Pawar Seeking Input for Neighborhood Improvement Funds

The neighborhoods of Lincoln Square and Northcenter have some cash to burn.

Each year, wards in Chicago receive “menu” funds for the purpose of improving the area. And Ward 47 Ald. Ameya Pawar is asking residents how they’d like to see $1.3 million spent.

The money can only be used on maintenance and infrastructure, not hiring more police officers or recurring costs. 

and organizations to get together and fill out audits of their blocks. Now, the results are in.

The most common requests were alley and street resurfacing, new streetlights, and curb and cutter repair, according to Ward 47 Community Specialist Jim Poole.

“Curbs and gutters were something that we were a little bit surprised about when we went through it,” Poole said. “We saw some more curb and gutter issues than we had in the past years.”

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Poole presented a preliminary list of the projects at a Ward Council meeting Thursday night. Out of about 200 blocks, 78 turned in audits after accounting for repeats.

Not all projects on the list can be completed because the money adds up quickly, Poole said. It costs about $60,000 to $70,000 to replace streetlights on a block, and street resurfacing totals $58,000 for the same area. The alderman estimated about $840,000 in alley resurfacing alone on the preliminary list.

Pawar’s office will combine the input with city data and projects from the Chicago Department of Transportation to narrow down the requests.

Outside of improvements, neighborhood conditions averaged a 3 or better on a 0 to 5 scale, Poole said. Residents also rated the overall appearance of the homes and quality development a 4 out of 5. 

Constituents have until March 1 to call or email the ward office to suggest additional projects.

On March 5, Pawar will launch an online survey where residents can vote for certain improvements. After inputting their address, people can vote yes or no on as many projects as they wish. 

“We hope it will be a barometer for high quality items that people really want,” Poole said.

The office hopes to have a final presentation in April for construction on the projects in the summer.

In 2012, Pawar dedicated more than $60,000 to elementary school playgrounds along with street resurfacing and pedestrian signage. See last year’s projects.