The Chicago Plan Commission is adopting a study that looked at ways to increase foot traffic along the Western Avenue Corridor.
The community-based planning initiative focused on the northern five-mile stretch of Western Avenue from West Addison Street up to West Howard Street, Urbanize Chicago reported. The plan, which covered four wards and multiple neighborhoods, analyzed foot-traffic patterns, environmental factors and the socioeconomic makeup of the area.
The city’s Department of Planning and Development and Department of Transportation co-led the study. Site Design Group; Skidmore, Owings and Merrill; Latent Design; Sam Schwartz; and Borderless also helped complete the research and draft the plan.
With the completed study, the city can design a social corridor that will create more density and foot traffic in specific mixed-use neighborhood centers. Lower density housing infills will be added in between the neighborhood centers.
Western Ave Corridor (DPD)
The study also aims to prioritize bus infrastructure along Western Avenue. The plans call for added bus lanes, bus bulb-outs and more optimized signal timing. Pedestrian and bike traffic were also examined in the study.
The neighborhood centers will be defined as mixed-use cores with higher density and more commercial, transit and housing. The neighborhood centers will be located at Irving Park Road, Lawrence Avenue, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Devon Avenue and Lunt Avenue.
DPD will move forward with the implementation of the Western Avenue Corridor plan now that the Plan Commission has adopted the study. Now the department will secure resources for the project based on the study’s recommendations. DPD will also pilot new policies and projects that could further improve development along the corridor.
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