Residents share ideas for improving Clark St.

Last month the Active Transportation Alliance partnered with 43rd Ward Alderman Michele Smith and the neighborhood group Bike Walk Lincoln Park to conduct a streetside community workshop of North Clark Street between West North Avenue and West Armitage Avenue.

Having heard from several residents, park goers, and local businesses that the current design of Clark Street makes people feel unsafe while walking and biking and even driving, we set out to gather community consensus on the specific problems of this half-mile stretch of road and generate creative solutions supported by the community.

More than forty community members and stakeholders participated in the workshop. We discussed what’s wrong with Clark today, including problematic intersections, fast moving traffic, and a street design that mixes different types of traffic.

Participants were encouraged to imagine their own solutions to these problems as well. Some of the ideas for improvement included:

• Encouraging cars to slow down with traffic calming measures like narrowing the street
• Redesigning problematic intersections with improved pedestrian crossings and signage for motorists
• Improving biking conditions by adding a safe place on the road for bikes
• Improving transit accomodations by giving the bus its own lane or providing extra space for passengers while they wait
• Enforcing existing traffic laws for everyone who uses the road

Here's a description of the results of the community meeting (PDF).

It’s clear that the Lincoln Park community is interested in making big changes to Clark between North Ave. and Armitage Ave. Active Trans will share more detailed comments from workshop participants and community stakeholders with the city’s planners and continue to work with CDOT to see that plans for this street reflect the needs of the community.

No plans have been made to change Clark St. yet, so there’s a great opportunity to advocate for changes supported by the community.

Interested in staying involved in this process? Let us know! Active Trans, Bike Walk Lincoln Park and Alderman Smith’s office will continue to work together to see that your ideas are represented in a new, safe Clark St.