Transit Web home. Bicycling and Running and Bike Trail plan and maps. Parking Woes/hopes. Lake Park Avenue/Metra Viaducts Initiative. People with Disabilities Task Force. Quality of Life page.
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Walkable and Safe Walking and Safe Traffic CommunitiesA
service of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference Transit and Parking
Committee and the HPKCC website, www.hydepark.org |
This page is in progress. We suggest you also consult the pages listed above and browse the list of Transit pages in this website in Transit home, particularly related to non-auto use saving lives and health and CATS /Soles and Spokes News in Regional and Beyond, the Development Policy page, and pages in Zoning home related to livable, business-viable neighborhoods, and the Green Hyde Park page. Our local officials and business leaders, the 53rd St. TIF Advisory Council, and the HPKCC Transit Task Force have proclaimed Walkability a Neighborhood Goal. In addition, the Department of Planning strongly recommended a zoning mapping guideline for 53rd St. Lake Park to Dorchester being a Pedestrian Friendly and Transit-Linked-Development Corridor. Shortcut to links outside this website.
Note: For CATS/Regional Planning Board either the old www.catsmpo.com or www.rpbchicago.org can be used as well as Soles and Spokes addresses.
Specifically, The HPKCC Transit Task Force sees Walkability as part of a suite of intertwined amenities. It wants to see that some of the most attractive advantages of this community are maintained and enhanced. The ability of people to walk or bike to work, the store, events- or to move about recreationally- are increasingly pressed upon by both traffic congestion and its opposite: fast moving traffic on Lake Park, 55th, and other "auto oriented" arterials. The parking crunch and dilemma (add more and more traffic comes) add to the problem. Some of our intersections including along Lake Park are not well designed the handle this multiple challenge. Recently, studies and recommendations have been made for Lake Park. Little funding is yet available, but there is funding to start rehabilitation of the dreadfully off-putting (and in significant ways unsafe) Metra viaducts. Also, to rehabilitate the Metra embankments and retaining walls (largely done, at Metra expense).
Some streetscape improvements have been made on parts of 53rd and 55th Streets (although few work to keep the trees alive). It is proposed in the Zoning Reform Ordinance to concentrate on keeping 53rd Street pedestrian friendly and taking advantage of enhancements for transit-oriented development. (New bus routes including on Lake Park at the commercial center and advocated-upgrades to Metra service may help- Hyde Park is at an ideal distance from downtown and termini along major road and rail corridors. But the many new bus routes in the neighborhood ply frequently narrow and at times of day congested streets. And the routes circle/intersect the perimeter of the main shopping district. And why does the pedestrian-friendly zone for 53rd not extend west of Kenwood?)
The following material comes from our converge of 2001 walkability meetings and walkabouts that were outgrowths of the start of a Department of Planning initiative for the Lake Park Avenue/Metra viaducts redevelopment, in turn an out growth of the 2000 Planning Now document that led into establishment of the 53rd St. TIF District.
Watch for meetings of the Disabilities Task Force and of the TIF neighborhood and business environment committee. Both are working to upgrade walkability in our community
Resources:
From the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center: How
to Develop a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan
The FHWA Office of Highway
Safety is sponsoring a project on “How to
Develop a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan.” The project involves working
with 13 states and 5 cities in the U.S., and includes offering technical
assistance to the state and local agencies in the form of pedestrian
safety workshops. The project team has already produced a “How-to-Guide”
that explains the steps that an agency needs to take to reduce
pedestrian crashes. See the guide at
http://www.walkinginfo.org/pp/howtoguide2006.pdf.
The project team helped
to organize two half-day sessions related to
this project at the APBP Professional Development Seminar, which was held
on October 10 and 11, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois. State, local, and
federal officials were asked to share information on many of their own
successful programs and activities which have been used to improve
pedestrian safety. The sessions were video-taped and the powerpoint
presentations were also obtained.
The presentations were
intended to lead participants through the steps
of an action plan, the goal of which would be to change the way the
agency approaches pedestrian safety, and/or train their engineers and
designers to provide pedestrian safety in their roadway design. Both
sessions were chaired by Charlie Zegeer, UNC Pedestrian and Bicycle
Information Center (PBIC).
These presentations and
presentation video, covering issues from crash
data collection and analysis through countermeasures, case studies, and
funding, are all posted at http://www.walkinginfo.org/pp/dpsap.htm
Thanks for your interest
in pedestrian and bicycle transportation
planning.
