Humboldt Park Walkable Communities Workshop

October 1, 2001

The Walkable Communities Workshop program was offered by the Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) to communities throughout the six counties and Humboldt Park was one of only ten communities selected. The workshops were designed to bring community residents together with elected officials and members of local planning agencies to discuss specific challenges that they face as pedestrians.

Walkers Win actively organized and promoted the event while Alderman Ocasio of the 26th Ward agreed to co-sponsor the event with us. Schools were the major targets in our outreach and along with other organizations with a stake in Humboldt Park.

The foci of the workshop were North Avenue and the edges of the park which are encircled by the four lanes of Luis Munoz Marin Drive (map). Humboldt Boulevard runs through the middle of the park and becomes a four-lane speedway with visual barriers. North Avenue, also Illinois Route 64, is one of Chicago's busiest arterials. Nationally renowned consultants were brought in to offer prescriptions for these problems. They offered a number of innovative and efficient solutions.

They include but are not limited to:

Establishing a "Park Zone" with signage and greenery to indicate the upcoming presence of a park. Also create gateways at the major points of entry to the park to suggest a haven within a busy city and a link to the outlying community.

Reduce the amount of travel lanes to two on Luis Munoz Drive and install back in angled parking. This would reduce the speed of vehicular traffic and limit automobile conflict with bicycles.

Limit the amount of entry points to the park for automobiles. Add a traffic light and a left-turn lane at the Intersection of North Avenue and Francisco and designate this the main entry to the park.

Build pedestrian refuge islands along North Avenue in the middle of the street, to protect pedestrians as they cross and reduce the amount of exposure time they face. Also add a limited number of traffic signals along North Ave. to reduce speeds and regulate vehicular flow. Plant trees and add a planting strip along the sidewalk to enhance the landscape west of the park on North Ave.

Pull the stop bar back on Humboldt Boulevard to create a bikeway on the service drive. Re-stripe and maintain crosswalks.

It presented a wonderful opportunity to greatly improve the walking environment on North Avenue, and set a new standard for communities across the city. The outcomes of these workshops will be seen around the country. Humboldt Park and North Avenue will be viewed as a model for addressing safety issues on a major arterial in a dense urban setting.