The busy Damen, Elston and Fullerton intersection is pretty much a no man's land for pedestrians and cyclists, but the chaotic cluster of traffic lights and vehicle congestion is about to receive a much needed makeover. However, the upcoming makeover could bring forth a large amount of new retail and an equally large number of parking spaces, which some say will make the intersection even worse than it was to begin with. The recently unveiled redevelopment proposal for the six acre Vienna Beef factory on Damen Avenue includes roughly 105,000 square feet of retail and 437 parking spaces. This week, the plan, and the likelihood of getting new big box and chain retailers coming to the intersection has been causing quite a stir on the internet, with the urban planning community becoming its most vocal opponents.
Streetsblog Chicago has called the plan a "hellish big-box proposal" and a "terrible use for this land," while blogger Michael Podgers compares this proposal to the type of development you'd see in suburban Schaumburg. The proposal has stirred some debate on Reddit, with one thread garnering over 100 comments. Meanwhile Alderman Joe Moreno wants everyone to know where he stands on the whole Chick-fil-A situation.
So, what do you actually want to see at this intersection? Because it's next to the highway, sandwiched in between major roads and far from a CTA station, there's really not a lot of residential directly surrounding it. Instead, it's pretty much completely surrounded by big box retail. Some would say there's already so much big box retail in this area, what harm can a few more stores do? Tell us what you think.
Just kidding, here's the real poll:
·Hellish Big-Box Proposal Would Nix Traffic Flow Gains From Elston Reroute [Streetsblog]
·Residents: Car-centric Plan for Vienna Beef Site Doesn't Cut the Mustard [Streetsblog]
·Schaumburg and the City: Proposal Calls for a Giant Parking Lot at Elston/Fullerton/Damen with a Commerial Element [urbanelijk]
·437 fucking parking spaces coming to the newly rerouted Damen, Elston, Fullerton intersection [Reddit]
·New Retail, Offices and Surface Parking Proposed for Busy Damen, Elston and Fullerton Intersection [Curbed Chicago]
·Chick-fil-A Inked for Elston Makeover, More Retail on the Way [Curbed Chicago]
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