46th Ward

After several years of delay and significant design changes, CDOT has finally started work on the Uptown bikeway.

CDOT recently made some, ahem, concrete improvements to the stretch of Broadway between Irving Park and Grace in Lakeview.

Here’s a nice little livable streets makeover in Lakeview. The city recently converted the short stretch of Clarendon between Irving Park and Broadway, changing it from a two-way roadway for motorized traffic to a one-way northbound street for cars with a northbound conventional bike lane and a southbound, contraflow protected lane.

At a community meeting Wednesday on the upcoming reconstruction of the Red Line’s Wilson stop, 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman argued that one of the best things about the new station is that it will encourage walkable, transit-friendly development.

The Chicago Department of Transportation has proposed three possible street reconfigurations for Milwaukee from Lawrence to Elston. Unfortunately, the one that CDOT originally said would have had the greatest safety benefit for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers is now off the table.

As we’ve recently reported, the 49th Ward is holding its fifth participatory budgeting election this year, the 45th Ward is holding its second, and the 22nd Ward is taking the process for a spin for the first time. However, the 5th and 46th wards, which experimented with PB last year, won’t be taking part.

A new interactive map shows what transportation mode people use to get to work in each neighborhood in Chicago, while also identifying the share of Chicagoans who don't own cars. Shaun Jacobsen -- who writes the Transitized blog and occasionally freelances for Streetsblog -- created "How Chicago Commutes" to show that many residents will benefit more from walking, bicycling, and transit improvements than free curbside parking, which tends to dominate the discussion at public meetings.

Uptown is one of Chicago’s few bike-friendly neighborhoods that doesn’t have any conventional bike lanes, let alone buffered or protected lanes, but that will change by the end of the year with an upcoming Chicago Department of Transportation project.

Appearing on WGN/CLTV in May, 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman said that "we're doing everything we can to create more parking spaces." Cappleman was talking about the renovation of the Uptown Theater at 4816 N Broadway and its parking requirements. His boast about adding more parking caught me off-guard, and I wasn't alone.