miracles can happen

I reported previously about the lack of bike racks at the newish Whole Foods store at Evergreen Plaza. I hadn't been there in a while, because walking there is so miserable and driving isn't any better.

Of course, it would be better without merchandise partially
blocking the rack. I'm just glad to see the rack.

It was a nice treat finding this rack after requesting one for months.  If you want to ride there, safest bike access is from 99th St. via Campbell, Maplewood or Artesian to 98th, then across the parking lot.

new Whole Foods store needs bike racks

I checked out the new Whole Foods store at Evergreen Plaza over the weekend - nice addition. For me, it's the highlight of an otherwise lame and totally car-centric makeover of the plaza.

In spite of letters to the developer, they maxed out the parking and made no real accommodations for anyone accessing the Plaza on foot or bike. If crossing Western between stoplights is too daunting, accessing from 99th (to Campbell, Artesian or Maplewood) by bike is very doable.

Once you get there, you'll find that there are no bike racks anywhere - except right next to Starbucks. Want to help change this? Please send a message to Whole Foods and ask them to add bike racks in front of the store. Thousands of people live within easy walking and biking distance of this store, and making non-car options easier could mean less traffic and less stress in getting around.

what we could lose if Evergreen Plaza is redeveloped without ped access and bike parking

Crain's Chicago Business recently ran an article about the Lormax Stern redevelopment plan for Evergreen Plaza. One of the things that is too often overlooked in mall development is that, even when people are using cars as their primary form of transportation to get to the mall, they still need to be able to walk safely from their cars to where they're going. In many business districts, employees use bikes as transportation for much of the year - an affordable option that helps their income go further. This is typically overlooked at malls.

Thousands of people live within easy walking and biking distance of this site. If we miss out on the opportunity to get infrastructure that would make walking and biking reasonable options for people to get to Evergreen Plaza, we get more traffic congestion, air pollution, road rage and longer travel times to destinations we might reach via 95th and Western. All of this costs us in quality of life.

Here's a much better example from the north side.  Note the ped refuge islands at the ends of the parking rows, the red-colored sidewalk along those islands and between the north-south parking rows, and crosswalks connecting the refuge islands. This design does not sacrifice a significant amount of parking and greatly improves walking conditions.

Proposed Evergreen Plaza site plan

Now is the time to put pressure on the developer to modify their crappy car-centric site plan to accommodate safe pedestrian access and include some bike parking. Bike access from the 98th St. end of the site could be feasible from 99th via Maplewood, Campbell or Artesian - if there are bike racks to use. This could be useful both for customers and store employees.

When the mall was still open, I and many neighbors walked there to shop at Carson's and other stores. I'm not about to get in the car, make traffic worse, and deal with all the traffic and parking hassles to go half a freakin' mile once it's open again.

If reducing car traffic and having safer access whether or not you drive to the Plaza makes a difference to you, please take a few minutes to write to the developer. Ask that half a lane or a lane of car parking be replaced with one or two east-west sidewalks within the parking lot so that people can walk through the parking lot with less risk of being hit.

Also ask for bike racks in 2 or more locations. This can make a difference both for customers and for store employees. Employees typically don't make a lot of money. If they can ride their bikes to work, it's an affordable option that may be faster than a bus, depending on where they live. Bike rack locations that might work well include 98th St. by the southeast corner of Carson's and near the health club.  Access from 99th St. via Campbell or other adjacent streets is very workable if there's a place to lock up your bike.  Please include an information link on bike parking, and emphasize that bike racks need to be decent quality and properly installed.

This is a great opportunity to make a positive difference. I don't know if they'll listen to us. We have nothing to lose by asking. Who's with me?

6/28 community forum regarding Evergreen Plaza redevelopment

A community forum is scheduled to discuss ideas and get input on the planned redevelopment of Evergreen Plaza mall.

When:  Thursday 6/28  7 p.m.
Where:  Jacob's Well Church Community, 3450 W. Maple, Evergreen Park

Bring your ideas and share them.

community forum regarding Evergreen Plaza redevelopment

Save the date.  A community forum is scheduled to discuss ideas and get input on the planned redevelopment of Evergreen Plaza mall.

When:  Thursday 6/28  7 p.m.
Where:  Jacob's Well Church Community, 3450 W. Maple, Evergreen Park

Bring your ideas and share them.

a perspective on retail development, traffic and the 19th ward

For months, a years-old sustainable transportation graphic has been generating a lot of discussion about road use, specifically about how much road space each mode of transportation takes to move a person - car vs. bus vs. bike. In case you haven't seen it, I've included it below.

The Northwestern student news site ran a well written article about the graphic and response to it. When I visit 19th ward businesses, I am often struck by the limitations that parking and car dependence create for so many of those businesses.

Many locations along Western, 95th, 103rd (west of Western) and 111th (west of Western) and Kedzie aren't the easiest to reach by biking or walking, unless you're coming from an adjacent side street.  Western has a good number of bike racks.  Some of the other locations listed above are not as well equipped with suitable bike parking.

As traffic gets worse with the redevelopment of Evergreen Plaza and the 91st and Western nightmare (if and when it's built), it will certainly have an impact on our business districts, especially along 95th and Western.  If we start working now to promote walking and bike access to neighborhood destinations (more bike parking, education, promotions), it can help our local businesses by taking more cars off the roads for trips to nearby destinations.  This would ease traffic congestion and parking demand, allowing our businesses to serve more customers with fewer car trips, without needing more car parking spaces.

If we start working to improve conditions for pedestrians, it can help people using all types of transportation to reach our local businesses.  Right now it can be a life threatening proposition to cross one of our major streets at a non-stoplight intersection.  In spite of the Illinois law passed 2 years ago, things have not gotten any better for pedestrians in most locations.  The video in this news story illustrates the problem well.

I can wait a minute or more to cross half of 95th or Western and wait again to cross the other half, being passed by a dozen or more cars on each half, who could have allowed me to cross by easing off on the gas pedal for just a few seconds.   This doesn't just affect people walking or riding bikes.  It also affects people arriving by car who need to cross the street from where they parked to the business they are visiting.

The redevelopment proposal for Evergreen Plaza (shown below) appears to be a typical suburban car-centric design, uninviting and hazardous for pedestrian or bike access, as well as ugly.

As presented, this design does not appear to offer any accommodation for pedestrians crossing the parking lot from Western.  It's unclear if there's any pedestrian access from the stoplight at 98th St. or from Campbell.  To reduce car traffic congestion, there should be pedestrian access from ALL sides of the redeveloped mall.  Do you have a problem with this car-centric design?  I do, and I'm writing to the developer to ask for safe pedestrian and bike access. 

If it's built according to this sketch, it's unlikely that I'll be able to walk there easily.  I refuse to drive to a place so close to home if all I'm doing is visiting Carson's to buy something I can easily carry.  I refuse to add to our area's traffic congestion with an unnecessary car trip.  I am telling the developer that I will not patronize any business at the redeveloped Evergreen Plaza unless it's built to allow safe pedestrian access from adjoining neighborhoods.  If we can and do walk there, the traffic impact of the redevelopment could be significantly reduced.  If this issue matters to you, I encourage you to write to the developer.  Contact info via email and snail mail is on this page.

We can each make a difference by choosing to walk or ride bikes to existing businesses, and by asking for new businesses to safely accommodate customers and employees who choose to get there by methods of transportation other than individual cars.  We may or may not have a say in what gets built, but each of our choices can affect the overall impact of these projects.