect with anything else.
Streetsblog covered last summer’s community meeting and outlined the proposed changes. This past Thursday the Chicago Department of Transportation’s Living Streets team hosted another community meeting to share the results of the public survey regarding the desired aesthetics of streetscape changes. Close to 800 people filled out the survey. After reviewing the proposed changes the project will bring, CDOT staff went over the results of the survey with attendees and the finalists among the design choices. When residents weigh in on the final aesthetics of the streetscape project, they'll be choosing between two styles.
The Living Streets Team noted that many stakeholders wanted to see more green space. It looks like CDOT will respond to that input by transforming of a small portion of Arthur Avenue into a pedestrianized People Plaza.
A second public survey will be open until July 2. In late summer the city will hold a private task force meeting. The final public meeting will take place this winter. Construction is slated to begin in Fall of 2022, with completion expected by November 2023.
If you'd like to learn more about this project and view recordings of the meetings, check out the project site on the Chicago Complete Streets website.
