Transportation

Serving as a major thoroughfare stretching from downtown to western suburban developments, Chicago Avenue sees more than 7 million trips a year, an average of about 20,000 per day. This amount of traffic volume means it is imperative to understand the complex relationships between transportation modes, transportation safety, streetscaping, and various other factors that present themselves along the roadway. This comes in many forms from the quality of the built infrastructure, to the facilities hosted, to the ways in which the general populace engages with and utilizes the public right-of-way at their disposal.

Exploring the Street

Existing Conditions & Analysis

Transportation Infrastructure The existing roadway configuration is wholly auto-centric in its design. It offers two-travel lanes in each direction with parking accommodations along the length of both edges of the street only giving way at intersections to accommodate a center leftturn lane. The road appears to be in fairly good condition with only minimal cracking and buckling visible within the study area and a general lack of intrusive potholes as well. With that being said, there does appear to be early signs of deterioration and reconstruction, repaving, or treatment of the driving surface via a capital improvement project may be warranted in the next decade.

Streetscaping Along the corridor there have been minimal beautification efforts or streetscaping endeavors introduced to help create a more lively and welcoming atmosphere. There are some trees in the pedestrian walkways, typically between 4-8 per block. However, many of them are underdeveloped and many locations that seem designated to contain a tree or greenery of any kind are left empty. The corridor also lacks parklets, planters, and seating opportunities that could be utilized by residents to activate the space.

Conversations with local residents and community leaders have indicated that the lack of greenery and access to amenities has created a drab and dull environment that can feel isolating and alien for pedestrian use. This creates an opportunity for activation of the public realm through aesthetic cohesion and neighborhood branding that can foster a sense of community identity that is currently absent in many respects. Alternative Transportation Due to constraints imposed by existing roadway configuration and additional concerns created by the existing built environment, traveling by way of anything other than a car can be difficult, but there are options available. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) does run the 66 Chicago bus line that extends as far west as the city limits and as far east as the Loop downtown where the route then redirects in the opposite direction from whence it came. While there is bus service along the corridor, there are no CTA rail stations present within the whole of the study area.

One increasingly popular and attractive alternative transportation option both in Chicago and around the US is cycling. This offers an affordable, healthy, and sustainable form of transportation for individuals. A place like West Humboldt Park could be an excellent bikeable community given that it is home to a key arterial roadway that leads directly to the heart of the city and that nearly 20 percent of residents do not have access to a personal vehicle. However, due in part to unsafe road conditions and the lack of dedicated bicycle facilities along Chicago Avenue, biking is not currently a mode of transport commonly utilized within the corridor. There are four Divvy bike share stations available for use within the study area at the moment. However, they appear to be underutilized by the general populace, likely for reasons similar to those addressing the general lack of biking along Chicago Avenue.

Exploring the Street

Existing Conditions & Analysis

Transportation Safety Ensuring residents can safely navigate a transportation system to move to and from hubs of recreation, entertainment, employment, and housing is one of the top priorities for any road. Unfortunately, Chicago Avenue, especially from Pulaski Road to Kedzie Avenue, has historically not always provided a safe environment for residents and visitors alike to travel through. Between January 2019 and October 2021 there were more than 1100 crashes between Pulaski and Kedzie, along Chicago Avenue. This has resulted in hundreds of injuries and multiple fatalities. As a result, the Chicago Department of Transportation has identified this exact stretch of Chicago Avenue as a High Crash Corridor in their Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2026.