Make Way for People

[This piece also runs in Checkerboard City, John's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

This week's snow storm -- which is still coming down -- has made a lot of sidewalks tough to navigate, but here's one case that's worse than most.

Chicago's 1,900-mile alley system is one of our most important transportation networks and not something to take for granted. In New York City, for example, alleys are scarce. In Chicago neighborhoods, these passageways provide access for shortcuts, garbage collection and the odd pickup basketball game or garage sale. Downtown, they're useful for garbage, deliveries and savvy bike messengers.

As part of the Make Way for People program, which seeks to create places where residents can relax, socialize, and maybe enjoy some culture, the Chicago Department of Transportation is seeking proposals to activate nearly 50 plazas across the city. “The concept behind the request for proposals is we believe these spaces have a lot of potential but they’re currently underutilized,” said CDOT Project Director Janet Attarian. “We’d like to see them be better maintained and enlivened with new amenities and programming. It’s really about creative ways to promote positive activity in our public spaces.”

The Gateway, Chicago's first "People Plaza" seating area, recently opened at what Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein described as an "under-acknowledged public space" in the median of State Street between Wacker Drive and Lake Street. The installation is funded by the Chicago Loop Alliance, one of the downtown chambers of commerce, via a Special Service Area, and it was implemented as part of the Chicago Department of Transportation's Make Way for People public space initiative. Red and blue metal tables and chairs, several of them shaded by umbrellas, as well as several new flower boxes, dot the former concrete no-man's land. A couple weeks ago, at around 2 p.m., a handful of people were enjoying the space, including a group of women engrossed in conversation despite the traffic on either side of them.

Last week when I talked to Brian Bonanno from the Andersonville Development Corporation about his interest in bringing bus rapid transit to the neighborhood, he mentioned that the ADC wants to create a pedestrian plaza along the Clark Street business strip. The Chicago Department of Transportation’s Make Way for People initiative is helping to create “People Spot” parklets (Andersonville's was one of the first) and “People Streets” pedestrian zones, so this is a great time to pursue the idea. I called Brian today for more info.