Hello neighborhood associations,
As the weather gets nicer, many of you have likely witnessed crowded sidewalks in the ward, and seen people walk or run in the street to stay the required 6 feet away from others.
You may have seen what many other cities cities have done to address the public health concern posed by congested sidewalks: namely, turning certains streets (particularly residential streets), into “shared,” “slow,” or “open” streets – where car traffic is still allowed, but pedestrians are allowed to expand onto the street to have more space. You have also likely noticed that Chicago is one of the only cities left that has not implemented anything of the sort.
Our office is interested in hearing from constituents where they think there is (or isn’t) a problem tied to pedestrian overcrowding. Once we have gathered this data, we are talking to CDOT about following other cities’ lead. Since many people are already walking in the streets, this would largely amount to ensuring that they can do so safely, and that drivers know to expect pedestrians walking or running on specific streets. Naturally, none of this would be done on larger arterials that have buses running on them.
To that end, we have put together the following interactive map for residents to identify specific streets or intersections where they experience pedestrian congestion:
I would greatly appreciate it if you could help share this resource with your members and neighbors ahead of Memorial Day Weekend. I know that this particular map software isn’t always the most intuitive, so residents can also send your comments straight to info@aldermanmartin.com.
Please note that nothing being considered would impact residents’ ability to access – or park on – their own block. The concept that CDOT is exploring with us boils down to “No Through Traffic – Local Traffic Only” signage to alert cars to the presence of pedestrians. Residents, delivery drivers, garbage trucks, and (of course) emergency vehicles would retain full access.
Best,
Joshua Mark (he/him/his)
Director of Development and Infrastructure
47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin
Cell: (312) 391-9755
Office: (773) 868-4747