Tom Murtha
Chief Transportation Planner
Chicago Area Transportation Study
Voice: 312-386-8790
Fax: 312-258-0012
Email: tmurtha@catsmpo.com
Post: 233 S Wacker Dr Suite 800
Chicago IL 60606
http://www.catsmpo.com
http://www.sp2030.com
http://www.solesandspokes.com
Walk and Bike to School Day is coming in October. The City of Chicago has packets and other information online at http://www.ChicagoWalks.org. Or contact Beth Gutelius, CDOT, at 312-744-3019 or at Beth.Gutelius@cityofchicago.org.
Walk/Bike to School Days. Contact http://www.walktoschool.org and your local school.
Ray School parents lead the way. Herald, October 11, 2006. By Kalari Girtley
Ray Elementary School, 631 S. Kimbark Ave. parents walked their children to school Oct. 4 o protest vehicle traffic in Hyde Park. More than 5o parents participated in the walked, sponsored by Mayor Daley's Safe Route Ambassadors. Children who walked to school received a sticker and a certificate.
Principal Cydney Fields was happy with the number of parents participating. She said encouraging parents to walk instead of driving their children to school helps keep traffic down around the school. It also allows children to exercise, she said. "The day is really a way to call attention to get children to walk or bike to school," Fields said.
Fields said the school's Parent Teacher Association created "walking school buses" in which parents volunteer to walk a group of children to school. Brandy Keller, an area coordinator of the walk and a Ray parent, said she participated because she wanted to create momentum in her neighborhood to cut down air pollution around the school. She said the children who did not participate are excited for next year's event. "This is raising awareness of alternative ways of getting to school," Keller said.
Hannah Hayes, a volunteer coordinator and Ray parent, said in addition to cutting down traffic and air pollution, walking in big groups can also promote neighborhood safety. "Kids walking together are safer than walking alone," Hayes said. She said the event will occur next year and organizers hope more people will participate.
Thanks to the diligence of Irene Sherr, then Business Area Coordinator with South East Chicago Commission, now business area community consultant with SECC and the TIF Advisory council, and others, Hyde Park in 2001 received a generous grant from the federal government for Walkable Communities, through northeast Illinois' Metropolitan Planning Organization CATS (Chicago Area Transportation Study).
As part of this grant, Hyde Park held a Walkable Communities Workshop on October 5, 2001. A walkabout of the Lake Park Avenue sector was included (one of several).
The SECC also may still have copies of a "pithy and useful book", "City Comforts. How to Build An Urban Village." This book discusses basic urban design and planning principles. Contact Irene Sherr. Cost is $13.50. Top
Workshops to make Chicagoland a better place for pedestrians, and therefore a better place to live, work and play!
A community's "walkability" is a strong indicator of its livability. More and more people are expressing a desire to live in places where their children can safely walk or bike to school, where they don't have to hop in a car for a short trip to the grocery store and where they can take an after-dinner stroll along pleasant, neighborly streets.
Many street design and land use strategies can be used to improve a community's walkability. In order to spread the work about theses best practices, the Federal Highway Administration has developed the pilot Walkable Communities Program. This program provides training for metropolitan planning organization (MPO) staff and technical assistance for conducting pedestrian planning workshops in local communities. The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) is one of six MPO's from around the country that has been selected to participate in the pilot.
CATS is pleased to announce that Hyde Park is one of ten communities in northeastern Illinois that have been selected to host a half-day Walkable Communities workshop during the first week of October, 2001. In putting together the slate of communities, CATS strove to reflect this region's diversity and array of challenges that exist for accommodating and encouraging walking-whether for transportation, pleasure, fitness or all of the above.
CATS expects to use the insights gained in this first round of workshops to provide pedestrian planning assistance for other interested communities in the future.
Peter Lagerwey, Seattle's Pedestrian and bicycle Coordinator, and Charles Gandy, of Livable Communities Consulting, will conduct a four-hour workshop in each community. These workshops will include:
In order for these workshops to be a success, they should involve people representing a range of perspectives and expertise, including but not limited to: elected officials, planners, traffic engineers, parents, students, advocates, business people, police officers, public health professionals and people with disabilities.
Mr. Lagerwey reports that, as a result of these workshops, communities have redesigned main streets and state highways, initiated traffic calming projects and built better sidewalks and crosswalks. In some case, projects were on the ground after just a couple of years. Top
Sidewalks alone are not enough. Many factors can invite foot traffic:
Architecture and storefronts that please the eye
Trees that provide shade in summer.
Streets that are easy to cross.
