A More Fun Vision of Broadway (with Giant Japanese Cats!)

Uptown won the fake trophy in Curbed Cup 2010, but the neighborhood isn't perfect. The North Side 'hood still struggles with crime and it hasn't seen much in the way of new development in recent years. And, in the mind of some, the streets are a tad too car-friendly. Blogger Andrew Vesselinovitch has a solution for Broadway, which involves transforming it from a street that favors the automobile to "a living room, market place, and garden for Uptown." (They did it to Broadway in NYC, so why shouldn't we do it to Broadway here?) A month ago, Vesselinovitch posted the above images, which are from his thesis project at IIT, to his blog, A More Fun Environment. He proposes reducing the traffic lanes from six to three, creating an extra-wide median with landscaping, seating and kiosks (and, of course, a giant Maneki Neko). We aren't sure exactly what to make of it, but we'll concede that the environment does look more fun than Broadway's current configuration.
· Make Chicago's Broadway More Social -- Remove Lanes and Add Landscaping, Seating, and Kiosks [A More Fun Environment]