(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Several Chicago neighborhoods experimented with “shared streets” for a few months last year to give pedestrians and bicyclists more social distance beyond the sidewalks.
The alderman who helped push for the city’s first shared street says he’s hopeful it will return, even though the program wasn’t entirely successful.
Leland Avenue in the 47th Ward was the test drive for the city’s shared street program.
“I think if we do it again, Leland would would be a prime candidate,” 47th Ward Ald. Matt Martin said Monday.
“But we also want to think if there are ways to supplement that. Do we want to do any sort of ring or a track of sorts so it’s not just one street there and back?”
The biggest complaint about shared streets — “constructive feedback,” as he phrases it — was that some drivers weren’t adhering to the shared-street regulations. Generally, vehicles were not supposed to use the shared street as a thoroughfare, though parking was permitted.
“There are times where residents, be they pedestrians or bikers, don’t feel that drivers are adhering to the appropriate regulations as they pertain to shared streets,” the alderman said.
Martin said the positive feedback outweighed that.
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