Bus stops that offer shelter from rain, snow and wind.
Sidewalks that are continuous and wide enough for at least two people.
Buildings that provide easy pedestrian access by having entrances on the sidewalk and parking lots in back or on the side.
Small parks and plazas that allow for gathering, people watching, playing and relaxing.
| Chicago Area Transportation Study | |
| Walkable Communities, Inc. | http://www.walkable.org |
| Center for Livable Communities | http://www.lgc.org/center/index.html |
| Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center | http://www.walkinginfo.org and http://www.bicyclinginfo.org |
| Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals | http://www.apbp.org |
| STPP's Mean Streets Reports | http://www.transact.org |
| America Walks | http://www.americawalks.org |
| Institute of Transportation Engineers | http://www.ite.org/traffic/index.html |
| Walk to School Day | http://www.walktoscThe
SECC also has 20 copies of a "pithy and useful book", "City
Comforts. How to Build An Urban Village." This book discusses basic
urban design and planning principles. Contact Irene Sherr. Cost is $13.50.hool.org.
Current Chicago website: http:/www.ChicagoWalks.org. |
| City Comforts | http://www.citycomforts.org |
| Sierra Club's Community Transportation Examples | http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/community/transformations/index.asp |
The following article deals with issues around the University campus and the neighborhoods. What do you think? PS, the Conference has not recently taken a particular stand on speed bumps, including on Kimbark, but is always concerned about safety, especially around schools (and with Jackson Park Advisory Council supported efforts of Bret Harte principal Michael Keno to gain sanity over speed and congestion there; Ray Reavis,and Murray schools have also said they have problems, although each set is unique). Jackson Park Advisory Council is well aware of the conflict between speed humps (as is now preferred over potentially accident-causing bumps) and snow removal, and wrestled with the issue re" the Golden Lady Circle at Hayes and Richards. University Police seem to think there are few accidents and little congestion on streets in the area. See also Walkable Community.
New Speed bumps highlight pedestrian safety concerns
Chicago Maroon, January 28, 2005. By Hassan S. Ali
With the newest additions of the Comer Children's Hospital and the Graduate School of Business, and the commercial developments in surrounding neighborhoods, Hyde Park's growth has led to concerns over traffic safety. The Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference (HPKCC)--a neighborhood organization--has voiced concern over traffic safety in the past, especially for local elementary and high schools. In coordination with Fifth Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston, parents and school administrators have pressure the city to ensure safer roads for children, resulting in the installation of stop signs, speed bumps, and police presence in many areas.
In response to the heightened security concerns, a number of speed bumps were installed on Kimbark Avenue in the parking lot shared by the GSB and the Lab school. The installations were initiated by Lab School Facilities Director Tony Wilson, in coordination with the Parents' Association, after months of talks with the city. This past week, however, the speed bumps--which are rubber--were removed to prevent interference with snow plowing.
The speed bumps reflect a more general concern for traffic safety in Hyde Park, especially after a serious hit-and-run accident that happened last quarter in front of the Social Services Administration building on the Midway Plaisance. With plans for a new resident hall south of the Midway and the administration's commitment to "breaking the Hyde Park bubble," residents view safe transit from central campus to across the Midway as a priority.
Safety in school zones is just one part of the ongoing traffic issue in Hyde Park. Along with traffic of residents, the neighborhood must cope with traffic for hospital patients and staff, construction vehicles, commercial trucks, and public transportation buses.
According to the University's website, traffic volumes on the main streets adjacent to campus reach from 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day, which are not considered unreasonable for four-lane streets. [Ed. But how many streets near campus, except 55th, Cottage, and the Plaisance, are four-lane?] The website also mentions major delays at the intersection of 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, while short-term congestion frequently occurs at 55th Street and Lake Park Avenue [Ed. even more at 53rd and Lake Park.], 59th Street at the Lab Schools, and 57th Street at Hyde Park Boulevard.
The University is primarily bounded by Cottage Grove Avenue on the west, Woodlawn Avenue on the East, 55th Street on the North, and Midway Plaisance on the south. With the exception of Woodlawn, these are multi-lane-streets that tolerate large traffic loads and high-turning volumes, according to University sources.
Jeff Collier, the assistant director of the University Police Department (UCPD), observed that pedestrians were a large part of the problem. "People come from areas where, if they step off the curb, the cars have to stop. So they come here [to Chicago] and expect the same, but the cars here won't stop," he said.
