Argyle's Plaza-Like Shared Street Is Feeling The 'Learning Curve'
By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 9, 2016 5:50PM
Argyle Shared Street / Courtesy Office of Ald. Harry Osterman
When the city formalized plans for Chicago’s very first shared street, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation told Chicagoist he anticipated “there will be a learning curve.” In the roughly two weeks since the Argyle Shared Street has opened, his suspicion has proven correct.
The three-million-dollar plaza-style project opens up a five-block stretch of Argyle Street, located between Broadway and Sheridan in Uptown, to cars, pedestrians and bicycles. Only the center strip is accessible to vehicles; there are no curbs; and the key component is pedestrian right-of-way. To fend off potential confusion, CDOT and Ald. Harry Osterman (48th Ward) released a diagram and clarification of how exactly the concept is intended to work last month, prior to the opening. But public misunderstanding—particularly about where cars are allowed to park and what areas are open to drivers—has proven strong enough that CDOT and Osterman’s office again passed along the handout to Uptown Update, after readers voiced uncertainty.
Parking is allowed along designated sandstone pavers. Cars should be parked along, but not over, a strip of grey-brick pavers that appear to act as de-facto curbs. (A photo taken of the street shows several mis-parked vehicles.) As the diagram illustrates, several “chicane” buffers cause traffic to slow down with the intention of making the street more pedestrian-friendly.
Our own initial experience did not feel more outwardly pedestrian-friendly than most other streets, as car traffic created familiar barriers and some motorists were hostile to pedestrian traffic in the shared commons. Perhaps with more education and experience, things may change.
Osterman told Chicagoist he thinks much of the confusion stems from residual construction—including parking pay-box installation and tree planting—which is expected to be completed within the next few weeks. His office is also reaching out to residents and business owners to clarify the layout, he said. "People are going to get used to it in a functional way," he said. "We're not quite there, but things will improve." He said temporary signs are also on the way.
"I'm very confident that when all said and done it will be a phenomenal amenity," he added.
"It was anticipated that an education campaign would be needed since this is an entirely new concept in Chicago," Michael Claffey, Director of Public Affairs for CDOT, told Chicagoist. "There will be additional signage and street markings that will be installed in the coming weeks as work wraps up on the project."
