pedestrian plazas
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Will Catalpa in Andersonville get a watered-down half-measure, or a vibrant pedestrian space?
If Catapla is narrowed but still open to drivers, people using the remaining pedestrian space would still have to deal with the danger, sight, sound, and fumes of cars.
August 8, 2022
Driver destroys Ainslie Art Plaza, 10 more POP! Plazas across the city announced
There's been some bad news and some good news about pedestrian plazas in Chicago this week. Let's take a look at these developments.
August 4, 2022
Local Architects Envision “Meeting Place” At Empty Logan Square Plaza
This past Sunday, the usually forlorn bus transfer plaza above the Logan Square Blue Line station suddenly looked very different. Architects Krista Petkovsek and Kara Boyd had scrounged nearby alleys, rounded up a couple dozen used chairs, painted them orange, and scattered them around the plaza to spark a conversation about how to enliven the empty space, which is surrounded by an ever-increasing number of shops and restaurants.
August 19, 2014
If a Car-Free Bryn Mawr Doesn’t Make Sense, How About a Car-Lite One?
Looking east at the Red Line tracks on Bryn Mawr.
March 4, 2014
A Hard Decision: Should the Viagra Triangle Be Pedestrianized?
The Active Transportation Alliance’s recent call for 20 Chicago streets to be considered for partial or total pedestrianization has definitely got people talking. One idea that already has a bit of traction is pedestrianizing the upscale Gold Coast nightlife area centered around three-sided Mariano Park. This district, bounded by State, Rush, and Bellvue, is nicknamed the Viagra Triangle because it’s a popular place for well-heeled older gents to take their dates, lined with upscale venues like Tavern on Rush and Gibson’s steakhouse.
February 25, 2014
Don’t Knock Woodard: Chicago’s Next Great Little Public Space
[This piece also runs in Checkerboard City, John's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]
February 24, 2014
Would NYC’s Midtown Biz Leaders Write Off the Idea of a Car-Free Mag Mile?
Yesterday’s Active Transportation Alliance announcement submitting 20 streets for consideration as partial or total car-free spaces has already sparked a lively dialogue. Stories in the Tribune, Sun-Times, ABC, and DNAinfo have all examined whether or not the automobile-dominated status quo represents an appropriate allocation of public space.
February 13, 2014
Eyes on the Street: Gravel Sidewalk at Plaza Site Forces People Into Street
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.
January 2, 2014
Woonerfs Are Great, But Lincoln Park Deserves a Car-Free Kenmore
Why do some people think Edgewater deserves to have a tranquil, car-free block of Kenmore Avenue running through its local college campus but Lincoln Park doesn’t?
October 7, 2013