complete streets

The two finalists among the potential design options for the Devon/Clark streetscape project were revealed at the hearing, . Residents are now being asked to weigh in on the final choice.

Even if the Leland Greenway doesn't get built, it's going to be a busy year for bike and pedestrian projects in the 47th Ward. 

These kinds of Complete Streets interventions are fairly easy and inexpensive, and can help make neighborhoods safer as well as more beautiful.

For about a quarter of the price of a single traffic signal, CDOT installed safety improvements for all road users on several blocks of the avenue.

Today city officials cut the ribbon on a multicolored ring-shaped sculpture in the Uptown Entertainment District, the crowning touch on a street remix that converted excess asphalt at Racine Avenue and Broadway into a new pedestrian plaza. The makeover was part of the Broadway streetscape project, which includes new sidewalks, street repaving, lighting, bike racks, garbage cans, crosswalks, and a pedestrian island near the new plaza.

More cyclists are staying out of the door zone, more motoristss are yielding to pedestrians, and people are driving at safer speeds.

The new bump-outs shorten crossing distances, help address the intersection's skewed layout, and discourage fast turns by drivers.

Changing the entrenched practices of transportation agencies is easier said than done.

The flower pots are an easy, inexpensive way to add protection from cars and make the street move attractive. Photo: Steven Vance