Collier noted several case of pedestrians who cross streets without looking [Ed. or deliberately in front, or lollygaging] for oncoming vehicles. "Pedestrians often feel they had the right of way, even when outside of crosswalks and on a 'do not walk' sign," he added.
Despite wanton pedestrians, Collier has remained optimistic about the general traffic situation. "Things have been normal in terms of incidents," he said. "Other than the one major incident, there hasn't been much to report."
With winter in full swing and driving conditions at their worst, pedestrians and motorists share the challenge of getting around safely. Despite more stop signs and speed bumps around schools, Collier emphasized the importance of the community's cooperation. "Of course, people always have to be careful, and that goes for both pedestrians and motorists together," he said. "It's everyone's responsibility to be safe."
District 21 Sergeant Scott Oberg of the Chicago Police department has been closely involved with St. Thomas and Ray Elementary Schools, noting the legitimate concerns of parents. "By far, the biggest traffic problems are the areas around elementary schools, where children are present," Oberg said. "Parents are the biggest traffic-blockers, especially during pick-up and drop-off times."
As part of the Community Policing department, Oberg said he oversees "limited enforcement missions," where officers control school traffic for two or three days at a time. "Does it work all the time? Of course not," Oberg said."But I think it has definitely helped in the big picture."
Oberg's Community Policing team said speeding and stop sign infractions are the highest cause of complaints by parents.
In the October 19 2005 Herald, two writers wrestle with making things safe on sidewalks and streets.
Sharon Bowen writes that on such streets as 53rd drivers disregard safety for bicyclists and cut them off. Most streets here are too narrow for bike lanes and traffic too fast. She says most who take to the walks in self defense try to be careful and considerate of pedestrians, although some don't. If we want the bikes off the walks, start by making streets safe.
Kathie Newhouse says we need signs to tell the bicyclists to stay off the walks, then start ticketing them.
The Federation has a major push on to make drivers more aware of what they can do to be saver for bicyclists--some drastic ways of getting on some drivers' radar may be tried.
The Federation is working with national organizations and boards to push a Compete streets agenda. Chicago endorsed it- all streets are to be able to accommodate all modes, including cyclists and those crossing on foot. The National Center for Bicycling Walking is pushing this and has a newsletter called Centerline. http://www.activeliving.org.
Friends of the Parks, the Architecture Foundation and others will have a display up January 25-March 10 on completing and making accessible the last 4 miles of t he lakefront at t he Archicenter, 224 S. Michigan.
The federation is working with the National Safe Routes to School Task Force. http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/task_force/task_force_members.cfm. SRTSC@tooledesign.com.
Kathie Newhouse also pointed to problems at the corner of 47th and Lake Park--one of the oddest and most inconvenient corners, along with 51st Cornell, 55th Lake Park, and 56th Lake Park. She says signs that say to watch for seniors trivialize big dangers to all--including allowing right on red (not enforced anyway) at such corners as 47th and Lake Park, and really short walk cycles at that corner.
And the letters come in about 56th along Jackson Park. Alderman Hairston says there are higher priorities, but neighbors, disabled disagree. Now new walk with ADA patches installed.
Herald Nov. 8 2006. Karen CashenI'm writing to protest the unsafe and unsightly sidewalk on 56th Street between Lake Shore Drive and Stony Island Avenue. The situation is a lawsuit waiting to happen and should be fixed immediately. I know. I live across the street and use this sidewalk constantly. I can't say how many times I've slipped, had to step around dirt and water, or been force to walk along the curb.
While the very eastern end of the sidewalk was redone recently as part of the lake shore rehab, the rest remains cracked and parts are in pieces due to age and tree roots. Water has eroded the park land onto the sidewalk resulting in dirt and debris. The cracks and upheavals fill with water and ice making it nearly impossible to navigate in bad weather.
The sidewalk is a main neighborhood thoroughfare ford runners and walkers accessing the lake, families going to the Museum of Science and Industry, and parents and kids going to and from Bret Harte Elementary School and the two Jackson Park playgrounds. It's especially hazardous for Montgomery Place seniors, some of whom are in wheelchairs.
Chicago is "the city that works." So c'mon Chicago, let's get the 56th Street sidewalk in working order! Complaints to our alderman have been ignored, so now it's time for citizens to protest to find a way to have this local eyesore and hazard resurfaced.
Alderman Hairston says she working to get these sidewalks done in 2007. And they are See in Safe Concerns.
Yael Hoffman called in August 22 letter to Herald for improvements to slow Woodlawn Avenue north of 55th: crosswalks at 54th place; chokers or speed humps?