HUMBOLDT PARK — Wider sidewalks and seating areas; improved crosswalks and bike lanes; new benches, planters and even a gateway sign like the Puerto Rican flag on Paseo Boricua — these are among the improvements that could be coming to North Avenue in Humboldt Park in a few years, city officials said Thursday.
The goal of the North Avenue improvements project, which kicked off in 2023, is to upgrade the section of North Avenue from from Kedzie to Kostner avenues, creating “a unified, safe, walkable and attractive street,” officials said.
“Get creative because North Avenue from Kedzie to Kostner [avenues] should be what you imagine,” Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) said Thursday during the first public meeting about the project.
The project spans three wards — the 26th, 36th and 37th — represented by Fuentes and alds. Gilberto Villegas and Emma Mitts, respectively.
The planned improvements will “bring that vibrancy back” to the community’s commercial corridor and create a street where neighbors can safely walk, gather and shop, Fuentes told about 50 people gathered at Mercado del Pueblo, 4013 W. North Ave.
Thursday’s meeting was the first of several to be held over the next year and a half to hear from neighbors, businesses and other users of North Avenue.
Initial plans for the corridor include resurfacing and drainage improvements, wider sidewalks that could have new benches, trash cans, landscaping, public seating areas, upgraded crosswalks with improved pedestrian signs, light pole identifiers, sidewalk medallions and new streetlights.
Final plans will depend on community feedback, said Vanessa Irizarry, project manager for the Chicago Department of Transportation. Besides participating in public meetings, residents can weigh in through the end of April with an online survey in English and Spanish.
Pedestrian Safety A Priority
Pedestrian safety and accessibility is a priority for the project, Fuentes told Block Club.
CDOT found broken sidewalks and stairs along the corridor, including some that are not accessible to people with disabilities. Several bus stops are on sidewalks with limited space, and many sidewalks are not wide enough to have sidewalk amenities or gathering spaces, officials said.
Others areas of concern for pedestrians on North Avenue include staggered intersections and the crosswalks at Kostner and Grand avenues, Irizarry said.
“I’m excited for what they’re pushing for … less vehicle traffic, geared more towards using it as a pedestrian public community space,” said Humboldt Park resident Karin Salvatierra. She added that the improvements will also benefit businesses on North Avenue.
Though CDOT traffic data shows cars drive at or around the speed limit over 80 percent of the time on weekdays, several neighbors said they feel unsafe crossing North Avenue. Some intersections, like North and Kedzie or North and Kimball, are known spots for car crashes, they said.
“I have to walk across and bike across North Avenue a lot, and it feels unsafe for me at Kedzie. I don’t feel safe biking across,” said Logan Square resident Eric Smith. “I like the businesses on North Avenue. It’s just with all the traffic, with all the honking and speeding, I just don’t feel as comfortable on it.”
Under the plans, bike lanes could be added or improved along North Avenue. Several neighbors asked for protected bike lanes; currently, there is a buffered bike lane from Central Park Avenue to Kedzie.
“I’m a car-free Chicagoan; I depend on my bike to get around primarily, and North Avenue is a road that I’ve avoided for a long time,” David Teeghman, political chair for the Sierra Club Chicago, said after the meeting. “I’m excited about the conversations we’re having tonight.”
Parking and congestion around nonprofit La Casa Norte at the intersection of Central Park and North avenues is another issue, neighbors said. On days when La Casa’s food pantry is open, the area gets congested with double-parked cars and cyclists riding on the sidewalk to avoid the cars. Neighbors said that leaves them little space to walk on the sidewalk — but they don’t want the pantry to stop operating.
“How can we find a balance when they’re coming in?” said neighbor Nick Hernandez, who lives on North Avenue.
Other requests from neighbors include better pay for corridor ambassadors and more parking.
Litter, Holes And Other Issues
While meeting attendees were excited to hear about the planned improvements, several neighbors told Block Club there are more pressing issues that can’t wait to be addressed.
Cecilia Varela, who has lived in Humboldt Park for 30 years, said walking on North Avenue is difficult and dangerous for older people like her.
“The sidewalks are dirty, there is litter everywhere … and there are holes,” Varela said in Spanish. “If I trip and fall, [I], someone with osteoporosis, can break my back.”
Rosemary Rios, who has lived in Humboldt Park since 1988, said North Avenue and adjacent streets need more trash cans and wider drains. She and other neighbors are often left to clean up litter themselves. When it rains or snows, accumulated trash blocks drains, flooding the street, Rios said in Spanish.
About six years ago, Rios reported frequent flooding in the alley behind her house on Harding Street to the city, she said. In response, city officials told her “there was a problem, but there was no money to fix it,” Rios said in Spanish.
The renovation of North Avenue from Kostner to Kedzie avenues is estimated to cost $27 million, covered through a mix of city, state and federal funds, Irizarry said. Of the $4.4 million in federal funding announced last week for upgrades in Humboldt Park and surrounding areas, $850,000 will be used toward these North Avenue streetscape improvements.
State funds from the Rebuild Illinois capital plan will cover up to $4.3 million of the project’s design costs, a CDOT spokesperson said. The final design is expected to be ready by 2026, with construction starting in 2027.
Plans for the North Avenue improvements must be assessed and approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over North Avenue. Pulaski Road, which intersects with North Avenue and could house a larger gathering space under the city’s plans, is also under IDOT’s jurisdiction.
Kyle Lucas, co-founder of Better Streets Chicago, said he is concerned about potential roadblocks to the improvement plan, but he hopes the city “can really make it clear to the Illinois Department of Transportation that they need to center the needs of the community and not just their traffic models.”
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