Clark and Fullerton: Busy, crowded, and in need of TLC

by Michelle Stenzel

On a recent cold and overcast Saturday morning, Michael, Andrew, John and I converged at the intersection of Clark and Fullerton to observe, document and make recommendations for improvements. We evaluated that intersection as well as nearby Fullerton and Lakeview. Although our focus was on making the intersections better for pedestrians, in the spirit of applying a "Complete Streets" philosophy, we kept in mind all all users, including bicyclists, transit riders, and drivers.

The crosswalks at Clark and Fullerton in Lincoln Park are always busy.  (Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park)

We began with noting that this is a very busy intersection for all modes of transport. The housing stock is dense, with many high rise condos close by along both streets. To the north and south on Clark, there are dozens of commercial establishments. Two well-used bus lines, the 22 Clark and 36 Broadway, go through the intersection on Clark. (There is no Fullerton bus line here because the service ends at Halsted.) Clark Street is also a very popular bicycling route, and is in fact a designated Spoke Route on the Streets for Cycling 2020 Plan. Fullerton is a main access route to get to DePaul university and other points to the west, as well as the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lakefront Trail and other points to the east.

We evaluated the intersections of Clark and Fullerton, and Lakeview and Fullerton.

EXISTING POSITIVES

All of this "busyness" is a positive for the intersection: We noticed that all users seemed to be aware that this is a place where it's necessary to be alert and careful. Vehicle speeds did not seem to be excessive, and this may be partly due to the presence of the red light cameras here, but the sheer number of vehicles and people in the space itself keeps speeds down, and that's good.

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I'm walking here! Improving the Halsted and Armitage intersection

by Michelle Stenzel

One of our goals this year for Bike Walk Lincoln Park is to continue to encourage Alderman Michele Smith to use a portion of our ward's $1.2 million in annual menu funds to improve conditions for people walking, and we decided the best way to do that is to evaluate one important intersection or stretch of street at a time. The plan for each location is to observe and document current conditions, and produce written recommendations for Alderman Smith to use when planning infrastructure upgrades for the year. The changes we'll be suggesting are all tools included in Chicago's Pedestrian Plan (download the plan from the official website here).

We evaluated the sidewalks and crosswalks at the intersection of Armitage and Halsted.
(Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park)

In gray and damp weather this past weekend, BWLP Co-Chair Michael Reynolds and I tackled the first intersection: Halsted and Armitage. This is an important intersection for pedestrians at all times of day, on weekday and weekends, largely due to the CTA Brown line stop three blocks to the west, two active bus lines, nearby shopping and dining destinations, density of residences in the area, and the location of Lincoln Park High School two blocks to the east. 

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Pedestrian signs are taking a beating but are still working well

by Michelle Stenzel

The Stop For Pedestrians crosswalk signs went up in Lincoln Park about seven months ago, in July 2012. You may have noticed that they've already taken a beating. Many are scratched and bent, and I  presume that it's from people driving into or over them.

This "Stop for Pedestrians" sign has already suffered damage during its seven months of service on Stockton Drive.

My first thought upon noticing this is that it's unfortunate that there will be yet another piece of worn-out looking infrastructure our streets. So many of our street signs are bent, hanging askew or upside down, faded, obsolete or otherwise in a pathetic state, and this will just add to the decrepitude. 

Revisiting the unfortunate Fullerton Parkway bridge redesign

by Michelle Stenzel

The construction on the Fullerton Parkway bridge began in March and is scheduled for completion in December. I had written previously about how the project will be detrimental to people who are walking or riding a bike to the Lake Front Trail in this prior post. The information I had then was from a written description of the project provided to the public, and notes taken at a presentation I attended.

I’ve since obtained the drawings of the planned finished product so you can clearly see how this will be a step in the wrong direction for our city’s walkability and bikeability.

This shows the scope of the project:

This shows the existing conditions from an aerial view:

Can this idea help improve the Fullerton/Halsted/Lincoln intersection?

by Michelle Stenzel

The six-way intersection of Fullerton, Halsted and Lincoln is in need of improvement, that's for sure. 

Crossing it as a pedestrian is a hassle, since the width of each leg is very wide, and the amount of time given to cross is relatively short. Worst of all, if the direction of your travel requires you to cross more than one leg, just to continue walking on the street you're already on, the signals are timed J-U-S-T so that you will always have to wait another entire cycle before continuing on your way.

Google map view of the Fullerton/Halsted/Lincoln intersection.

According to the Chicago Department of Transportation's 2011 Pedestrian Crash Analysis, this intersection is tied for 9th in the city for the highest number of crashes between motor vehicles and pedestrians, with 19 crashes between 2005 and 2009. 

These problematic six-way intersections are common in the city, and Chicago's new Pedestrian Plan contains an intriguing graphic of an intersection that can be improved. The initiative is under the "Connectivity" section of the Plan, which highlights ways to build a more connected network that prioritizes pedestrian access.

Pedestrians v. cafes: Sidewalk space has to be balanced

by Michelle Stenzel

Chicago’s Department of Transportation released its first-ever Pedestrian Plan recently (download it from the Peds Plan website). I had planned to write a highlights post on it, but it’s 124 pages long, and chock-full of goodness for people walking; in fact, far too much to fit in one post. So, I’m going to borrow a page from the award-winning sustainable transportation website Grid Chicago and do a series of posts highlighting items that are particularly interesting or applicable to Lincoln Park.

First up: Sidewalks that don’t have enough room for people to walk on need to be better planned!

On page 64 of the plan, the initiative is “Ensure clear pedestrian routes on sidewalks” and the description of the problem is:

Sidewalks, like streets, must provide the proper balance of space to allow pedestrians to safely and comfortably use them. Pedestrians share sidewalks with a number of objects, such as bus shelters, newspaper boxes, tree pits, sidewalk cafes and signage. To ensure a clear pedestrian route, policies need to balance the free flow of pedestrian movement while accommodating pedestrian amenities.

This is a big issue in Lincoln Park and Old Town. Of course we all love things like flower planters and sidewalk cafes because they add an element of liveliness to our neighborhood. However, space is at a premium, and the current standards only require a few feet of room left for people walking by a cafe.

People walking on Wells Street have to dodge an obstacle course on the sidewalk, which is already narrowed by
cafe fixtures. (Photo: Bike Walk Lincoln Park)

When you combine the narrowed space created by an outdoor cafe with the presence of trees and tree grates, sign posts, parking meter pay boxes, newspaper boxes and other items, the effective width is often barely enough for two people walking in opposite directions to pass. When it gets to that point, the sidewalk cafe is beginning to detract from the street's walkability.