proposed changes to Jackson Park

What do you think about the proposal by the Obama Foundation to close a portion of Cornell Drive and Marquette Road through Jackson, in conjunction with the Obama Presidential Library?

I have long loathed the Cornell speedway, and Marquette to a lesser degree. Personally, I'd love to see Cornell closed to car traffic through the park, though I suspect that wouldn't fly, because the major reason for its existence is as a connector between Lake Shore Drive and the Skyway.

A road diet with the addition of bike lanes on both Cornell and Marquette could be a very good option.  What's your $0.02?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-willis-tower-kamin...

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on February 1, 2017 at 10:10am

I agree with everything you wrote.   I'd love to see Cornell closed to cars, but I don't see it happening.

Permalink Reply by Ryan Stahlman on February 2, 2017 at 4:04am

Living in the area for the last several years and visiting the park regularly, I've felt strongly that Cornell Drive is an incredible detriment to a pleasant and safe feeling park. Removing / pedestrianizing Cornell would go a long way to restoring a feeling of nature, especially around the wooded island. 

Streetsblog writer John Greenfield weighed in with some interesting vehicle trip data that highlights how this could happen without creating undue congestion. Thanks for the investigative journalism, John!

http://chi.streetsblog.org/2017/02/01/why-pedestrianizing-jackson-p...

Permalink Reply by Bruce on February 2, 2017 at 5:59am

Agree and agree.  I live almost next door to the park. I am upset that the library is going to be built on parkland where there is so much vacant land in the area southwest of Washington Park and that could have been a good way to do some real good in an area that needs help.

Cornell Drive is a menace to the health and wellbeing of anybody going by there. Drivers regularly reach speeds exceeding 50 MPH. I know because I have been driving for a few decades and you come to have a sense for those things. But more to the point I know because I admit to driving on that street as well and while I have severely moderating my driving habits in the last few years I occasionally speed up partly to see what speed others are driving.

I will say though that while most of the time when I am out for a run and want to cross I avoid using the crosswalks because car blatantly ignore you even when you are halfway across, the other day I did use a crosswalk and traffic stopped for me in both directions!

I think that we should advocate for more road diets everywhere, at the same time as we advocate for more and better public transportation.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 2, 2017 at 6:52am

Your sense of excessive speeding there is consistent with my experiences.  When I drive on Cornell, if I am going 35 mph, too many drivers are blasting past me at much higher speeds. 

If I am crossing Cornell as a pedestrian or cyclist, I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands. 

More road diets would be a good thing.

Permalink Reply by Maurice on February 6, 2017 at 6:32am
Permalink Reply by Maurice on February 8, 2017 at 8:05am
Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on February 8, 2017 at 9:48am

Seems like the 5th Ward needs a more progressive, in-touch alderman if Leslie continues her car-centric focus. I'm wondering if this spills over into other issues?

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on February 9, 2017 at 6:33am

I posted this on StreetsBlog, but I will also post it here.  According to chicagoelections.com , these are Leslie Hairston's returns in the last three elections:

2007     74.6%

2011     61.7%

2015     52.5%

Permalink Reply by Jeremy on February 8, 2017 at 9:06am

If the decision were mine, I would close the streets on weekends during the summer.  I would allow food trucks and pop-up shops.  That would allow people to see how the space can be used better.  After a couple of months, people would likely have no issue with the streets being closed permanently.

Permalink Reply by Ryan Stahlman on February 9, 2017 at 3:42am

That's a great idea and one I've seen done in Golden Gate Park in SF. I'm in the 5th Ward, so I will have to let Alderman Hairston know about it.

Permalink Reply by Paul Fitz, Scrabblor on February 9, 2017 at 6:08am

A road diet to slow the traffic on Cornell wouldn't be a bad idea.

As a community resident I would oppose these roads being closed. I respectfully disagree that it wouldn't cause 'carmaggedon'. Cars driving northbound on stony island are split from the 4 lanes onto Cornell and the smaller "local" stony island at 67th. Closing these roads would gridlock traffic at this time, I can only imagine what it will do when a major attraction is opened in the park.  There are already major decisions being made about Jackson and Washington park with zero community input or survey. I would regard this as another. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 9, 2017 at 7:52am

There should be community input on this, as well as any other proposed changes in Jackson Park, and there should be sufficient notice through multiple methods of outreach to get the word out to as many people as possible to give them an opportunity to participate.

The community should not be shut out by Alderman Hairston or the park district. 

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