water and sewer main replacement projects coming soon

According to the 19th ward office, we have the following projects to look forward to.

Water main:
Winchester from 97th to 101st - 3/12/18 thru 5/21/18
97th from Damen to Longwood - 3/12/18 thru 5/21/18

111th St from Rockwell to Western - 5/21/18 thru 7/19/18

Homan Ave. from 107th St. to 115th St. - 7/10/18 thru 11/23/18
108th St. from Homan to Kedzie - 7/10/18 thru 11/23/18

Sewer main:
94th St. from Longwood to Vanderpoel - time frame TBD.

115th & Western open for bike traffic

After a long, frustrating period of construction, it's now possible to use 115th St. as a bike route across Western again. Yeah!!! This has been one of our best east-west bike routes across Western and we've missed it.  Groups riding from the south often use this route to reach points in Beverly and Morgan Park (shops, restaurants, parks), so now we need to get the word out.

The new sports center has plenty of bike racks, if that's your destination.

Sports center entrance with benches and bike racks

If you're passing through, there's more than one option to use, depending on traffic and whether you're riding solo or with a group. A wide curb ramp next to the driveway makes it easy to get onto the broad sidewalk from Western. At the east (cul de sac) end, another wide curb ramp eases the transition from driveway to eastbound 115th St.  From the sidewalk, a driveway behind the sports center makes it easy to reach 115th at the cul de sac.

Westbound view from cul de sac

Curb ramps at Western

One surprising omission: no reflective posts or signs warning drivers from the east that the street is closed to through traffic. If that's left unchanged, it could cause some nasty surprises.

Westbound view east of cul de sac

I was concerned early about whether the park district would end up with a good design for traffic flow through the site. I liked what I saw. Well done, Chicago Park District!

115th & Western update

FYI - This Tuesday 7/15 will see a permanent change to Morgan Park traffic patterns, when access to eastbound 115th St. from Western will be closed to traffic for construction of the Morgan Park Sports Center.

safe access to the proposed sports center at 115th & Western

The proposed sports center has the potential to be a great community amenity. However, if bike and pedestrian access aren't thoughtfully done to maximize safety by minimizing conflicts with motorized traffic, it would create a negative aspect to a facility that should be equally accessible to vulnerable users and drivers.  Streetsblog Chicago has published a thoughtful piece on this aspect of the plan.

Many have voiced concerns about the center's potential to significantly increase car traffic in the area of 115th and Western. This is another compelling argument to maximize the ease of pedestrian and bike access so that more people will walk or bike to the center rather than driving.

Others have questioned the wisdom of spending millions on yet another piece of infrastructure when so much of our existing infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, sewers, etc.) is poorly maintained.  A few have commented that this feels like a "let them eat cake" (while our streets crumble) moment. They have a point.  I would love to see our miles of deteriorated sidewalks made more walkable again.  Getting our streets in better condition would make biking much safer and more enjoyable.

What are your thoughts?

115th St. Metra station to be renovated

There's a new construction project in the pipeline, according to this source. I'm sure that a lot of folks will be happy to see that sad old station fixed up.

2010/02/28 Morgan Park Metra Station - Renovation
train station renovation, $8 million
11445 S Hale Ave, Chicago, IL 60643