A coalition of urban and environmental think tanks, planners, and local advocacy groups is airing a loosely-conceived "civic platform" calling for a greener, more human-scaled, and multi-modal North Lake Shore Drive. Care to know what that means for your commute? Your first order of business should be checking out the coalition's PDF document. It sums up the long-range goals of a reconstructed Drive, firmly rooted in a public domain ideology where mass transit systems, bikers, and pedestrians get a greater say in roadway design. Glancing the list of coalition members, this should come as no surprise.
"Improvements" include reduced speeds, widened pedestrian access points to the lakefront, extra foot and bike paths (the rendering depicts landscaped trails on both sides of LSD), increased greenspace and boulevard plantings, and the addition of dedicated bus lanes or BRT to the roadway. As the city gears up for a reconstruction of LSD, this concept is offered by its authors as an alternative to "the slow shift towards a superhighway that serves as an ever-widening barrier between Chicago and its lakefront." At the very least, it's a refreshing take on Lake Shore Drive— one not likely to come from any department of transportation.
·Our Lakefront (pdf) [ActiveTrans]
·MPC joins coalition calling for a bold vision for reconstruction of North LSD [MPC]
·Fun With Urban Planning [Curbed Chicago]
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