Better Crosswalks, Smoother Streets Coming to Ward 47

Drivers and pedestrians will see the most benefits from neighborhood improvements coming in 2013.

Ward 47 Ald. Ameya Pawar receives $1.3 million each year for infrastructure improvements and this year, asked residents what they’d like to see change in the neighborhood. 

“Nine out of 10 times, when you leave it up to the people to vote, where they vote and where there’s a problem almost always coordinate,” Pawar said.

The ward will receive its first pedestrian islands, which gained some of the most tallies in an online poll. The intersections of Lincoln and Leland and Western and Cornelia received more than a combined 650 votes from residents.  

More than 480 residents wanted a crosswalk countdown at Sunnyside and Western avenues and nine more intersections will get either pedestrian signage or better striping. 

And pedestrians won’t be the only people benefiting from menu funds as drivers will see smoother streets and alleys.

Four streets will be resurfaced at 4900 N. Ravenswood, 3700 N. Ravenswood, 1600-1800 W. Berteau and 2400-2500 W. Sunnyside avenues. Alley resurfacing, the most requested improvement, tallies nine projects throughout the ward. 

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To create the list, community specialist Jim Poole asked neighborhood associations and residents to complete block audits in October. Then, using city data and those results, he created a preliminary list of projects. 

That list totaled almost $6 million in improvements, and residents voted online to narrow down the options. Residents tallied 1,567 responses, about 5 percent of registered voters, Poole said. 

“Only a few folks actually did the over-the-phone or in person option, so I think we should work on outreach to get to more folks next year,” he said. “I think we can do better... but 1,500 is a really good number for the first year.” 

Some projects will be pushed to next year due to construction on the neighborhood’s 100-year-old water mains. Pawar said he made it a priority to work with other city departments to avoid repeating construction. 

In the case of the Berteau Greenway, officials are waiting until June to break ground. The greenway will increase pedestrian and biking space on the street, but was under a 100-year-old water main. 

“That’s the type of coordination we’re trying to do,” Pawar said. “We’ve saved a couple hundred thousand in avoiding double-ups.”

See the PDF attached for a complete list of the projects.