Chicago's First Shared Street Planned for Uptown's Argyle Street

Rachel Cromidas discusses Chicago's plans to transform some of its streets into pedestrian friendly environments by focusing on a proposal to create a shared street on Argyle Street in Uptown from Sheridan to Broadway. The plan would transform the street, according to Cromidas, "into a kind of public plaza, like those more common in Europe, where pedestrians, cyclists and motorists must co-exist in one broad lane elevated to the same height as the sidewalk." 

"Construction on the street is set to begin this winter," reports Cromidas, with delivery targeted for summer of 2015.  "The construction will involve raising the street level between Sheridan Road and Broadway to be flush with the sidewalk curb in hopes of helping drivers distinguish Argyle from a typical neighborhood street. The project will also bring the speed limit down to 15 miles per hour and eliminate up to 10 parking spots."

Cromidas compares the Argyle Street a similar proposal in Lincoln Park last fall, where DePaul University proposed converting a section of Kenmore Avenue between Belden and Fullerton avenues "into a landscaped walkway for students and other pedestrians." That plan ran into concerns over parking.