They say all good things must come to an end, at least for the time being.
In fairness, not everyone in Lincoln Square was thrilled about the 4700 block of Lincoln Avenue being car-free, starting April 21 for a few weeks, due to construction work. Some local merchants found the situation to be challenging. More on that in a bit.
On the other hand, the increased foot traffic on Lincoln was often a boon to eating and drinking establishments. And the de-facto pedestrianization, caused by work on a plaza and a two-way raised bike lane next to the Western Avenue Brown Line station, served as an example of what pedestrianizing Lincoln might look like.
Many neighbors seemed to thoroughly enjoy hanging out in the street on 16 benches provided by local walk/bike/transit advocates. And families with young kids appeared to relish biking, scooting, drawing with chalk, jumping room, playing ball, and blowing bubbles without the look, sound, smell, vibrations, and danger of motor vehicle traffic.
That all came to an end on Monday, May 12, when the street was once again dedicated to moving and storing large metal boxes. I stopped by a few hours after the street was closed to pedestrians.
I should clarify that the idea of car-free Saturdays during the warmer months was simply (literally) word on the street. Nothing has been proposed – yet.
Recently, while scanning other Chicagoland news outlets for our morning headline stack, I've looked for articles about the aftermath of the pedestrianization experiment. This week, I heard about a couple of them from Block Club Chicago and Inside Publications. Let's take a look, including some responses from sustainable transportation advocates.
Block Club Chicago
Today's Block Club article, "Lincoln Square Car-Free Zone Delighted Neighbors, Disrupted Businesses: Survey" is good reporting. Reporter Alex V. Hernandez talked at length with Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber president Rudy Flores of the effect the pedestrianization, which was unexpectedly extended by two weeks, had on local merchants.
According to Hernandez, an LSRCC survey of local sales data found that, as I had previously predicted, restaurant revenue generally increased during the car-free period. As one might expect, the survey found that business tended to be better in warm, sunny weather.
Some of the stores saw fewer seniors and people with disabilities during the car-free days, Block Club reported And some businesses said they had difficulties with deliveries and pickups, but worked with the City to address the logistics as the construction continued. Flores told Hernandez he expects Leland Avenue, at the south end of the car-free zone, would be an easier stretch to pedestrianize, especially after the new plaza opens.
Block Club also checked in with one of the livable streets advocates who helped activate the space. Rony Islam, speaking as a board member of the Heart of Lincoln Square community group, said that some of the challenges merchants faced were due to the improvised and extended nature of the car-free period. "The turnaround on trying to activate this space was really on short notice," he noted. "Any future plans would have so much more planning take place before something gets closed."
After the Block Club piece came out today, Streetsblog received a statement in response from Zak Patterson, co-owner of Bunny Ears Art House, 4541 N. Lincoln Ave. He's also a board member of the livable streets organization Slow Streets. "As a small business owner in Lincoln Square, I know first-hand how volatile sales performance can be," he said. "The smallest external changes, such as a rainy day, can influence sales."
Patterson pointed to some of the factors currently at play on Lincoln, including economic headwinds, tariffs, and confusing construction. "All of those conditions make interpretation of sales data difficult," he said. "It is clear, however, that removing the 46 parking spaces on Lincoln during those three weeks was not as catastrophic as some believed it would be. Rather, how the community used that space surprised many."
He added that many of the merchants creatively adapted to the new layout. "Some held special sales, demonstrations, and placed racks of merchandise outside," he said. "Those businesses appeared to generate a lot of attention. It was also great to see the businesses and the City adapt so quickly to the changes, such as by allowing deliveries onto the street and handling trash pickup."
Patterson cited examples of prosperous car-free business strips from around the world and around the country, such as Oslo, Montreal, Mexico City, Burlington, Vermont, and New York City. "I am confident that our neighborhood and commercial corridor would similarly adapt to a well-planned effort in the future to bring a more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly space to our community."
Inside Publications
It should come as no surprise to Streetsblog Chicago readers that the local "Not In My Back Yard" neighborhood newspaper chain Inside Publications recently published yet another negative article about car-free Lincoln. Titled, "Lincoln Square Mall open again after extended closure," it's written by Peter Von Buol, an adjunct professor at Columbia College's communications department. As I've pointed out a couple times before, he doesn't seem to be great at doing his own research or getting his facts straight.
This latest article is no exception to Von Buol's reign of error. He uses about half of his column space complaining about Rony Islam's sustainable transportation advocacy. The pull quote reads, "Rony Islam, who is employed by a San Francisco-based private equity firm, is co-founder of Bike Grid Now, a nebulous group which organizes illegal mass bicycle rides to clog up roads during rush hour traffic."
On top of that, Islam says he doesn't actually work for a private equity firm. More on that in a minute.
I won't get too far into the weeds dissecting Von Buol's latest rant, but many folks on Bluesky have found it to be an unintentionally hilarious read.
But here are a couple more of the sillier statements in Von Buol's article.
• "The [pedestrianization of Lincoln] was strangling the popular commercial district." As previously noted, restaurants generally had higher sales than usual during this period.
• "A [nearby] parking lot was gifted to an out of town developer for an apartment project." Not mentioned: After pressure from local merchants, the developer included 36 new car parking spots, half of them public, subsidized by tax credits.
But here's what Islam had to say via email in response to the Inside Publications article, this time speaking as a Slow Streets board member. "While not everyone may be persuaded – even when presented with data and pilots – I’ve had countless conversations with neighbors whose perspectives shifted once they saw what was possible," he said. "Dozens of Lincoln Square residents shared frustrations with me about the ways our streets currently function, such as how packed the existing street festivals get, how they wish their kids could safely run errands to our local businesses, and how car traffic and parking negatively impact their experiences while dining out or shopping."
Islam added that during the pedestrianization, he had a chance to meet and talk with neighbors in a new way. "It was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when public space is designed with community in mind," he said. "Losing that space – a true, shared third place – has been heartbreaking for me and my neighbors. In a time where political divisiveness plagues so much of our discourse, it was beautiful to see people coming together, face-to-face, on our streets."
Finally Islam clapped back at Von Buol for mis-stating his job. "My employer is not a private equity firm, nor is my professional work connected to my civic engagement," he said. "It’s disappointing to see some journalists drag unrelated aspects of my personal life into community-focused conversations – even more so when they get the facts wrong."
Read Inside Publications' "Lincoln Square Mall open again after extended closure" here.
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