This might come as a shock to SBC readers, but our colleagues at Inside Publications "Not In My Back Yard"-style newspapers are not thrilled about the idea of Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Square becoming car-free on a regular basis.
You might recall that publisher and editor Ronald Roenigk has dubbed himself the "King of Nimbyland." That's an apt title, since his publications are sort of the Bizarro version of Streetsblog, bitterly opposed to many of the things we champion. That includes Neighborhood Greenway bike-pedestrian routes, protected bike lanes, and affordable transit-oriented development.
So it's no surprise that the latest issue of the local chain's Far North Side branch News-Star took a dim view of the idea of pedestrianizing Lincoln on a regular basis. More on that in a bit.
The avenue is currently car-free between Lawrence and Leland avenues due to a construction project on Leland, which includes a plaza at the Western Avenue Brown Line station, and a two-way raised bike lane. It was expected that gasoline-powered traffic will be banned until mid-May. However, Block Club reported this afternoon that next week Lincoln is being reopened to drivers, and pedestrians will no longer be able to safely walk and hang out in the street.
That's unfortunate, because when I dropped by last Sunday afternoon, the corridor was full of joyful activities. Young children were drawing with chalk on the asphalt, jumping rope, hula hooping, kicking balls, and riding push scooters. Grown-ups were chatting at 16 benches in the street provided by local sustainable transportation advocates, browsing sidewalk sales, and spending money at cafes, restaurants, taverns, and ice cream parlors with outdoors seating.
Granted, Block Club previously reported that the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce surveyed local businesses and found some stores have had a drop in sales during recent car-free days. But, as I suspected, many of the sit down restaurants with outdoor seating and liquor licenses said they've had booming business at this time.
It's worth considering whether it might make sense to pedestrianize this stretch regularly, at least during the warmer months. In my last article on the subject, I suggested piloting "Car-Free Weekends on Lincoln" this summer.
I'm not alone in this thinking. Rony Islam, a Heart of Lincoln Square board member of and cofounder of Chicago, Bike Grid Now, who was one of the people who brought the seating and chalk to the avenue, said as much in a recent NBC-5 Chicago interview.
"Further pedestrianizing it would make Lincoln Square even more of a destination than it already is," Islam told NBC. "We could really set an example for the entire city. "Every neighborhood deserves to have a space that’s safe, easy to access where kids can draw on the street, and families can hang out, grab a drink."
Islam told the news channel that an HOLS survey about the car-free street had over 300 respondents, and nearly 60 percent of them were in favor of pedestrianizing Lincoln every day. "And even more support it on a weekly basis or monthly basis."
Islam told Streetsblog today that the survey is a Google form and HOLS has had QR codes out on the street on the back of benches and on light poles. The link was also shared in the Lincoln Square Facebook group. "This is still preliminary, and we're at 1,400 responses since April 23rd with 84 percent of people of people walking, biking, or taking transit to the area," he said. "69 percent of respondents strongly support a greater role of pedestrianization on the 4700 block of Lincoln Avenue. 83 percent of respondents think pedestrian-only access should be expanded beyond the current street festival schedule. You'll notice that the percentages have remained approximately the same even as the number of responses have grown to 1,400 responses."
"The survey was designed to explore if there is pent up demand for the kind of flexible, pedestrian-first kind of space in the city that this temporary closure has resulted in, and these preliminary results are very promising," Islam elaborated. "We believe the local businesses and broader community could benefit from tapping into the demand that we are seeing."
That kind of talk apparently doesn't sit well with News-Star contributor Peter Von Buol. SBC readers will remember him as the adjunct journalism professor who wrote a poorly researched, factually inaccurate piece claiming protected bike lanes on Clark Street were harming CTA riders, people with disabilities, and first responders. Streetsblog actually contacted the agencies and organizations attacked in the News-Star piece, and did some real-life footwork, and that was all that was needed to thoroughly debunk that screed.
The subheading of Von Buol's new article states, "Anti-car activist [Rony Islam] pushes for permanent closure" of the Lincoln Square Mall. The first sentence of the piece reads, "Seizing an opportunity presented with the extended emergency closure of the 4700 block of N. Lincoln Ave. to car traffic, a board member of the Heart of Lincoln Square neighborhood organization is advocating to keep the Lincoln Square Mall permanently closed to car traffic."
Von Buol indicates that he believes that making that stretch of Lincoln permanently car-free would be a grave disservice to Lincoln Avenue merchants and shoppers. "Metered customer parking that turns over quickly is a critical infrastructure need for the survival of neighborhood commercial districts," he maintains. Never mind that world-class cities around the world, including many northern bergs with cold winters, have highly success pedestrian zones where heavy foot traffic is a boon to businesses.
Von Buol bemoans the loss of a parking lot at 4715 N. Western Avenue that was replaced by an all-affordable apartment building. What he doesn't mention is that local merchants successfully pressured officials to use tax credits to subsidize a parking garage with 18 public car spaces plus 18 parking spots for residents. That made little sense because the site is next to the Brown Line stop.
"In the near future, Islam said his group will bring the results of his survey to Ald. Matt Martin (47th) to convince him to support permanently closing the mall," Von Buol writes. The thing is, like his claim in the Clark Street piece that the Active Transportation Alliance is "funded primarily by government grants," that new statement is simply not true.
The NBC report on car-free Lincoln, which appears to be Von Buol's only source for his article, says no such thing. It simply states, "[HOLS] Board members plan to discuss future plans with Alderman Matt Martin and the Chamber of Commerce."
Moreover, "We are not advocating for permanently closing the 4700 block of Lincoln Avenue," Islam told me today. "We are still collecting survey data and conducting outreach with businesses and residents in the area. The survey responses, along with the daily outreach, do not represent the community as a whole and instead give us an idea of what people are thinking as they visit Lincoln Square during the temporary closure."
"We look forward to further discussions on how we can keep Lincoln Square a thriving and vibrant community for residents and businesses alike," Islam added. "Heart of Lincoln Square is working with community partners and is taking a collaborative approach as we look to improve our neighborhood."
So, once again, Inside Publications is living up to its apparent motto: "All the news that fits the print."
Read the NBC-5 Chicago article here.
Read the Block Club Chicago piece on recent sales on Lincoln here.
Read the Block Club post on the end of car-free Lincoln here.
Read the News-Star article here.
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